Chapter 3 - The Cold Estate
The mansion was beautiful in the way a mausoleum is beautiful.
Cold marble floors echoed with our footsteps as Dante led me through the cavernous foyer.
Crystal chandeliers cast fractured light over antique paintings and dark mahogany furniture.
A line of silent, unsmiling staff members stood at attention near the grand staircase.
"This is Mara," Dante told them, his voice carrying unquestionable authority.
"She is Leo's new caretaker."
"She is to be given whatever she asks for, but she is never to leave the grounds."
An older woman with sharp eyes and a severe grey bun stepped forward, eyeing me with open suspicion.
"Sir, are you sure this is wise?" the woman asked, her gaze lingering on my face with a mixture of shock and disgust.
"You dare question me, Rosa?" Dante's tone was lethal.
Rosa immediately lowered her head, taking a submissive step backward.
"Forgive me, Don Russo."
I clutched Leo closer to me, feeling entirely out of my depth.
"Show her to the nursery suite," Dante commanded, turning away to speak to his head of security.
Rosa gestured for me to follow her up the sweeping marble stairs.
Every painting we passed seemed to watch me, the eyes of Dante's ancestors judging the cheap uniform I still wore.
The nursery was a sprawling room decorated in soft grays and whites, filled with toys that looked like they had never been touched.
I gently laid Leo down in his crib, but the moment my warmth left him, his eyes snapped open.
His face crumpled, and a heartbreaking sob tore from his throat.
I immediately picked him back up, shushing him softly while swaying from side to side.
Rosa watched me from the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest.
"You look exactly like her," she whispered, her voice dripping with venom.
"But do not think you can take her place."
"Elena was an angel, and you are just a ghost he bought to keep the boy quiet."
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Before I could defend myself, she turned and locked the heavy oak door from the outside.
I was trapped in a castle built on blood.
