Chapter 3 - THE HOUSEKEEPER’S WARNING
At 7:00 AM the following morning, the morning sun broke over the pine trees surrounding the Moretti estate.
Inside the basement laundry suite, Sarah Williams—Mia’s mother and a contract housekeeper—was ironing pristine white linen tablecloths. Sarah was a quiet, hardworking woman in her mid-twenties who had taken the residential cleaning job six months ago after her husband passed away.
The heavy door to the laundry facility opened, and Mrs. Gable, the formidable head housekeeper who had served the Moretti family for thirty years, stepped inside.
Mrs. Gable’s face was stone cold. She didn't hold her clipboard; her hands were folded neatly in front of her crisp black apron.
"Sarah," Mrs. Gable spoke, her tone flat, low, and laced with quiet urgency. "Leave the iron. Step into my office."
Sarah’s heart skipped a beat. She set the iron on its stand immediately, wiping her hands on her apron. "Did... did I miss something in the West Wing, Mrs. Gable?"
"Close the door behind you," Mrs. Gable commanded, stepping into her wood-paneled office at the end of the hall.
Once the door clicked shut, Mrs. Gable turned around, her sharp gray eyes fixing onto Sarah’s anxious face.
"Your daughter went upstairs yesterday afternoon," Mrs. Gable said directly.
Sarah’s breath hitched in her throat, her face draining of color. "What? No... Mia knows she isn't allowed past the second-floor library gates—"
"A guard left the third-floor security access door unlocked while changing shifts at 5:00 P.M.," Mrs. Gable interrupted quietly. "Nurse Vance caught Mia inside Don Lorenzo’s room."
Sarah dropped to her knees right there on the rug, tears welling up in her eyes instantly, her hands trembling uncontrollably. "Mrs. Gable, please! I beg you! Don't fire us! She’s only three, she didn't mean any harm, she doesn't understand—"
"Get up, Sarah," Mrs. Gable hissed gently, stepping forward and gripping Sarah’s arm to pull her to her feet. "I am not firing you. If it were up to me, I would pack your bags and send you to Chicago on the next train."
Sarah blinked through her tears, confused. "Then why... why are you telling me this?"
Mrs. Gable looked around the small office as if the walls themselves had ears. She leaned in close, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper.
"Because Nurse Vance didn't report Mia to the security guards," Mrs. Gable revealed. "She went straight to Victor Moretti—Lorenzo’s younger brother."
Sarah’s stomach churned. Victor Moretti was the ruthless, volatile underboss who had taken temporary control of the family business during Lorenzo’s coma.
"Why would she tell Victor?" Sarah whispered.
"Because Victor doesn't want Lorenzo to wake up," Mrs. Gable whispered back, her grip on Sarah’s arm tightening. "For forty-nine days, Victor has been liquidating family assets and setting up private accounts in Panama. Yesterday, when Nurse Vance told him that Lorenzo’s heart rate doubled when your daughter sang to him... Victor didn't celebrate. He turned pale with rage."
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Mrs. Gable walked to her desk, pulled a keycard and a thick manila envelope from her drawer, and pressed them into Sarah’s trembling hands.
"There is ten thousand dollars in cash inside," Mrs. Gable said sternly. "Take Mia, go to the staff gate at midnight, and use this keycard to open the side alley exit. If Victor’s men find out that your daughter is the key to waking Lorenzo... neither of you will survive the week."
