Chapter 5 - The Little Girl’s Secret
Upstairs in the private family suite, the chaos of the night had finally settled into a fragile, exhausted quiet.
Dr. Gable had checked Theo, Miles, and Nora for the third time, confirming their vitals were stable and the ultrasonic trauma was fading from their nervous systems. The nannies had rocked them back to sleep in the temporary nursery down the hall, far away from the tainted room.
I walked down the carpeted hallway toward the kitchen to grab a glass of water when I noticed a faint light coming from the service pantry.
Sophie was sitting cross-legged on a small braided rug near the pantry counter, still wearing her yellow lace dress, methodically wrapping a piece of scotch tape around the missing button eye of her doll.
I stopped in the doorway, leaning my shoulder against the wooden frame.
“You’re up late, Sophie,” I said quietly.
She looked up, her large, innocent eyes blinking in the dim light. She didn't look scared of me, unlike every other adult who entered my presence.
“The babies are sleeping now,” she said softly, her tiny voice echoing in the quiet kitchen.
“Yes, they are,” I replied, walking slowly into the room and crouching down to her eye level. “Because of you. If you hadn't looked under that crib... we might not have found it in time.”
Sophie tilted her head, her dark curls bouncing against her shoulders. “Bad men put the clicking box in the wall.”
“How did you know it was there, Sophie?” I asked, my voice carrying genuine curiosity. “Even my security chief didn't see it.”
Sophie held up her ugly button-eyed doll, pressing its patched face against her cheek. “Teddy told me.”
I stared at the four-year-old child for a moment, a strange, unexplainable chill running down my spine. “Teddy told you.”
“Uh-huh,” she nodded solemnly. “He said the little room under the bed was crying. He said the babies couldn't hear the scary clicking with their ears, but they could feel it in their tummies.”
I didn't smile, and I didn't dismiss her. In my world of blood, ledgers, and ballistic steel, I had learned a long time ago that innocence often perceived truths that hardened killers chose to ignore.
“Well,” I said gently, reaching into my pocket and pulling out a small, foil-wrapped chocolate square I had picked up from the study. I placed it on the floor beside her. “Tell Teddy he’s a very good protector. And tell him... thank you.”
Sophie’s face lit up with a brilliant, toothy smile. She grabbed the chocolate and unwrapped it immediately.
As I stood up and walked toward the hallway, Elena stepped out of the shadow of the pantry archway, wringing her hands in her apron, looking terrified.
“Mr. Moretti... I’m so sorry about all of this,” Elena stammered, her voice shaking. “With Miller being a traitor... you must want us all out of the house. I understand if you have to let us go—”
“Elena,” I interrupted, my tone firm but lacking its usual razor-sharp edge.
She froze.
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“Your daughter stays,” I said, looking back down the hallway toward the nursery where my children slept safely. “And your pay is doubled, effective immediately. From now on, Sophie is officially part of the estate’s inner security detail.”
Elena’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief, her mouth parting slightly before she managed to whisper, “Thank... thank you, Mr. Moretti.”
