Chapter 4 - The Shadow in Secret
Matteo stared down at the dandelion in the child's tiny, dirt-smudged palm. He didn't take it. He couldn't. His hands felt frozen at his sides.
Before he could speak, frantic footsteps echoed down the hall. Elena appeared, breathless, her face drained of all color, her hands wringing her apron. She threw herself between Matteo and her daughter, dropping to her knees and pressing Luna behind her back.
"I am sorry, Signor Santoro! Please, I beg of you, don't send us away!" Elena sobbed, her forehead nearly touching the marble floor. "She wandered off, she didn't know—it was my fault, punish me, but please spare my child!"
Matteo looked from the trembling mother to the little girl peering curiously around Elena's shoulder.
The silence stretched for an eternity. The clock in the foyer ticked with heavy, agonizing slowness.
Matteo’s jaw tightened. He looked down at the spilled wine on the floor, then back at Elena.
"Pack your things," Matteo said, his voice flat, emotionless, and absolute.
Elena’s heart shattered. She closed her eyes, biting her lip until it bled, waiting for the final blow.
"Move your quarters," Matteo continued, his tone shifting imperceptibly, "to the guest suite in the north wing. It is closer to the kitchens. The air is better there."
Elena opened her eyes, staring up at him in sheer disbelief. "Sir...?"
"And if I ever catch you leaving her unattended in the main corridors again," Matteo added, his eyes narrowing into cold gray ice, "you will both spend your afternoons polishing the entire wine cellar by hand. Now, take her out of my sight."
May you like
Elena scooped Luna into her arms and fled down the hall, leaving Matteo standing alone in the vast, echoing foyer. He slowly looked down at the floor. The yellow dandelion had fallen from Luna's hand, resting right beside the pool of spilled red wine.
Matteo knelt down, picked up the crushed flower, and closed his fist around it until the stem bruised against his palm.
