Chapter 7 - The Master Bedroom“Moving out?” My voice cracked as the security guards escorted a screaming, cursing Elena down the hall toward the exit. “Mr. Duca, please—if you’re firing me, just let me go back to my old apartment, don't throw me on the street—”
“Who said anything about firing you?” Alessandro interrupted, his hand still firmly resting against my elbow as we walked toward the private elevator.
“You said I’m moving out!”
“You are,” Alessandro said calmly, pressing the biometric scanner for the penthouse level. “You’re moving into the master guest suite on the top floor. Effective immediately.”
I stared at him in utter bewilderment as the elevator doors slid shut, sealing us in polished mahogany and glass. “The master suite? But… but I’m Victor Vance’s daughter! My father tried to destroy your family!”
“Your father is a ruthless, arrogant bastard who tried to destroy my company,” Alessandro corrected smoothly as the elevator ascended rapidly. “He is not you. You are a mother who spent ninety days hiding in a laundry room to protect her child because a corrupt employee terrified you into silence.”
He turned his head, looking down at me with an expression so intense it made my breath hitch.
“Besides,” Alessandro added, a faint, rare smile touching his lips, “Victor Vance always prided himself on his business acumen. If he knew his own daughter managed to infiltrate my penthouse, bypass my security team, outsmart my chief of staff, and secure a six-figure executive position under my own roof without me noticing for three months... he’d probably die of a stroke out of pure, unadulterated jealousy.”
A sudden, hysterical burst of laughter escaped my lips, mixing with the lingering tears on my cheeks.
“You’re insane,” I whispered.
“I’m practical,” Alessandro corrected as the doors opened directly into the penthouse foyer. “And I recognize competence when I see it. Welcome to the top floor, Ms. Vance. Or should I say, Ms. Duca?”
My breath caught in my throat at the casual, dangerous joke. I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could speak, my phone buzzed violently in my pocket.
I pulled it out. It wasn't a text message this time.
It was a direct phone call.
From an unregistered, blocked number.
I stared at the glowing screen, a cold dread washing over me. Alessandro noticed the change in my demeanor instantly. He stepped closer, peering over my shoulder at the screen.
“Answer it,” Alessandro instructed quietly.
With shaking fingers, I pressed the accept button and held the phone to my ear.
“Hello?” I whispered.
A deep, gravelly, unmistakable voice echoed through the speaker—a voice I hadn't heard in over six years. A voice that had haunted my nightmares ever since I walked out of our family estate.
May you like
“Well, well, little bird,” Victor Vance purred from the other end of the line. “I hear you’ve finally found a very interesting way to pay your rent. Open the front door of the penthouse.”
My blood ran instantly ice cold.
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