Chapter 7 - THE WARNING
Carla spun around.
Marco stood at the end of the hall.
She pressed the note against her chest.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“Carla.”
She handed him the note.
His jaw tightened.
“Where’s Nina?”
“With Rosa in the kitchen.”
“Keep her there.”
“No. I’m taking her and leaving.”
Marco blocked the hallway. “Not until we know who sent this.”
Her anger exploded. “Easy for you to say. You sleep with a gun.”
“So will you tonight.”
“I don’t want a gun. I want my daughter nowhere near this place.”
Massimo’s voice came from behind Marco.
“Then I’ll get you out.”
Carla looked past him.
Massimo sat in his wheelchair, pale but alert.
“I should’ve seen what this house was doing to you,” he said.
“This house pays my rent.”
“That doesn’t mean it gets to own your fear.”
She wanted to stay angry. Instead, she started crying.
Quietly. Furiously.
“I saw Dean talking to Bellandi men before the ambush,” she said.
Massimo went completely still.
“You saw him?”
“Nina did. She told me tonight.”
Marco cursed under his breath.
Massimo’s face became unreadable. “Why didn’t she say anything before?”
“She’s three. She thought they were friends.”
Massimo closed his eyes.
Now even that memory cracked.
“We move Carla and Nina to the pool house,” Marco said. “Separate security team.”
“No,” Massimo replied. “Too obvious.”
“Then where?”
Massimo thought.
“My mother’s old chapel room. No cameras, one entrance, reinforced walls.”
Carla stared. “You have a chapel with reinforced walls?”
“My mother prayed like she expected return fire.”
Despite herself, Carla almost laughed.
At midnight, Massimo received a message from the lab toxicologist.
The suppressant in his blood was not accidental.
The concentration suggested repeated dosing over months.
And according to the specialist, prolonged exposure could imitate permanent neurological damage.
Massimo read the final sentence twice.
If dosing stops, significant motor function may return.
May you like
Behind him, Dean said softly, “That good news?”
Massimo locked his phone before turning around.
