Chapter 10 - The Woman In The Nursery
Alessandro reached the nursery first.
The room was dark except for the city lights beyond the windows.
Mia was crying.
Elena rushed behind him.
The baby's crib was empty.
For one terrible second, Elena couldn't breathe.
Then Alessandro heard a quiet sound.
A woman whispering.
He moved toward the window.
A stranger stood there holding Mia.
The woman wasn't trying to escape.
She was waiting.
“Put her down,” Alessandro said.
The woman looked at him.
“You finally noticed.”
Elena stepped forward.
“Who are you?”
The woman slowly turned.
Her name was Sofia Bell.
She had once worked for Luca.
She explained that Luca had discovered a trafficking network that used wealthy families' household employees to identify vulnerable children.
The network wasn't interested in ransom.
They wanted access.
Children were used as leverage against powerful parents.
Mia had been selected because Alessandro's enemies knew he would protect her.
Elena stared at the woman.
“Why didn't Luca come himself?”
“He was trying to dismantle the network from the outside.”
Alessandro didn't lower his guard.
“Then why involve Marco?”
“Because Marco was the only person you trusted enough to believe.”
Marco looked away.
Sofia continued.
“Daniel discovered the access device. Luca discovered who installed it. But before they could expose the network, someone inside your household began feeding information to them.”
Alessandro asked the only question that mattered.
“Who?”
Sofia looked toward the door.
“Someone who knows every room in this penthouse.”
The answer came before she could finish.
A quiet click sounded behind them.
The nursery door locked.
From outside.
Alessandro turned.
Someone had trapped them inside.
Then the lights returned.
And on the nursery wall, written in black marker, were four words:
May you like
YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED, ELENA.
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