Chapter 1 - The Secret Behind the Baby Monitor
“CALL ME MOMMY, OR YOU'LL REGRET IT!” THE MAFIA BOSS'S FIANCÉE WHISPERED, GRABBING HIS SIX-YEAR-OLD SON'S WRIST IN FRONT OF EIGHTY ENGAGEMENT GUESTS. BUT WHEN THE LITTLE BOY REFUSED, A MAID STEPPED BETWEEN THEM—AND REVEALED WHAT THE CHILD HAD OVERHEARD THROUGH HIS BABY MONITOR ABOUT THE DAY AFTER HIS FATHER'S WEDDING.
“Come on, Ethan. Say it.”
Vanessa Sterling smiled brightly beneath the crystal chandeliers.
Six-year-old Ethan Moretti stood beside her in a tiny black tuxedo.
His father, Dominic Moretti, was speaking with guests across the ballroom.
Vanessa leaned closer.
“Tell everyone how happy you are to have a new mommy.”
Ethan stared at the floor.
“Your name is Vanessa.”
Several guests laughed awkwardly.
Vanessa's smile tightened.
“Sweetheart, we've practiced this.”
Ethan shook his head.
“I already have a mommy.”
The room grew quiet.
His mother, Isabella, had died three years earlier.
Ethan still kept her photograph beside his bed.
Vanessa bent down, her diamond earrings glittering.
“Your mother isn't here anymore. I'm going to be your mother now.”
Ethan's eyes filled with tears.
“NO. I DON'T WANT YOU TO BE MY MOMMY.”
Vanessa grabbed his wrist.
“Apologize. Right now.”
“Ow! You're hurting me!”
Lily Bennett, the young housemaid standing nearby, immediately stepped forward.
“Mrs. Sterling, please let him go.”
Vanessa turned sharply.
“Stay out of this!”
“His wrist, ma'am. You're hurting him.”
Vanessa tightened her grip.
“I SAID APOLOGIZE, ETHAN!”
“VANESSA!”
Dominic's voice thundered across the ballroom.
He approached quickly.
“Let go of my son.”
Vanessa released Ethan.
The little boy immediately ran behind Lily, clutching her uniform.
Dominic stopped.
His son was hiding from the woman he was supposed to marry.
“Ethan?”
The boy wouldn't look at him.
Vanessa forced a laugh.
“Darling, he's just having another tantrum. He refuses to call me Mommy.”
Dominic knelt.
“Buddy, look at me.”
Ethan's lower lip trembled.
“Am I bad, Daddy?”
Dominic frowned.
“Of course not.”
“Vanessa says good boys listen to their new mommies.”
Dominic slowly stood.
“Vanessa, I told you not to pressure him.”
She folded her arms.
“And I told you he needs discipline!”
Lily gently rested a hand on Ethan's shoulder.
“Sir, there's something you need to know.”
Vanessa's expression changed.
“Lily, you're dismissed.”
The maid didn't move.
“It's about the baby monitor in Ethan's bedroom.”
Dominic turned toward her.
“What about it?”
Lily swallowed.
“Three nights ago, Ethan heard a conversation through it.”
Vanessa went pale.
“THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!”
Dominic looked at Lily.
“Keep talking.”
“The monitor has a portable receiver. Mrs. Sterling borrowed it while hers was charging, but she accidentally left the microphone switched on.”
Lily looked down at Ethan.
“He heard everything she said in the sitting room.”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“What did she say?”
Ethan slowly reached into his jacket pocket.
He pulled out a folded piece of paper.
It was covered in crooked handwriting.
“Lily helped me write down the words,” he whispered.
Dominic took it.
The first sentence made his blood run cold.
AFTER THE WEDDING, ETHAN GOES AWAY.
He looked up.
“Vanessa?”
She laughed nervously.
“Dominic, he's six! He doesn't understand adult conversations.”
Lily stepped forward.
“Sir, I heard it too.”
Dominic turned.
“What exactly did you hear?”
Lily hesitated.
Then answered.
“Mrs. Sterling was speaking to someone on the phone. She said she'd already found a boarding school three states away.”
Vanessa lunged toward the paper.
“GIVE ME THAT!”
Dominic pulled it out of her reach.
Lily continued.
“She said Ethan would leave the week after your wedding.”
Dominic stared at Vanessa.
“You planned to send my son away?”
“Only for his education!”
“He's six years old!”
Vanessa's voice rose.
“And I'm not spending the first years of our marriage raising another woman's child!”
The ballroom fell completely silent.
Dominic didn't move.
Ethan began crying.
Lily immediately knelt beside him.
Vanessa realized what she'd said.
“Dominic, I didn't mean—”
He raised one hand.
“Stop.”
His voice was frighteningly quiet.
Then Ethan tugged at his father's sleeve.
“Daddy?”
Dominic looked down.
The little boy's cheeks were wet.
“DADDY, SHE SAID SHE ONLY WANTS YOU, NOT ME.”
Dominic's expression changed.
For a moment, the feared mafia boss looked completely helpless.
He knelt and pulled Ethan into his arms.
“Listen to me, buddy. Nobody is sending you away.”
Ethan clung to his father.
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
Vanessa stepped closer.
“Dominic, please. We can discuss this privately.”
He stood, holding Ethan.
“There's nothing to discuss.”
He looked at the engagement ring on her finger.
“YOU WANTED A HUSBAND WITHOUT HIS SON. YOU CHOSE THE WRONG MAN.”
Vanessa's smile disappeared.
“Dominic, don't embarrass me!”
He turned toward his security chief.
“Escort her out.”
The guests gasped.
Vanessa grabbed his arm.
“You can't end our engagement over something a child overheard!”
Dominic looked at Lily.
“Is there anything else?”
The maid hesitated.
Then nodded.
“Sir, I checked the monitor's recording history this morning.”
Vanessa froze.
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“Recording history?”
Lily reached into her apron.
“The receiver saves short audio clips when it detects a loud voice.”
She held out a small memory card.
“I made a copy because I was afraid Mrs. Sterling would delete it.”
Vanessa suddenly screamed.
“DON'T PLAY THAT!”
Dominic stared at her.
“Why?”
She began shaking.
“Because it was a private conversation!”
Dominic took the card.
Lily inserted it into her phone.
A few seconds later, Vanessa's voice filled the ballroom.
“Once Dominic signs the school papers, the boy won't be our problem anymore.”
A man's voice answered.
“And what if Dominic refuses?”
Vanessa laughed.
“He won't. I've already arranged for the school to receive his signature.”
The recording stopped.
Dominic slowly looked up.
“YOU FORGED MY SIGNATURE?”
Vanessa stepped backward.
“No! Dominic, listen—”
Lily quietly interrupted.
“Sir, there's one more recording.”
She pressed play.
The same man's voice spoke again.
“And the money from Isabella's trust?”
Vanessa answered:
“Once Ethan is gone, nobody will question where it goes.”
Dominic froze.
Isabella's trust.
His late wife had left Ethan a substantial inheritance.
Money Dominic had promised never to touch.
He slowly turned toward Vanessa.
“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY SON'S INHERITANCE?”
Vanessa began crying.
“Dominic, I swear, I haven't taken anything yet!”
Lily looked at the phone.
Her face changed.
“Sir…”
Dominic turned.
“What?”
“The man in the recording said something else.”
She played the final clip.
“You'd better be certain the boy never finds out what happened to his mother.”
Vanessa's voice answered:
“He was only three. He doesn't remember anything.”
Dominic stopped breathing.
He looked down at Ethan.
The little boy was staring at Vanessa.
His small hands trembled.
Then he whispered:
“Daddy… I remember the night Mommy went away.”
Dominic's heart pounded.
“Ethan?”
The boy pointed at Vanessa.
“SHE WAS THERE.”
Vanessa's face turned white.
And for the first time in three years, Dominic began to wonder whether Isabella's death had been an accident at all.
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Read Chapter 2 in the first comment to discover what Ethan remembers about his mother's final night—and why Vanessa was so desperate to send him away before he could tell his father. Thank you for reading!
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