Chapter 5 - The Master Suite Trap
"Move into the master suite guard quarters?" I echoed, my voice spiking in disbelief as I stared at Adrian Moretti. "Are you out of your mind? I am your housekeeper, not your bodyguard, and moving closer to your bedroom is the absolute last thing I need!"
"It's not a request, Elena," Adrian replied, his voice flat, unyielding, and carrying the absolute authority of a man who was used to the entire city bowing to his whim. He reached out and tapped the stainless-steel table with his knuckles. "Someone slipped a synthetic paralytic into my scotch tonight. That means my security detail has a leak—or worse, a traitor. The safest place in this entire estate right now is the secure annex attached to my private suite, protected by reinforced steel doors and a biometric lock that only I and Titan can bypass."
"And what about us?" I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest. "You expect me and my five-year-old daughter to live inside a fortress bunker with a mafia kingpin while someone is trying to poison you? That's not protection, Mr. Moretti, that's being used as human shields!"
Adrian’s dark eyes flashed with a dangerous spark, but instead of getting angry, a slow, grim smile touched the corner of his lips. "If I wanted human shields, Elena, I'd use Dante and his armed thugs. I'm offering you safety because the person who poisoned me knows where the staff quarters are. Your little room on the third floor is vulnerable. The master wing is a vault."
Before I could fire another retort, Sophia tugged on the hem of my blouse.
"Mommy," she whispered, her big eyes wide and innocent. "Does this mean we get to bring Titan?"
Adrian let out a short, bark-like laugh that sounded genuinely amused. "Yes, sweetheart. Titan comes wherever I go. In fact, I think Titan would prefer it if you moved in."
The giant Cane Corso gave a soft woof of agreement, resting his heavy chin back on Sophia's sneakers.
I let out a long, shuddering breath, rubbing my temples as a headache bloomed behind my eyes. I was trapped. Adrian was right—if an assassin had managed to poison him in his locked study, my third-floor room was a sitting duck. But living in the inner sanctum of the most dangerous man in Boston meant walking right into the lions' den.
"Fine," I said through gritted teeth. "We'll move our things. But under one condition: I do my job, and you keep your enemies out of our way."
"Deal," Adrian said smoothly, though the intense look in his eyes made it clear that "deals" with Adrian Moretti rarely went the way people expected. He turned toward the sliding glass door and raised his voice. "Dante! Get back in here."
The door slid open instantly, revealing Dante Russo looking like a coiled spring ready to snap. His eyes darted from Adrian—who was standing tall and commanding once again, completely defying Dr. Reynolds' medical warnings—to me and Sophia.
"Boss. You're standing," Dante noted, a muscle ticking in his jaw.
"I'm alive, Dante, which seems to disappoint a few people in this zip code," Adrian said coldly. "Listen closely. Mrs. Castillo and her daughter are relocating to the master suite annex tonight. Have their things moved from the third floor immediately."
Dante froze. For a second, I thought his brain was going to short-circuit.
"The... the master suite annex?" Dante stammered, his eyes bulging as he stared at Adrian, then at me, as if we had suddenly grown second heads. "Boss, with all due respect, the annex is reserved for high-level security meetings and immediate family. You're bringing a cleaning lady and a child into the inner sanctum?"
"She saved my life tonight, Dante. What did you do? Stand in the hallway holding your gun like a paperweight?" Adrian’s voice sliced through the room with freezing precision.
Dante turned pale, his cheeks flushing with humiliation and anger. He shot me a venomous look that practically screamed you’ll pay for this, but he kept his mouth shut. In the Moretti syndicate, questioning Adrian directly twice in one night was a one-way ticket to a permanent dirt nap.
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"Consider it done, Boss," Dante muttered, bowing his head slightly.
"Good. And Dante?" Adrian added as the head of security turned to leave. "Run a full, background scrub on everyone who handled my evening decanter today. I want bank statements, phone records, and visitor logs by sunrise. If I find out the leak is coming from inside my own security detail, I won't just fire them. I'll bury them."
