Chapter 6 - Breaking PointThe velvet curtain trembled violently.
Slowly, step by agonizing step, Elena stepped out from behind the drapes. Her face was paper-white, her eyes wide with sheer terror, and her hands shook so badly she could barely clasp them together. She immediately dropped to her knees on the thick carpet, pressing her forehead against the floor.
"Mr. Russo... please," she sobbed, her voice cracking. "I didn't mean any harm! I just wanted to see him! I missed him!"
Daniel didn't look down at her. His cold, obsidian gaze remained fixed entirely on me, watching my reaction. He wanted to see if I would panic, if I would try to shield her, if I would break.
"Elena," Daniel said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "You know the rules of this house. Security clearance for the third-floor nursery is restricted to myself, the lead physicians, and Miss Jenkins. Unauthorized entry is treated as a security breach."
"I was his nurse for three weeks!" Elena cried, tears streaming down her face. "I cared for him when nobody else could even touch him without crying! Please, Mr. Russo, don't hurt me!"
"Marco," Daniel spoke without turning around.
The heavy door swung open instantly, and Marco stepped into the room, his face a mask of brutal efficiency. "Boss?"
"Take her down to the lower level," Daniel ordered quietly. "Lock her in the auxiliary holding unit until morning. We'll decide what to do with a disobedient employee when the sun comes up."
"No! Please! Mr. Russo, no!" Elena screamed as Marco grabbed her roughly by the arm, hauling her to her feet. Her frantic cries echoed down the hallway as she was dragged away, the heavy door slamming shut behind them with a definitive, bone-chilling thud.
The silence that returned to the nursery was deafening.
I clutched little Leo a little tighter against my chest, feeling the baby stir slightly at the distant noise before settling back down. I glared up at Daniel, my anger finally overriding my caution.
"Was that really necessary?" I hissed, my voice shaking with fury. "She was just terrified! She made a stupid mistake, but she wasn't a threat to your son!"
"In my house, unauthorized personnel are a threat," Daniel replied coldly, stepping closer until he was standing right over me. "And mercy is a luxury I reserve for people who earn it."
"And what about my brother?" I challenged, my eyes flashing with defiance. "Is he going to earn his freedom, or is he just another convenient pawn in your little kingdom?"
Daniel didn't look away. Instead, he reached out, his large hand stopping mere centimeters from Leo’s head, hovering in the air as if he wanted to touch his son but didn't dare cross the boundary I had established.
"Your brother is alive right now solely because of the warmth of your skin, Miss Jenkins," Daniel said, his voice dropping into a dark, low rumble. "Do not test how far my patience stretches. You keep my son alive for thirty days, and Tommy walks. But if you ever yell at me like that again..."
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He leaned down, his face inches from mine, his dark eyes burning with an intense, suffocating heat.
"...I won't just lock the door. I'll throw away the key for both of you."
