Chapter 3 - The Pitcher of Water
"I only brought tea," Sophia pleaded, her voice muffled as if she was looking at the floor. "I didn't mean to listen."
"You stood outside my door," Valentina hissed. The sharp click, click of her designer heels paced across the hardwood floor. "You are staff. You clean rooms. You wash glasses. You do not carry secrets out of them."
"But if what I heard means Mr. Moretti is in danger—" Sophia started to say.
A sharp, violent slapping sound interrupted her.
Lorenzo’s fingers curled into tight fists.
Sophia gasped in pain. Then came the distinct sound of cold liquid pouring.
Lorenzo leaned just enough to look through the narrow opening. Sophia was kneeling on the expensive rug. Ice water streamed through her dark hair, completely soaking the shoulders of her gray maid's uniform.
Valentina stood above her, holding a heavy crystal water pitcher. Her ivory dress looked immaculate. Her face looked incredibly calm. Almost bored.
"If you speak a single word to Lorenzo," Valentina said, lowering the pitcher, "your daughter becomes a problem I will permanently solve. Do you understand me?"
That was enough.
Lorenzo placed one large, scarred hand flat against the heavy wooden door. He pushed.
The door swung wide open, hitting the wall with a loud thud.
Valentina spun around, the crystal pitcher freezing in mid-air. Sophia looked over her shoulder, water dripping from her hair, a bright red handprint already blooming across her pale cheek.
For several agonizing seconds, no one spoke.
Lorenzo stood in the doorway, dressed entirely in a black suit. His expression was completely unreadable. In the mafia world, when Lorenzo yelled, people got hurt. But when Lorenzo was completely silent, people disappeared.
That silence frightened Valentina far more than shouting ever could.
"Lorenzo," Valentina breathed, her eyes widening in pure panic.
Lorenzo looked at the shivering maid. Then the crystal pitcher. Then back to his beautiful fiancée.
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"Finish what you were saying, Valentina," Lorenzo commanded smoothly.
👉 How will Valentina try to manipulate the mafia boss to save herself?
