Chapter 6 - A Mother’s Legacy
The next two days passed in a strange, quiet lull.
Julian Bolaro had gone into hiding, hunted by both Nico’s men and the city police after the syndicate leaked evidence of his illegal chemical trafficking to the federal authorities. The mansion was undergoing repairs, with workers replacing glass and restoring the damaged walls.
With Evelyn gone, Hannah was officially placed in charge of the domestic management of the estate. The other maids and kitchen staff, who had once looked down on Hannah as just a temporary laundry worker, now treated her with profound respect and deference.
On the third afternoon, while Sophia was taking her nap, Hannah was organizing the master linen closet in the east wing—a room filled with rare silk sheets, vintage tapestries, and heirlooms belonging to the late Clara Bolaro, Sophia’s mother, who had died of illness two years prior.
As Hannah sorted through a trunk of Clara’s personal belongings, she found a leather-bound journal tucked beneath a stack of handmade lace shawls.
Curious, Hannah opened the journal. The handwriting was delicate and elegant. As she flipped through the pages, a folded letter fell out, addressed to Whoever cares for my little girl.
Hannah’s heart raced as she unfolded the paper.
"If you are reading this, it means I am no longer there to hold Sophia's hand. I know the world Nico lives in is filled with danger and shadows. I know there are people within our own family who view my innocent daughter as a pawn or a threat to their ambition.
"I have hidden a secondary account at the St. Jude Trust in downtown city center. It contains the evidence of the corrupt loyalties within the Bolaro family—names of capos who secretly allied with Julian years ago. I kept this to protect my husband, but I was too weak to give it to him before the end.
"Please, whoever you are, if you love my daughter, protect her from the snakes inside her own house."
May you like
Hannah gasped softly, clutching the letter to her chest. The threat wasn't over. Julian wasn't acting alone—he had allies inside the Bolaro inner circle who were still walking freely through the mansion grounds.
Before Hannah could react, the door to the linen closet clicked shut, and the lock turned from the outside.
