Chapter 4 - THE SHADOW FROM THE PASTBy midnight, Clara had unpacked her meager belongings in the austere east wing room. The wind howled against the reinforced glass windows, rattling the pane. Down the hall, Bruno let out a soft thump with his tail against the floor, sensing her unease.
Unable to sleep, Clara walked down to the estate’s massive wrap-around porch to catch some fresh air. The snow had stopped, leaving the courtyard looking like a sheet of white glass under the pale moon.
That was when she heard the crunch of gravel near the iron security gates.
Clara froze in the shadows of a stone pillar. A figure was scaling the outer perimeter fence—a tall, broad-shouldered man moving with practiced stealth. As he dropped onto the frozen lawn, the moonlight caught his face, and the blood drained entirely from Clara’s veins.
Grant.
Her abusive ex-husband. The man she had spent the last eight months running from, hiding across state lines, changing her name, and begging for a fresh start. How had he found her?
Grant shook the snow from his leather jacket, scanning the massive estate with greedy eyes. He didn't know whose house this was yet. He only knew she was here.
"Clara," he whispered into the freezing wind, his voice carrying just enough for her to hear. "I know you're playing hide-and-seek, sweetheart. But you can't run forever."
Clara backed away into the shadows of the doorway, her hands shaking violently. If Grant was caught trespassing on Matteo Moretti’s property, Matteo’s guards would execute him on the spot. But if Grant found her first, he would drag her back into a nightmare she had barely survived.
Before she could retreat inside, a heavy hand gripped her shoulder from behind.
Clara gasped, spinning around.
May you like
Matteo stood there in his shirtsleeves, completely unfazed by the sub-zero temperature. His eyes were cold as slate as he looked past her toward the courtyard, where Grant was still creeping across the lawn.
"It appears," Matteo murmured softly against her ear, "someone has entered my property without an invitation. And judging by the look on your face, they came looking for you."
