Chapter 6 - The Woman Lorenzo Couldn’t IgnoreNora did not sleep.
Lorenzo arranged a secure bedroom beside Giovanni’s room and stationed two guards outside.
She hated it.
Not the guards.
The feeling.
For months she had survived by making herself small.
Now men with guns stood outside her door because someone considered her useful leverage.
At two in the morning, she gave up trying to sleep.
She found Lorenzo in the library.
He stood alone beside the fireplace with his jacket removed and sleeves rolled to his forearms.
For the first time, he looked less like a feared Moretti and more like a tired man.
“You should be resting,” he said without turning.
“How did you know it was me?”
“Your footsteps.”
“That’s somehow worse than the security cameras.”
He looked at her.
“You’re barefoot.”
“My ankles hate shoes.”
Lorenzo glanced at her stomach.
“Sit.”
“You’re very bossy.”
“So I’ve been told.”
Nora lowered herself onto the sofa.
Lorenzo brought her water.
She accepted it.
“Thank you.”
He sat opposite her.
The fire cracked between them.
Nora finally asked, “What happens after the storm?”
“To whom?”
“Mrs. Gable. Brody. Victor.”
“Police.”
She studied him.
“That simple?”
“I’m trying to make things simple.”
“Your reputation says otherwise.”
“My reputation was built by men who benefit from people believing I’m worse than I am.”
“You run organized crime.”
“I inherited organized crime.”
“That isn’t exactly a denial.”
Lorenzo looked toward the fire.
“No.”
Nora waited.
He surprised her.
“For ten years I’ve been dismantling the worst parts.”
“Drugs?”
“Gone from our organization.”
“Trafficking?”
“Never tolerated.”
“Violence?”
He looked at her.
“I won’t lie to you.”
Nora appreciated that more than she wanted to.
“The legitimate companies employ thousands of people. Construction. Freight. Hotels. Security. Medical logistics.”
“And the illegal parts?”
“Becoming smaller.”
“Why?”
Lorenzo’s eyes moved toward the ceiling.
“My father taught me power protects family.”
Upstairs, Giovanni slept.
Lorenzo continued.
“I learned power also destroys family.”
Nora looked at him differently.
“What do you want?”
“A life where my children don’t need bodyguards.”
The word children hung between them.
Lorenzo seemed to realize it.
He looked at Nora’s stomach.
“Sorry.”
“For what?”
“I wasn’t implying…”
She laughed softly.
“For a dangerous man, you panic strangely around pregnant women.”
“I have limited experience.”
“Lucky you.”
Silence returned.
Then Lorenzo asked, “Do you still love Brody?”
Nora looked down at her glass.
“No.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
The honesty seemed to surprise him.
“I thought he was kind. Funny. He remembered stupid things, like how I hated pickles and always wanted extra ice.”
“What happened?”
“I think I loved who he pretended to be.”
Lorenzo nodded.
“That’s common.”
“You sound experienced.”
“I was engaged once.”
Nora looked up.
He had never appeared to her as a man who might once have bought flowers or discussed wedding invitations.
“What happened?”
“She loved the Moretti name.”
Nora winced.
“I’m sorry.”
“I should have noticed sooner.”
“We notice what we’re ready to notice.”
Their eyes met.
Something quiet passed between them.
Nora looked away first.
“Why are you helping me?”
His answer came too quickly.
“Because you helped my father.”
“That’s not all.”
Lorenzo said nothing.
Nora smiled.
“For someone who terrifies an entire staff, you’re not good at uncomfortable conversations.”
“I’m excellent at ending conversations.”
She laughed.
The sound seemed to surprise him.
Then pain stabbed through Nora’s abdomen.
Her smile vanished.
She gripped the sofa.
Lorenzo stood immediately.
“Nora?”
“I’m okay.”
“You’re doing it again.”
“It’s probably Braxton Hicks.”
“Probably?”
He was already reaching for his phone.
“Lorenzo, don’t call an army.”
“I’m calling a doctor.”
“It’s two in the morning.”
“I don’t understand how that affects medicine.”
Despite the pain, Nora almost smiled.
The estate physician arrived fifteen minutes later.
The contractions stopped.
The baby was fine.
But Nora’s blood pressure was elevated.
“You need rest,” the doctor told her. “Real rest.”
Lorenzo stood behind him with crossed arms.
Nora sighed.
“Please don’t encourage him.”
The doctor looked confused.
Lorenzo did not.
For the next two days, Lorenzo refused to let Nora work.
Mrs. Gable remained locked in a secured guest wing while authorities prepared to reach the estate after roads reopened.
Brody requested to speak with Nora repeatedly.
She refused.
Giovanni improved.
His vocabulary expanded slowly.
“Soup.”
“Window.”
“Nora.”
“Lorenzo.”
He practiced constantly.
One afternoon, Nora entered his room carrying sliced pears.
Giovanni looked toward her.
“Queen.”
Nora stopped.
“What?”
He smiled.
“Queen.”
She laughed.
“No, no. I’m the maid.”
Giovanni shook his head.
“Queen.”
Behind her, Lorenzo had entered silently.
He heard.
Nora turned and found him smiling.
A real smile this time.
It transformed his entire face.
“Don’t encourage him.”
“I wouldn’t dare contradict my father.”
Giovanni pointed at Lorenzo.
“Stubborn.”
Nora burst out laughing.
Lorenzo stared at him.
“You’ve spoken ten words in five years and you waste one on insulting me?”
“Accurate,” Nora said.
Lorenzo looked at her.
She laughed harder.
For a few minutes, the estate felt almost normal.
Then Marco entered.
His face ended the moment.
“We found Victor.”
Lorenzo stood.
“Where?”
“He never left New York.”
“Location?”
Marco glanced toward Nora.
“Saint Aurelia Hospital.”
Nora frowned.
“That’s my hospital.”
Marco nodded.
“The clinic where Nora plans to deliver.”
Lorenzo’s expression darkened.
“Why?”
Marco handed him a folder.
“Victor donated two million dollars to the maternity wing six months ago.”
Nora felt cold.
“That was before I started working here.”
“Exactly,” Marco said.
Lorenzo opened the folder.
Inside was a copy of Nora’s medical file.
Prenatal visits.
Blood work.
Due date.
Emergency contact.
Everything.
Nora covered her mouth.
“How does he have this?”
Marco answered quietly.
“Someone at the hospital gave it to him.”
Lorenzo stared at the papers.
Nora suddenly remembered Brody insisting on choosing that hospital.
He had claimed it had the best maternity unit.
Her heart sank.
“Brody knew.”
Marco nodded.
“We believe so.”
Nora turned toward the door.
“I want to talk to him.”
Lorenzo stepped in front of her.
“Not alone.”
“I don’t need your permission.”
“No.”
His voice softened.
“But I’m asking.”
Nora looked at him.
“Fine.”
Brody was brought to the library.
He looked exhausted.
Nora placed the hospital file on the table.
His face told her everything.
“How long?”
“Nora…”
“How long have you been giving them information about my baby?”
“I didn’t know what Victor planned.”
“How long?”
Brody closed his eyes.
“Four months.”
Nora’s vision blurred.
Lorenzo moved closer, but she raised one hand.
She did not need rescuing.
Not from this.
Brody continued.
“Victor said he needed leverage against Mrs. Gable.”
“My daughter is not leverage.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
Nora stood.
“I hope someday Lily asks who you are.”
Brody’s face broke.
“Nora.”
“And I hope by then you have become someone worth describing.”
She walked out.
Lorenzo followed.
In the hallway, Nora finally cried.
Quietly.
Lorenzo did not speak.
He simply stood beside her.
After a moment, she leaned against him.
His arm wrapped around her carefully.
Neither noticed Giovanni watching from the doorway.
The old man smiled.
Then his expression changed.
Downstairs, a window shattered.
The estate alarm screamed.
May you like
And from the woods beyond the mansion, headlights appeared through the snow.
Victor Kane had arrived.
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