Chapter 4 - The Breaking Point
Ten minutes later, the heavy oak doors of the study flew open, and Mrs. Gable was practically shoved inside by Marcus. Her face was pale, her perfectly coiffed hair slightly disheveled as she stumbled onto the Persian rug.
"Mr. Moretti!" she stammered, forcing a shaky, desperate smile onto her lips. "Is—is something wrong? Has a pipe frozen? I can have the maintenance crew down here immediately—"
Lorenzo didn't move. He stood behind his mahogany desk, his arms crossed over his chest, staring at her with eyes that looked like frozen winter lakes.
"Mrs. Gable," Lorenzo began, his voice dangerously soft. "How long have you worked for my family?"
"Fifteen... fifteen years, sir," she babbled, wringing her manicured hands together. "Ever since your dear mother passed. I have dedicated my entire life to keeping this estate running with absolute perfection—"
"Perfection," Lorenzo echoed, cutting her off like the slash of a razor.
He walked around the desk, closing the distance between them with slow, deliberate strides. Mrs. Gable shrunk back, suddenly realizing that the cold syndicate boss standing before her was nothing like the distant, absentee owner she had manipulated for years.
"You told me my father was being treated like a king," Lorenzo said, stopping inches away from her. "You told me he wanted for nothing. That his room was warm, his meals were fresh, and his care was flawless."
Mrs. Gable swallowed hard, her throat suddenly bone-dry. "It... it is! I swear to you, Mr. Moretti, the staff—"
"The staff wouldn't know compassion if it bit them on the neck," Lorenzo roared, his sudden outburst causing the housekeeper to flinch violently. "Especially not you! You embezzled from the maintenance budget, you terrorized the staff, and you left my father—the man who built this entire empire—to freeze in the dark while you played queen of a rotting castle!"
"That's a lie!" Mrs. Gable shrieked, panic finally piercing through her polished facade. "That wretched pregnant maid, Nora! She's lying to you! She's lazy, she steals food from the kitchens, she's unfit to—"
"Shut your mouth," Lorenzo snarled, his hand gripping her shoulder with bone-crushing force.
Mrs. Gable let out a sharp gasp of pain as his fingers dug into her flesh.
"Nora is the *only* person in this entire mansion who showed my father a shred of human decency while you and your cronies treated him like a piece of trash," Lorenzo hissed, his face inches from hers. "You forced a pregnant woman to do heavy labor, threatened her livelihood, and mocked her behind her back under *my* roof."
He shoved her backward, sending her crashing onto the floor. She scrambled away, clutching her bruised shoulder, sobbing in sheer terror.
"Marcus," Lorenzo called out without looking back.
The door opened instantly. "Boss?"
"Pack her bags. Throw her out into the blizzard with whatever she can carry in her hands. If she takes one step back onto this property, break her legs," Lorenzo commanded coldly. Then, his voice dropped to a sinister whisper. "And audit every single employee in this house by sunrise. Anyone who participated in my father's neglect is getting fired, blacklisted, and escorted off these grounds before the snow melts."
"Consider it done," Marcus said, grabbing Mrs. Gable by the collar of her dress and dragging her screaming out of the study.
May you like
Lorenzo stood alone in the quiet room for a long moment, his chest heaving with suppressed rage. Then, without another word, he turned, walked out of the study, and headed straight for the east wing.
***
