Chapter 6 - The Enemy Inside the Mansion
The Rossi mansion had always been full of shadows.
But now Lorenzo Rossi knew something far worse.
One of those shadows had a name.
Someone inside his own world had betrayed him.
Someone who had watched his family suffer.
Someone who knew exactly how to hurt him.
For years, Lorenzo believed the greatest danger came from outside.
Rivals.
Enemies.
People who wanted his power.
But the truth was more painful.
The person who wanted to destroy him had been close enough to shake his hand.
Close enough to sit at his table.
Close enough to know Isabella.
And that realization made Lorenzo more dangerous than ever.
The surveillance footage played again.
The same few seconds.
Again.
And again.
Lorenzo sat alone in his office, staring at the screen.
The video showed Isabella walking through the hallway of the private hospital where she had been staying during her pregnancy.
She looked happy.
Peaceful.
Alive.
It was the last image he had of her before everything changed.
Then the phone rang.
Isabella answered.
At first, nothing seemed unusual.
Then her expression changed.
The happiness disappeared.
Fear appeared.
Lorenzo leaned closer.
Even after watching the footage dozens of times, he still could not hear the conversation.
The audio had been damaged.
But he could see Isabella’s lips move.
Three words.
Three words that had haunted him since he discovered the recording.
“Why would you?”
Then she ended the call.
Thirty minutes later, the car exploded.
Lorenzo closed his eyes.
For two months, he had blamed himself.
He believed he should have protected her better.
He believed his enemies had taken her because of him.
But now he wondered something else.
What if Isabella had discovered something?
What if she knew who was behind it?
What if she had been trying to warn him?
A knock came at the door.
Lorenzo immediately locked the screen.
“Come in.”
Marco, his security chief, entered.
“Sir.”
“What did you find?”
Marco placed a folder on the desk.
“We traced the deleted surveillance files.”
“And?”
“There was outside access.”
Lorenzo’s eyes narrowed.
“From where?”
Marco hesitated.
“Inside the mansion.”
The answer was enough.
Lorenzo’s face became cold.
“Who?”
“We’re still investigating.”
“I didn’t ask if you were finished.”
Marco lowered his eyes.
“No, sir.”
Lorenzo opened the folder.
Inside were employee records.
Movement logs.
Security information.
Everyone was a possibility.
Everyone had access.
And that was the problem.
Meanwhile, Clara was beginning to notice the change.
Before, Lorenzo looked at her like someone he did not understand.
Now he looked at her like someone he needed to protect.
But she also noticed something else.
He was becoming more distant.
More dangerous.
The gentle moments disappeared.
The man who sat beside Leo’s crib quietly disappeared behind the businessman everyone feared.
One evening, Clara found him standing outside the nursery.
He did not enter.
He simply watched his son through the glass.
“You’re worried.”
Lorenzo turned.
Clara stood behind him.
“I’m always worried.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“This is different.”
He said nothing.
Because she was right.
He was afraid.
Not of enemies.
Not of losing power.
Of losing Leo.
He had already lost Isabella.
He could not survive losing his son too.
“I found out something about the attack on my wife.”
Clara became serious.
“What?”
“Someone close to me was involved.”
Her expression changed.
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
Lorenzo looked at Leo.
“That’s what makes it worse.”
Clara understood.
Because uncertainty was its own kind of torture.
Knowing there was a monster was easier.
Not knowing who the monster was...
That was terrifying.
The following morning, the Rossi mansion was filled with tension.
Everyone was questioned.
Every employee.
Every guard.
Every person who had worked there during Isabella’s pregnancy.
Clara watched from the hallway.
She saw fear on everyone’s faces.
But one person caught her attention.
Victor Moretti.
Lorenzo’s longtime advisor.
He had been with the Rossi family for over twenty years.
Everyone trusted him.
He was the man who helped Lorenzo build his empire.
He was like family.
But when investigators mentioned Isabella’s hospital records...
Victor reacted differently.
Only for a second.
But Clara noticed.
A small movement.
A quick change in his expression.
Someone else might have missed it.
But Clara had spent years learning how to read danger.
She had lived with someone unpredictable.
Someone whose mood could change in a second.
She knew the signs.
And Victor Moretti was hiding something.
That afternoon, Clara entered the nursery and found Lorenzo already there.
He was holding a small photograph.
A photograph of Isabella.
Clara stopped.
She had never seen him look so vulnerable.
“You miss her.”
It was not a question.
Lorenzo looked at the photo.
“Every second.”
Clara walked closer.
“She must have been special.”
“She was.”
A pause.
“She was the only person who saw me as a man.”
Clara looked at him.
“Not as Lorenzo Rossi?”
A faint smile appeared.
“No.”
He looked at the photograph.
“Before everyone feared me, before everyone wanted something from me... she just saw Lorenzo.”
Clara understood.
Because she knew what it felt like to become invisible.
To be reduced to one thing.
A maid.
A widow.
A woman who lost her child.
Nobody saw Clara anymore.
Not until Leo.
Not until this family.
That night, something happened that changed everything.
Leo woke up crying.
Clara immediately rushed to the nursery.
But before she reached him, Lorenzo was already there.
He was holding his son.
Trying to calm him.
But Leo continued crying.
Lorenzo looked frustrated.
Not angry.
Desperate.
“I don’t know what to do.”
The confession surprised Clara.
This powerful man.
This feared man.
Was admitting he did not know how to help his own child.
She slowly approached.
“May I?”
Lorenzo hesitated.
Then he handed Leo to her.
The baby immediately calmed.
Lorenzo watched.
But this time, he did not feel jealousy.
He felt gratitude.
Because Clara was not replacing him.
She was helping him become the father Leo needed.
“Thank you.”
The words were quiet.
Clara looked up.
It was the first time Lorenzo had thanked her.
Not because she saved his son.
Not because she did her job.
Because he truly meant it.
“You’re welcome.”
Later that night, Clara woke up suddenly.
Something felt wrong.
She walked into the hallway.
The mansion was silent.
Too silent.
Then she saw it.
A door slightly open.
The old storage room.
She knew nobody used that room anymore.
Curious, she walked closer.
Inside, she found old boxes.
Documents.
Photos.
And something that made her freeze.
A photograph of Isabella.
With someone.
Someone she recognized.
Victor Moretti.
But the picture was not normal.
They were not standing at a family event.
They were arguing.
And Isabella looked terrified.
Clara reached for the photograph.
Then she noticed something written on the back.
A handwritten note.
“If anything happens to me, Lorenzo must know the truth.”
Clara’s heart began racing.
Before she could read more...
A voice came from behind her.
“You should not have found that.”
Clara slowly turned.
Victor Moretti stood in the doorway.
His friendly expression was gone.
For the first time, she saw who he really was.
Not an advisor.
Not family.
A threat.
“You have no idea what you’ve stepped into,” Victor said quietly.
Clara held the photograph tightly.
“You killed Isabella.”
Victor smiled.
Not with guilt.
With confidence.
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“But I know who did.”
The lights suddenly went out.
Clara heard the sound of the door locking.
And in the darkness, she realized something terrifying.
She had spent her whole life trying to survive dangerous people.
But she had never faced someone who was willing to destroy an entire family to protect a secret.
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And now...
She was standing alone with that secret.
