Chapter 3 - Bloodlines and Betrayals
The next morning, the Rossi estate felt like a fortress preparing for a siege.
Armed guards patrolled the iron gates in tactical gear.
The morning news was already humming with rumors.
Victoria Kensington had vanished.
Beatrice woke up in a bed that cost more than her entire childhood home.
The sheets were Egyptian cotton, soft against her bruised body.
She sat up, wincing as her stiff joints protested.
Someone had left a set of expensive silk pajamas folded at the foot of the bed.
They were her size.
She didn't want to know how Leo Rossi knew her exact measurements.
A soft knock came at the door.
"Bee?" a tiny voice called out.
"Come in, Lily," Beatrice said, throwing off the covers.
The heavy oak door creaked open.
Lily stood there in her nightgown, clutching her stuffed rabbit.
She looked pale, but her eyes were bright.
She ran across the thick carpet and threw her arms around Beatrice's waist.
"You saved me," Lily mumbled into Beatrice's stomach.
Beatrice hugged her tight, burying her face in the little girl's dark curls.
"I will always save you, sweet girl."
"Daddy says you don't have to wear the ugly uniform anymore."
Beatrice laughed softly.
"Did he now?"
"He said you're our family now."
Beatrice froze.
The word family felt dangerous in a house like this.
Meanwhile, in the soundproof study downstairs, Leo was declaring a war.
Mateo paced in front of the massive mahogany desk.
"Don Kensington called three times," Mateo said, checking his encrypted phone.
"He knows we have Victoria."
Leo poured himself a glass of amber whiskey.
He didn't drink it. He just stared at the ice melting.
"Let him know."
"Leo, if you don't return her by midnight, the fragile peace treaty we have with the Irish mob is dead."
"It died the second she locked my daughter in a freezing cellar."
Leo finally took a sip.
The liquor burned, but it didn't numb the rage that had been boiling inside him since last night.
"Victoria thought her bloodline made her untouchable."
Leo set the glass down with a heavy thud.
"I'm going to teach her father that blood is exactly what spills when you cross me."
Mateo stopped pacing.
A grim smile touched his lips.
"What are your orders, Boss?"
"Double the perimeter."
Leo looked up at the ceiling, thinking of the woman and the child upstairs.
"And get the armored SUV ready."
"We're moving them?"
May you like
"Yes," Leo said quietly.
"Take Beatrice and Lily to the safe house in the mountains. Today."
