Chapter 1 - The Cold Screen
Deep beneath the sprawling, heavily fortified Rossi mansion, the underground surveillance room was completely silent. The only source of light came from a massive wall of glowing security monitors, casting a cold, blue hue over Vincent Rossi’s sharp, handsome face. He stood with his arms crossed over his fitted dark brown three-piece suit, his piercing gray-blue eyes locked intensely onto a single screen.
Standing right behind him, completely motionless in the shadows, was Dominic. The fiercely loyal head of security kept his hand resting near his holstered weapon, his eyes scanning the perimeter feeds. But Vincent only cared about one room.
On the center monitor, the feed showed the luxurious, sunlit bedroom of his eight-year-old son, Matteo.
It had been over a year since the devastating car explosion that ripped their family apart. The blast had instantly killed Vincent’s beautiful wife and left little Matteo paralyzed from the waist down. Since that horrific day, the traumatized boy hadn’t spoken a single word. He was a ghost trapped in a custom wheelchair, entirely withdrawn from the world.
Vincent had hired and fired a dozen top-tier nurses. They all looked at Matteo with pitiful, teary eyes. They treated him like a broken piece of glass. Vincent hated it. Matteo hated it more.
But today was different. Today was the first day for Clara Hayes.
On the screen, the young woman with long dark-brown wavy hair walked into Matteo’s bedroom. She wore a simple sage-green blouse and practical shoes. She didn't carry a clipboard. She didn't have that sickeningly sweet, fake smile the others had. She closed the heavy mahogany door behind her with a quiet click.
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Vincent leaned closer to the monitor, his jaw tightening. He was intensely protective, emotionally guarded, and entirely ready to fire her if she showed his son a single ounce of pity.
👉 Vincent was waiting for the new caretaker to make a mistake, but what she did next completely shattered his expectations.
