Chapter 2 - THE NIGHT NURSE WITH THE GREEN EYES
The crystal chandeliers seemed to dim as my words echoed through the silent dining room.
Antonio stared at me.
His dark eyes were terrifyingly blank, processing the magnitude of what I had just said.
“Already inside the house?” he repeated, his voice dropping to a dangerous, lethal whisper.
I nodded, my hands shaking so badly I had to grip the back of Eleanor’s chair.
“Three months ago, Victoria hired a new night nurse to help your mother,” I whispered, my heart hammering against my ribs. “Her name is Katie. She works from midnight until morning. And she has your father’s green eyes.”
Eleanor let out a sharp gasp, her trembling hands flying to her mouth.
“Oh, God,” the old woman wept. “Katie. The sweet girl who reads to me. Victoria told me her voice was raspy because she had a chronic cough.”
Antonio’s jaw clenched so hard I thought his teeth would shatter.
Victoria hadn't just isolated his mother. She had brought his father’s secret daughter into the house, disguised as a servant, and manipulated a blind woman into not recognizing her own husband’s vocal cadence.
Antonio turned to the forty-six wealthy guests sitting frozen at his birthday table.
“Get out,” he commanded.
He didn't yell. He didn't have to.
Within sixty seconds, the dining room was completely empty, leaving only half-eaten plates of expensive food and the echoing silence of a shattered family.
Antonio turned to his head of security, a massive man named Carlo who had just stepped out of the shadows.
“Lock down the estate,” Antonio ordered. “Nobody leaves. Find the night nurse.”
“Yes, boss,” Carlo said, instantly speaking into his radio.
Antonio looked down at his mother. The anger in his eyes vanished, replaced by a fierce, devastating protectiveness. He gently touched her silver hair.
“I’m going to fix this, Ma,” he promised softly. “I’m going to find her.”
Eleanor reached for his hand, tears streaming down her wrinkled cheeks. “Please don't hurt her, Antonio. She’s your sister. Your father loved her mother before he met me, but they were forced apart. She is innocent.”
Before Antonio could answer, Carlo’s radio crackled.
“Boss. We found her. She was trying to slip out through the service entrance. We brought her to the study.”
Antonio stood up, his massive frame radiating absolute authority. He looked at me.
“Grace. Stay with my mother. Do not leave her side.”
“I won't,” I promised, gripping Eleanor’s frail hand.
But as Antonio turned to leave, Eleanor suddenly tightened her grip on my fingers.
“No,” the old woman whispered, struggling to stand up with her wooden cane. “I am not staying behind. Take me to my husband’s daughter.”
Antonio hesitated, but seeing the iron resolve in his mother’s failing eyes, he nodded.
Together, we slowly walked down the long, opulent hallway to the mahogany doors of the study.
When Antonio pushed the doors open, a young woman was sitting on the leather sofa, crying hysterically.
She was twenty-two, wearing a cheap gray coat. And she was clutching something tightly against her chest.
It was the missing wooden box. The walnut chest from beneath Eleanor’s bed.
“Katie?” Eleanor whispered into the quiet room.
The girl looked up, her vivid green eyes wide with terror.
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed, shrinking back against the sofa. “Please, I didn't want to do this. Victoria made me.”
Antonio stepped fully into the room, his presence suffocating the space.
“You helped Victoria forge my father’s will to steal this estate?” Antonio asked, his voice deceptively calm.
“No!” Katie cried, shaking her head frantically. “I didn't want the estate! I didn't even want the money! Victoria found me three months ago. She said if I didn't come work here, she would tell my abusive ex-husband where I was hiding with my five-year-old son.”
My stomach dropped.
Katie wasn't a mastermind. She was a victim. A terrified mother being blackmailed by a ruthless socialite.
“Where is your son right now?” Antonio asked, his tone shifting slightly.
Katie broke down into agonizing sobs. “Victoria took him this afternoon. She said if I didn't steal the wooden box from Mrs. Caruso’s room tonight, I would never see my little boy again.”
Antonio went completely still.
Victoria hadn't just stolen a cane. She had kidnapped a child.
“Why the box?” Antonio asked, stepping closer to the crying girl. “What is inside it that Victoria desperately needs?”
Katie’s trembling hands unlatched the brass clasp of the walnut chest.
She opened the lid and pulled out a stack of old, yellowed letters.
“Victoria didn't want my inheritance,” Katie whispered, her tears falling onto the ancient paper. “She and Daniel needed this box because of what your father was hiding inside it.”
Katie held up the top document.
May you like
It was a birth certificate.
“Your brother Daniel,” Katie choked out, looking directly at Antonio. “He isn't your father’s son.”
