“Bring the boy,” Lorenzo said, as casually as if he were ordering coffee. “The estate is 10 acres. There is plenty of room. I assume he is still in school. We have a driver who can take him. And if he is sick, as you said, my private physician is one of the best in the country.”
Sophie’s heart hammered against her ribs. It was a deal with the devil. She knew it. But she thought of the stack of final notice letters on her kitchen counter. She thought of Toby’s wheezing at night because they could not afford the better inhalers. She thought of the leaky roof in their apartment in the bad part of town.
“How much?” she asked, her voice trembling.
Lorenzo did not blink.
“$10,000 a month, plus room, board, and all medical expenses for your brother.”
Sophie’s mouth went dry.
“$10,000?”
It was more than she made in 6 months. It was freedom. It was safety.
It was also a trap.
“What’s the catch?” she whispered.
Lorenzo’s eyes locked onto hers, intense and possessive.
“The catch is that you belong to the family now. You live in my house. You follow my rules. And the most important rule is simple. What happens in the Moretti estate stays in the Moretti estate. You see nothing. You hear nothing. You speak to no one outside without my permission.”
He extended a hand.
“Do we have a deal, Sophie?”
Sophie looked at his hand, large, manicured, and dangerous. Then she looked at Isabella, asleep on her shoulder.
She took his hand.
His grip was warm and firm.
“Deal,” she whispered.
Lorenzo did not let go immediately. He held her hand for a second longer than necessary.
“Good,” he said. “Welcome home, Sophie.”
The Moretti estate was not a house. It was a fortress disguised as a mansion. Located in the affluent suburb of Lake Forest, it was surrounded by 12-ft stone walls topped with electrified fencing. As the car passed through massive iron gates, Sophie saw men patrolling the grounds with German Shepherds. They wore suits, but the bulges under their jackets were unmistakable.
“Is this necessary?” Sophie asked, looking out the window.
“I have many enemies,” Lorenzo replied simply. “Safety is an illusion unless you enforce it.”
The car stopped in front of a sprawling Gothic Revival mansion made of gray stone. It looked imposing, almost haunted, backlit by the moon. Silas opened the door.
“We’re here, boss.”
Lorenzo stepped out and helped his mother down. Isabella woke, looking around in confusion.
“Are we in Rome, Enzo?”
“No, Mama. We’re home. Go with Nurse Hopkins.”
A stern-looking woman in scrubs waited at the entrance. She looked terrified as she approached Lorenzo.
“Sir, I am so sorry I lost her at the gala. I—”
“We will discuss your incompetence later,” Lorenzo said, his voice slicing through the cold air. “Take her to bed. If she wakes up distressed tonight, you are fired before sunrise.”
The nurse paled, took Isabella’s arm, and hurried her inside.
Lorenzo turned to Sophie. She stood by the car, small and overwhelmed in the massive driveway.
“Come. Silas will fetch your brother in the morning. Tonight, you stay here.”
“I can’t leave Toby alone tonight,” Sophie protested. “He’ll worry.”
“He has already been contacted,” Lorenzo said, walking toward the massive oak front doors. “One of my men went to your apartment. He gave Toby a phone to call you. He is safe. There is a guard outside your door right now.”
Sophie stopped dead.
