Chapter 4 - The Golden Cage
Life changed overnight.
We went from a damp, windowless room to a suite with chandeliers and velvet curtains.
My mother no longer scrubbed floors.
Instead, she was given beautiful clothes, and the other staff treated her with immense respect.
But the mansion felt different now.
It was heavily guarded. More than ever before.
Alejandro was furious. The footage from the hidden camera had proven that the Romano family—his biggest rivals—had bought off Marcus.
The city was on the brink of a massive mafia war.
Yet, in the middle of all this chaos, Alejandro found time for me.
Every afternoon, he would invite me to his study.
Not the one where he almost died, but a bright, sunlit room overlooking the gardens.
He would teach me how to play chess.
“You have to protect the King, Emma,” he said one day, moving a piece.
“Like I protected you?” I asked innocently.
Alejandro paused. He looked at me, his cold demeanor melting entirely.
“Exactly like that. But now, it’s my turn to protect you.”
My mother, however, was struggling.
She was grateful, but she felt trapped.
One evening, while I was drawing at the coffee table, I heard her arguing with Alejandro in the hallway.
“I appreciate everything you’ve done, Mr. Moretti,” she said, her voice tight. “But this isn’t a life for a child. There are men with machine guns in the garden.”
“The Romanos know she saved me,” Alejandro replied, his voice low and intense. “If you leave this property, they will target you to get to me. You are safer here, Maria.”
“I’m not a prisoner!”
“You’re under my protection.”
I peaked around the corner.
Alejandro was looking at my mother in a way I had never seen a man look at her before.
It wasn’t just about protecting me anymore.
He cared about her.
“Just trust me,” he told her softly. “Give me time to eradicate the threat. Then, if you want to leave, I will personally buy you a house anywhere in the world.”
My mother looked down, conflicted, but finally nodded.
May you like
We were safe in the golden cage.
But outside, the wolves were circling.
