CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 5
The Enemy Inside the House
The Rossi mansion had always been built to keep enemies out.
That was the purpose of every wall.
Every locked door.
Every camera hidden behind expensive artwork.
Every armed guard standing beneath the marble arches.
Lorenzo Rossi had spent millions creating a fortress.
And yet, the danger had never been outside.
It had been inside.
For two months, Lorenzo had hunted the Moretti family.
He had destroyed businesses.
Broken alliances.
Taken away everything they had built over decades.
He had believed he was delivering justice.
He had believed every act of revenge brought him one step closer to peace.
But now, sitting in his office with Sophia's letter in one hand and evidence of betrayal in the other, he realized something that made his blood run cold.
He might have murdered innocent people.
And the person who destroyed his life might still be sitting at his table.
"Nobody leaves the estate."
Lorenzo's voice echoed through the security room.
Marcus Vale looked up.
The other guards immediately understood.
Something had changed.
The old Lorenzo Rossi would have already started a war.
The old Lorenzo would have ordered executions before asking questions.
But this Lorenzo was different.
More dangerous.
Because now he had something to lose.
"My orders are simple," Lorenzo continued.
"Lock down every entrance."
"Review every security recording from the last six months."
"Check every employee."
Marcus nodded.
"And Hunter?"
The room went silent.
Lorenzo looked through the glass window.
Hunter was upstairs with Leo.
She was laughing softly.
A sound that had become impossible in the Rossi mansion after Sophia's death.
"She stays protected."
One of the guards hesitated.
"Boss, if she is involvedâ"
"She's not."
The answer came instantly.
Too instantly.
Everyone noticed.
Lorenzo noticed too.
And he hated that they noticed.
Because protecting Hunter was no longer just an order.
It was personal.
Hunter felt the change.
She felt it the moment she walked downstairs.
The servants whispered less.
The guards watched more.
The atmosphere was heavier.
Something was happening.
She had lived long enough around dangerous people to recognize when danger was approaching.
She found Lorenzo in the library.
He was standing by the window.
The same position he always took when thinking.
Looking at the ocean.
Like the endless water could give him answers.
"Mr. Rossi."
He turned.
"Hunter."
She crossed her arms.
"What's going on?"
"Nothing."
She stared at him.
It was almost impressive how bad he was at lying.
"You are a terrible liar."
A slight movement crossed his face.
Almost amusement.
Almost.
"Everyone in this house is acting like we're waiting for a bomb."
Lorenzo looked away.
"You should not worry about things you cannot control."
Hunter's expression hardened.
"That's exactly what people say when they don't want you to know the truth."
Silence.
Lorenzo looked at her.
For a moment, he saw the woman who walked into a nursery knowing she could lose everything.
The woman who challenged him.
The woman who saved his son.
"You need to be careful."
Hunter frowned.
"Is that a warning?"
"No."
His voice lowered.
"It's advice."
She studied him.
"Who are you afraid of?"
The question surprised him.
Because the answer was simple.
Everyone.
But especially himself.
That afternoon, Lorenzo did something he had never done before.
He entered the nursery without being called.
Not because Leo was crying.
Not because something was wrong.
Just because he wanted to.
Hunter noticed.
She was sitting beside the crib, folding tiny clothes.
"You came willingly."
Lorenzo looked at her.
"Is that unusual?"
"Very."
A pause.
"You usually stand outside the door like you're guarding a prisoner."
The comment should have annoyed him.
Instead, he almost smiled.
Almost.
"I am learning."
Hunter looked at him.
"Learning what?"
Lorenzo looked down at Leo.
"How to be his father."
The honesty caught her off guard.
For a moment, she saw not Lorenzo Rossi.
Not the mafia boss.
Not the man everyone feared.
Just a father who had missed the first months of his son's life.
"You can still start."
His eyes lifted.
"What?"
"You can still start."
Hunter smiled faintly.
"Babies don't care what happened yesterday."
She touched Leo's hand.
"They only care who is there today."
Lorenzo stayed quiet.
Because those words were too close to Sophia's letter.
Too close to something he was not ready to accept.
The attack happened at midnight.
Quietly.
Almost professionally.
Which was why Marcus knew immediately it was not random.
The power went out for seven seconds.
Only seven.
But seven seconds was enough.
Enough time for someone to bypass the east security corridor.
Enough time for someone to enter the third floor.
Enough time to reach the nursery.
The alarm screamed.
Guards moved.
Lorenzo was already running.
He did not remember grabbing his gun.
He did not remember crossing the hallway.
He only remembered one thing.
Leo.
When he reached the nursery, the door was open.
His heart stopped.
"HUNTER!"
His voice shook the entire floor.
Inside, Hunter was standing beside the crib.
Holding Leo.
And facing a man wearing black.
A knife in his hand.
Lorenzo raised his weapon.
"Drop it."
The man smiled.
Not afraid.
That was the first thing Lorenzo noticed.
The second was the tattoo on his wrist.
A symbol.
One Lorenzo knew.
Moretti.
"You should have stayed dead."
The man looked at Hunter.
"Your little mistake changed everything."
Hunter froze.
"What?"
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed.
"You know her?"
The man laughed.
"She doesn't know anything."
A pause.
"But she was always part of this."
Hunter looked confused.
"What are you talking about?"
Before anyone could move, the man reached into his pocket.
The guards aimed their weapons.
Lorenzo fired.
The bullet hit the man's shoulder.
He collapsed.
But the object in his hand fell to the floor.
A photograph.
Lorenzo picked it up.
And everything inside him went cold.
It was Sophia.
The night she died.
Standing beside the car.
And next to her...
Hunter.
No.
Impossible.
Hunter stared at the picture.
Her face went pale.
"I..."
Her voice disappeared.
"I've never seen that."
Lorenzo looked at her.
And for the first time since she entered his house...
He wondered if he had been wrong.
Not about Hunter being dangerous.
But about her being innocent.
The man survived long enough to speak.
Only one sentence.
Before Marcus took him away.
"Ask the maid what happened the night your wife died."
Then he smiled.
Because he knew exactly what he had done.
He had planted doubt.
And doubt was more powerful than any weapon.
Hours later, Lorenzo stood alone in his office.
The photograph was on the desk.
Hunter's background file beside it.
Sophia's letter beside that.
Three pieces of a puzzle that refused to fit together.
His wife.
The woman who saved his son.
The enemy inside his house.
All connected.
Somehow.
A knock came at the door.
Hunter stood there.
Her face was exhausted.
But she did not look afraid.
"Mr. Rossi."
He looked up.
"What happened that night?"
The question hurt her before she even understood it.
"What?"
"The night Sophia died."
Silence.
Then Hunter whispered:
"I don't know."
Lorenzo stared.
"You were there."
"No."
Her eyes filled with confusion.
"I wasn't."
"Then why is there a picture of you beside my wife's car?"
Hunter looked at the photograph.
And slowly...
her face changed.
Not because she remembered.
Because she recognized something.
"That's impossible."
"What?"
Her hands began shaking.
"That woman..."
She pointed at the picture.
"That isn't me."
Lorenzo froze.
Hunter stepped closer.
Her voice barely existed.
"That's my sister."
The room went silent.
Because Hunter Higgins had never mentioned having a sister.
And neither of them knew...
the dead had just returned to the Rossi family.
Not as a ghost.
May you like
But as a secret.
TO BE CONTINUED...
