Chapter 5 - The Secret Alliance
The next morning, Nathaniel engineered an excuse to send Vivien out of the house. He arranged for a full-day spa package at an exclusive resort in Rhode Island, presenting it as a "thank you" for her support during this stressful week. Vivien, delighted by the luxury and unsuspecting of his motives, left early.
The moment her car cleared the iron gates, Nathaniel went down to the kitchen.
"Rosa," he said without preamble. "Come to my study. Bring Lily."
Rosa’s hands trembled, but she did as she was told. She carried Lily into the grand mahogany study, a room usually reserved for multi-million dollar contracts and intense family meetings. Nathaniel closed the heavy doors and locked them. He sat down on the leather sofa, indicating for Rosa to sit across from him.
"You have something to tell me," Nathaniel said, looking directly into her eyes. "And I know you're terrified. I know Vivien threatened you. I saw the way she looked at you before she left yesterday."
Rosa swallowed hard, her eyes filling with tears. She gripped Lily’s hand tightly. "Mr. Whitmore... I want to tell you, but I am so scared for my daughter. Miss Cole... she told me that if I spoke, bad things would happen to Lily. She said I would lose her."
Nathaniel’s expression turned utterly lethal. The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. "She threatened my staff’s child in my own house?" He leaned forward, his voice fierce with protective authority. "Rosa, look at me. I swear to you on my father’s memory, nothing will happen to you or Lily. I have the best security team in the country. From this moment on, you are under my protection. I will move you to a private luxury apartment in Manhattan with twenty-four-hour guards if you need it. But I need you to break your silence. What did you see?"
Rosa shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. "It wasn't me, sir. I was in the laundry room. I heard the scream. But... Lily wasn't in our room."
Nathaniel looked down at the little girl in the yellow socks, who was currently staring at a shiny silver paperweight on his desk. "Lily?"
"Lily saw everything," Rosa whispered, her voice breaking. "She was on the landing."
Nathaniel knelt down in front of the small child, softening his sharp features as much as possible. "Lily, hi. Can you look at me for a second?"
Lily turned her big brown eyes toward him. She liked Nathaniel; he always smelled like expensive soap and sometimes brought her chocolates from his trips.
"Lily, do you remember the day the grandma fell down the stairs?" Nathaniel asked gently.
Lily nodded slowly. "The pretty lady with the shiny ring pushed her." She made the same violent shoving gesture she had shown her mother. "She went shove. Grandma went boom, boom, boom."
Nathaniel closed his eyes for a brief second, a wave of profound fury and grief washing over him. It was one thing to suspect it; it was another to hear a child describe the attempted murder of his mother with such innocent clarity.
"Did the pretty lady see you, Lily?" Nathaniel asked, his voice shaking slightly.
"No," Lily said, shaking her head. "I hid behind the big plant. But yesterday, she took my ball. She was mean. She yelled at me."
Rosa sobbed silently, covering her face.
Nathaniel stood up, placing a comforting hand on Rosa’s shoulder. "That’s enough. You did the right thing, Rosa. You and Lily are safe now. I’m going to have my security team transfer you both to a secure hotel in the city immediately. Vivien won't be back until tonight. By the time she returns, you will be gone, and she will think you simply panicked and quit."
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"But Mr. Whitmore, what will you do?" Rosa asked, wiping her eyes. "She is dangerous."
"She thinks she’s a predator," Nathaniel said, a cold, dangerous smile appearing on his face. "But she’s about to find out what happens when you try to destroy a Whitmore. I’m going to let her think she’s winning. Right up until the moment I take everything away from her."
