Chapter 2 - The Interrogation
Before Norah could open her mouth to speak, two heavy-set men in dark suits stepped silently through the nursery door.
Marco, Vincent’s chief of security, didn't need orders. He grabbed Norah by the arms. The professional nanny, whose elite child-development degree was framed on the wall, began to scream as she was dragged out of the nursery and down the service stairs toward the estate’s soundproof basement.
Mrs. Hargrove stood frozen, her black-gloved hands trembling slightly, though her face remained a rigid mask of aristocratic discipline.
"Mr. Moretti," Mrs. Hargrove said, her voice strained. "I have managed this estate for seventeen years. I assure you, I had no knowledge of Miss Wickham’s monstrous actions."
"We will discuss your seventeen years down below, Hargrove," Vincent said coldly, waving his hand toward Marco’s second operative. The second guard escorted the elderly housekeeper out without a word.
CassandraVale’s hands tightened around her designer handbag. "Vincent, this is appalling! A poisoner in the house? I told you hiring external staff through agencies was a mistake! You need to clear out all these peasants immediately—starting with this maid and her brat!"
I managed to stand up, using the edge of the changing table for support. My knees were shaking, but I pulled Lily tightly against my hip, tucking her small head into the crook of my neck.
"We are leaving, Mr. Moretti," I said, my voice steady despite the agony throbbing in my skull. "I came here to clean your house, not to put my daughter in the middle of a war."
I turned toward the door, but Vincent’s large, warm hand clamped gently yet firmly around my forearm, stopping me in my tracks.
"You aren't going anywhere, Clara," Vincent said softly.
I looked up, meeting his piercing hazel gaze. "Sir, with all due respect, my daughter almost watched someone get murdered today. I won't let her stay in a house where people throw heavy trays at mothers and poison infants."
"You are safe here," Vincent asserted, his grip on my arm unyielding. "Outside those gates, whoever orchestrated this will realize your daughter saw Norah’s face and heard her instructions. Outside this estate, you and Lily are targets. Inside, you are under my personal protection."
Cassandra gasped, taking a step forward. "Vincent! You cannot be serious! She’s a domestic worker! You’re going to harbor a housemaid in the main residence?"
Vincent turned his gaze onto his fiancée. The look he gave her was so cold, so dissecting, that Cassandra actually took a step back.
"This domestic worker’s child just saved my son’s life, Cassandra," Vincent said, his voice dripping with dangerous authority. "While my expensive nanny was poisoning Enzo, and while my housekeeper was lying about a faint, Clara’s daughter had the sense to protect my heir."
Vincent looked at me, his thumb brushing lightly against the fabric of my sleeve.
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"Take my private quarters on the third floor, Clara," Vincent ordered gently. "The doctor is already on his way to look at your head. From this moment on, you and Lily do not answer to anyone in this house except me."
Cassandra’s face twisted in pure, unadulterated venom as she stared at me. She knew—just as I did—that the balance of power in the Moretti empire had just shifted permanently.
