Chapter 3 - The Secret Behind Lily's Mother
The message stayed on my phone screen for almost five minutes.
"Ask him about Lily's mother."
Four words.
That was all.
But somehow, those four words felt heavier than anything I had carried in the last five months.
I stared at the unknown number.
My first instinct was to delete it.
My second instinct was to show Dominic.
But I did neither.
Because the moment I saw that photograph, I understood one thing.
Someone had been watching me.
Someone knew about the baby.
Someone knew about the clinic.
And now someone wanted me to question Dominic.
I placed the phone face down on the table.
My hands moved toward my stomach without thinking.
The baby was quiet.
Peaceful.
Completely unaware that the world around us was becoming more dangerous.
I barely slept that night.
Every sound outside my bedroom made me sit up.
Every shadow under the door made my heart race.
By morning, I had convinced myself of one thing.
I needed answers.
But I needed them carefully.
Because inside Dominic Russo's world, questions were not harmless.
They were weapons.
And I had no idea who was holding one.
When I entered the kitchen, Dominic was already there.
That surprised me.
He usually left before sunrise.
But that morning, he sat at the marble table with a cup of untouched coffee in front of him.
He looked like he had not slept either.
His eyes immediately found mine.
"You received something last night."
I stopped.
The words froze me.
"What?"
Dominic looked toward the chair across from him.
"Sit down."
I didn't move.
"How do you know?"
His expression changed slightly.
Not anger.
Concern.
"Because one of my cameras caught someone near your room."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
"I checked the footage this morning."
I looked toward the hallway.
"Someone came inside?"
"No."
He stood.
"Someone tried."
The way he said it made my skin crawl.
"Who?"
"I don't know yet."
That answer surprised me.
Dominic Russo always seemed to know everything.
But this time, he didn't.
And that scared me.
He walked toward the counter and placed a small black device on the table.
"A security scanner."
I looked at it.
"What is that?"
"I want to make sure nobody planted anything in your room."
My eyes narrowed.
"You think someone is spying on me?"
"I think someone knows something they shouldn't."
The room became quiet.
Because we both knew what that meant.
The baby.
Dominic looked at me.
"Did you receive a message?"
My heart skipped.
For a second, I wondered if I should lie.
Then I remembered the photograph.
The clinic.
The warning.
I slowly reached for my phone.
I unlocked it.
And I placed it on the table.
Dominic picked it up.
I watched his expression carefully.
At first, nothing changed.
Then he saw the message.
Something cold appeared in his eyes.
Not anger.
Recognition.
That scared me more.
"You know something."
The words came out quietly.
Dominic didn't answer.
"Dominic."
He placed the phone down.
"Who sent this?"
"I don't know."
"You didn't answer my question."
His jaw tightened.
I stepped closer.
"You know something about Lily's mother."
The silence was immediate.
Heavy.
Lily's mother.
A subject nobody ever discussed.
Not once.
I had worked in that house for months.
I had seen photographs of Lily.
I had heard stories about Dominic's childhood.
But never her.
Not her name.
Not her face.
Nothing.
Dominic looked away.
"Norah."
"No."
My voice surprised even me.
"I deserve an answer."
His eyes returned to mine.
"You are right."
The admission shocked me.
"I do."
He took a slow breath.
"Lily's mother is not part of this."
"But someone thinks she is."
"Someone is trying to manipulate you."
"Then tell me why."
Dominic stayed silent.
That was the answer.
There was something.
Something he wasn't telling me.
"You knew this would happen."
"No."
"You knew someone might come after me."
His silence continued.
And suddenly, I understood.
"Dominic."
I whispered.
"What aren't you telling me?"
Before he could answer, Lily appeared at the kitchen entrance.
"Dad?"
The tension disappeared instantly.
Not because it was gone.
Because Dominic hid it.
He turned toward his daughter.
"Hey, Bug."
She walked inside holding her favorite stuffed rabbit.
Her eyes moved between us.
"Why are you both sad?"
I forced a smile.
"We're not."
Lily looked at my stomach.
Then smiled.
"Can I say hi?"
I froze.
Dominic did too.
She had never said anything about my pregnancy.
Because she didn't know.
Or maybe she did.
Children noticed more than adults realized.
I looked at Dominic.
He gave a small nod.
I sat down.
Lily carefully placed her tiny hand on my stomach.
"Hello, baby."
My eyes burned.
The moment was so innocent.
So normal.
For a few seconds, I forgot about the photograph.
The message.
The secrets.
Then Dominic spoke.
"Lily."
She looked at him.
"Go with Maria for a little while."
"Why?"
"Because I need to talk to Norah."
Her face changed.
She looked worried.
"Are you mad?"
Dominic immediately softened.
"No."
He knelt.
"I am not mad."
She studied him.
Then she nodded and left.
When she disappeared down the hallway, Dominic stood again.
"You cannot leave this house alone."
My expression hardened.
"Excuse me?"
"Until I know who sent that message, you stay here."
"That sounds like a command."
"It is protection."
"It sounds like control."
His eyes darkened.
"Maybe because you don't understand what kind of danger you are in."
I crossed my arms.
"And maybe you don't understand that I am not one of your employees."
That stopped him.
For a moment, I saw something different.
Not the powerful man.
The father.
The man who was scared.
"I know."
His voice was quieter.
"I know you're not."
The honesty disarmed me.
Then he continued.
"But you are carrying my child."
The words hung between us.
My child.
His child.
For the first time, Dominic said it out loud.
Not the baby.
Not the pregnancy.
My child.
Something changed.
But before I could respond, his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His expression immediately changed.
"Who is it?"
He ignored me.
"Where?"
A pause.
Then:
"Don't touch anything. I'm coming."
He ended the call.
"What happened?"
Dominic grabbed his jacket.
"The person who sent the message made a mistake."
"What mistake?"
He looked at me.
"They left evidence."
"Where?"
His eyes moved toward the hallway.
Toward Lily's room.
My heart dropped.
"What?"
Dominic's face became unreadable.
"The photograph they sent you..."
He paused.
"It wasn't taken at the clinic."
I felt cold.
"What do you mean?"
He walked closer.
His voice lowered.
"It was taken inside this house."
I couldn't move.
The clinic photograph.
The one showing me leaving.
The one I thought proved someone had followed me.
It wasn't from outside.
Someone had been here.
Inside the mansion.
Watching me.
Dominic turned toward the hallway.
I followed his gaze.
A strange feeling moved through me.
Because suddenly, the unknown person wasn't far away.
They were close.
Very close.
Dominic reached the security panel near the stairs.
He typed a code.
The hidden cameras appeared on the screen.
One by one.
Kitchen.
Hallway.
Living room.
Then Lily's bedroom.
The screen froze.
Dominic stopped breathing.
I saw his expression change.
"Dominic?"
He didn't answer.
He stepped closer to the monitor.
The camera footage showed Lily's room from the night before.
But there was something else.
Someone standing near the window.
Someone who had been inside her room.
Dominic reached for the controls.
Then the camera feed switched.
A new image appeared.
A woman.
Standing in the dark.
Looking directly into the camera.
May you like
And Dominic whispered one name:
"Elena..."
