Chapter 4 - THE SECRET HIDDEN INSIDE THE ROSSI FAMILY
I had spent my entire life learning one lesson:
Never trust anyone completely.
Not business partners.
Not politicians.
Not even family.
Because the people closest to you are usually the ones who know exactly where to place the knife.
And now, that lesson was threatening to destroy my entire world.
The next morning, I sat in my private security room watching every piece of footage from the night Leo almost died.
The screen showed the nurse entering the nursery.
Checking the hallway.
Looking around.
Then pulling out her phone.
My security chief, Marcus, stood beside me.
“Sir, we traced the payment.”
“Who?”
He hesitated.
That hesitation told me everything.
“Marcus.”
He swallowed.
“The money came through several shell companies.”
“I didn’t ask how.”
I leaned forward.
“Who was behind it?”
He placed a file on the table.
I opened it.
The name inside made my blood turn cold.
Rossi Foundation Holdings.
My own family’s organization.
For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.
“That’s impossible.”
Marcus said nothing.
Because he knew something I didn’t want to admit.
Someone in my family had tried to let my son die.
I closed the file.
“Keep investigating.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And Marcus…”
He stopped.
“If anyone touches Hannah Hayes, I want to know before they take their next breath.”
He looked surprised.
“Sir?”
“She saved my son.”
I stared at the security footage.
“And until I know the truth, she is under my protection.”
When I returned to the nursery, Hannah was sitting beside Leo.
She wasn’t touching him.
She wasn’t doing anything inappropriate.
She was simply watching him sleep.
Like a mother watching over her child.
“You haven’t slept.”
She jumped slightly.
“I’m fine.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
She looked away.
“I’m used to it.”
“Used to what?”
“Taking care of everyone else.”
That answer bothered me.
Because I knew that kind of person.
Someone who gave everything away because they believed their own pain didn’t matter.
“You’re not just a housekeeper.”
She smiled sadly.
“Everyone says that when they need something.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“It means people remember your value when you save them.”
Her words stayed with me.
Because she was right.
Before last night, I had barely noticed her.
A person walking through my home.
Invisible.
But now she had saved the most important thing in my life.
My son.
“Hannah.”
She looked at me.
“Why didn’t you tell me about your daughter before?”
She became still.
“Because I didn’t want pity.”
“I wasn’t offering pity.”
“Then what were you offering?”
I didn’t have an answer.
Because I didn’t know.
For years, I had solved problems with money.
Power.
Fear.
But Hannah didn’t need any of those things.
She needed someone to see her.
Before I could say anything, Leo made a sound.
A tiny cry.
Both of us turned instantly.
The monitor remained stable.
But Leo’s eyes opened.
For the first time…
he was awake.
Hannah smiled.
“He knows you’re here.”
I stepped closer.
Leo looked at me.
Then slowly…
he reached toward Hannah.
Not me.
Her.
My chest tightened.
Because my son, who had rejected everyone…
trusted her.
And then the nursery door opened.
My mother walked in.
Her face changed when she saw Leo reaching for Hannah.
May you like
And for the first time in my life…
I saw fear in Isabella Rossi’s eyes.
