Chapter 6 - The Golden CageBack at the Sands Point estate, Ellie Carter was living her best life.
With her mother’s new position, the little girl had practically adopted the sprawling mansion as her personal playground. Henderson, the new head butler, had secretly taught her how to balance a silver spoon on her nose, and the estate’s master chef spent his afternoons baking custom dinosaur-shaped cookies just for her.
Yet, Ellie’s favorite person in the entire estate wasn't her mother or the chef.
It was the scary man who lived in the big study upstairs.
Adrian Moretti was sitting at his grand oak desk when a soft, hesitant knock echoed at the door.
Before he could answer, the heavy wood door creaked open an inch. A head of dark curls peeked inside, followed by a worn pink stuffed rabbit.
“Can I come in?” a small voice asked.
Adrian’s stern expression melted instantly. A faint, rare smile touched his lips.
“Come on in, Ellie,” he said, setting his fountain pen down on the desk.
Ellie marched into the room, wearing a brand-new yellow sundress and clutching Rosie tightly against her chest. She stopped right in front of the massive mahogany desk, looking up at him with those serious gray-blue eyes.
“My mommy is downstairs making inventory,” Ellie announced importantly. “And Henderson gave me a strawberry tart. But I wanted to check on your throat.”
Adrian blinked, touched by the simple, pure concern in her voice. He reached down and lifted her effortlessly, setting her on his lap just as he used to imagine doing with Lily.
“My throat is completely fine, little one,” Adrian said softly, his voice gentle—a tone no living soul outside this room had ever heard. “Because of you.”
Ellie nodded solemnly, as if accepting a scientific fact. “Good. Because if your throat closes again, I don't have another EpiPen. We have to be very careful.”
“We do,” Adrian agreed, a dark shadow momentarily crossing his eyes as he thought of the Chicago Syndicate and the looming threat outside their stone walls. “We have to be very careful.”
Suddenly, Ellie held out Rosie. “Do you want to hold her? She likes big desks.”
Adrian looked down at the worn, pink stuffed rabbit with its missing button eye. For a moment, the multi-billion-dollar empire, the bloodshed, the enemies in Chicago, and the heavy weight of his mafia crown all faded away.
May you like
He reached out, took the stuffed rabbit from her tiny hands, and held it against his chest.
“Thank you, Ellie,” Adrian whispered, his voice thick with an emotion he no longer tried to fight. “She’s very soft.”
