Chapter 3 – THE PRICE OF A SECRET
I didn’t wait for Matteo. I ran.
I flew down the grand staircase, my apron strings coming undone, the marble floors slippery beneath my shoes.
When I burst through the front double doors, the freezing Chicago wind hit my face.
“Let go of him!” I screamed.
Vanessa froze, her hand still tightly gripped around the boy’s thin wrist.
Leo was shivering. He wore a jacket that was two sizes too big, and his dark eyes were wide with terror. He didn’t recognize me. He had been four when I last saw him; now he was seven.
Matteo shoved past me, his presence radiating pure, unadulterated danger.
“Vanessa,” Matteo said. His voice was deadly quiet. “Take your hand off my nephew.”
Vanessa’s face twisted into a smug, triumphant smile.
“So the little maid finally told you?” she sneered. “Good. That saves me the trouble.”
She didn’t let go of the boy. Instead, she pulled him closer. Leo whimpered.
“I’ve known where the brat was for three years, Matteo,” Vanessa said, her voice dripping with venom. “My father found him in the system. We placed him in a very… discreet private facility.”
Matteo’s fists clenched. “You kept my brother’s child from me? Why?”
“Leverage,” she said simply. “You’re the most powerful man in this city, darling. My family needed a guarantee that this marriage would happen. If you ever tried to back out, I was going to use the boy to ensure my family’s safety.”
She looked down at Leo with disgust. “But then your nosy little maid showed up. I recognized her from the foster home records. I knew she was looking for him.”
I felt sick to my stomach. “You knew who I was this whole time?”
“Of course I did, you stupid girl,” Vanessa laughed. “I let you work here. It was entertaining watching you scrub floors, completely unaware that I had the one thing you wanted.”
Matteo took a slow step forward. “Give him to me, Vanessa. Now.”
“Ah, ah,” she warned, pulling a folded document from her coat pocket. “My father has legal guardianship of Leo. Signed by a judge. If you want him, you’re going to honor our engagement. You will marry me, Matteo. Or I’ll put this boy in a facility so far away you’ll never see him again.”
She shoved the paper against Matteo’s chest.
Matteo didn’t look at the document. He looked at Leo.
The boy was staring at Matteo’s hands. He was trembling violently.
“I’m sorry,” Leo whispered, his voice cracking. “I didn’t mean to be bad.”
My heart shattered. I took a step forward, kneeling on the freezing pavement.
“Leo?” I said softly.
He looked at me.
“Do you remember the song about the yellow bird?” I asked.
His eyes widened. A flicker of recognition crossed his face. “Emmy?”
“Yeah, buddy. It’s Emmy.”
Leo jerked his arm, trying to break free from Vanessa’s grip. “Emmy!”
Vanessa snarled and yanked him back so hard the boy stumbled. “Shut up, you little—”
She never finished her sentence.
A low, guttural growl echoed from the doorway.
Bruno.
The old golden retriever wasn’t moving slowly anymore. His hackles were raised, his teeth bared.
And before Vanessa could react, the dog lunged.
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