Chapter 3 - THE PERSON WATCHING FROM INSIDE
Alessio stared at the photograph on Dominic’s phone.
Nobody spoke.
The picture showed Leo sleeping peacefully in his crib.
The same crib where he almost died.
The same room that was supposed to be the safest place in the entire Romano estate.
But the worst part wasn’t the photo.
It was the timestamp.
Two minutes after we locked the nursery.
Two minutes after nobody was supposed to enter.
Alessio slowly lifted his eyes.
“Who took this?”
Dominic swallowed.
“We’re checking.”
“No.”
Alessio’s voice became dangerously quiet.
“I didn’t ask what you’re checking.”
He stepped closer.
“I asked who.”
Nobody answered.
And that was the first time I saw something I never expected.
Fear.
Not from me.
From the people around him.
Because everyone inside that mansion knew one thing.
Alessio Romano was not a man who accepted betrayal.
Especially not when it involved his child.
I carefully placed Leo back into his mother’s old rocking chair while the doctor monitored his breathing.
Alessio watched every move I made.
“You knew something was wrong before anyone else.”
I looked at him.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Because Leo wasn’t choking randomly.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Explain.”
I picked up the evidence bag containing the blue bead.
“Look at the damage.”
He took it.
The tiny bead had a deep mark across the surface.
“A crack.”
“Not a crack.”
I pointed.
“A cut.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“Someone broke it?”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“Someone opened it.”
The room went silent.
The bead wasn’t from Leo’s pacifier clip.
It was from something else.
Something someone wanted hidden.
Alessio looked toward the nursery camera.
“Find the original footage.”
Dominic hesitated.
“I told you. It was deleted.”
Alessio’s expression darkened.
“Deleted doesn’t mean gone.”
That was when I understood something.
Alessio Romano didn’t survive because he trusted people.
He survived because he assumed everyone was lying.
Including the people closest to him.
Minutes later, security searched the entire nursery.
They found nothing.
No fingerprints.
No tools.
No broken toys.
Nothing.
Almost too clean.
Then I noticed something.
The blanket.
I walked toward the crib.
“Wait.”
Everyone stopped.
Alessio immediately moved.
“What?”
I pointed at the baby blanket.
“It was folded differently.”
Dominic frowned.
“You can tell?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
I looked at him.
“Because I folded it.”
Nobody spoke.
The smallest detail had exposed someone.
Someone who thought nobody would notice.
Alessio looked at the security team.
“Check every employee.”
Then he looked at me.
“And find out everything about the nanny.”
My heart sank.
“You still don’t trust me.”
His answer was immediate.
“No.”
That hurt more than I expected.
Then he added:
“But I trust that someone tried to kill my son.”
Before I could respond, an alarm suddenly exploded through the mansion.
A security officer’s voice came over the intercom.
“Boss…”
A pause.
“We found something in the basement.”
Alessio grabbed his jacket.
“What?”
The officer’s voice shook.
“A hidden room.”
Everyone froze.
“And inside…”
May you like
Another pause.
“We found pictures of Leo.”
