Chapter 7 - THE NANNY BECAME THE SUSPECT
The entire Romano mansion went silent.
Not peaceful.
Silent like the moment before a storm destroys everything.
Every guard searched the halls.
Every door was locked.
Every camera was checked.
But Leo was still missing.
And somehow, every piece of evidence pointed back to me.
The note.
The phone call.
The hidden room.
The deleted footage.
The mysterious message.
All of it.
Alessio stood in the center of the nursery, staring at me.
The same man who had watched me save his son hours earlier was now looking at me like I was a stranger.
“Tell me the truth.”
His voice was calm.
That was worse than anger.
“What truth?”
He stepped closer.
“Why does someone keep mentioning you?”
I looked around the room.
“Because they want you to blame me.”
“That’s convenient.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
I tightened my jaw.
“You think I almost killed Leo?”
“No.”
He paused.
“I think someone wants me to think you did.”
For a second, I saw the difference.
He didn’t trust me.
But he didn’t want to believe I was guilty.
That was something.
Then Dominic entered.
“Boss.”
Alessio turned.
“We found something.”
Dominic held a small envelope.
“It was hidden inside the nanny’s room.”
My stomach dropped.
“My room?”
Nobody answered.
Alessio took the envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
A photograph of me holding Leo.
But it wasn’t from the nursery.
It was taken before I started working there.
Before I ever met the Romano family.
My face went cold.
“How…”
Alessio looked at me.
“You recognize this?”
“No.”
I stared at the picture.
“I’ve never seen it before.”
Dominic placed another item on the table.
A plane ticket.
A fake passport.
And a file.
With my name on it.
The room became heavy.
Someone had built an entire story around me.
A story where I was the villain.
Alessio opened the file.
His eyes moved across the pages.
Then stopped.
“What?”
I asked.
He didn’t answer.
Dominic looked uncomfortable.
“Boss…”
“Say it.”
Dominic swallowed.
“The file says the nanny was hired specifically to get close to Leo.”
I looked at Alessio.
“You believe that?”
His silence was the answer.
Pain crossed my chest.
Not because I cared what a mafia boss thought.
Because I cared about Leo.
The little boy I had held while he struggled to breathe.
The little boy I had saved.
Before I could speak, a guard rushed in.
“Boss!”
Everyone turned.
“The baby monitor signal came back.”
Alessio moved instantly.
“Where?”
The guard looked terrified.
“From the old east wing.”
Everyone froze.
The east wing had been abandoned for years.
Nobody lived there.
Nobody went there.
Because Alessio’s wife had died there.
Alessio grabbed his weapon.
I followed.
He looked at me.
“You stay here.”
“No.”
His eyes narrowed.
“That wasn’t a request.”
I stepped closer.
“If someone took Leo, they know this house better than your guards.”
A pause.
“And they know how to make you doubt the only person who can help him.”
Alessio stared at me.
Then he handed me a flashlight.
“Stay behind me.”
It wasn’t trust.
Not yet.
But it was a beginning.
Together, we walked toward the abandoned east wing.
May you like
And waiting inside…
was a secret Alessio had buried for years.
