Chapter 3 - The Sanctuary in the Cottage
The garden cottage was a small, two-room stone building tucked behind the estate’s greenhouse. It was damp and drafty, built a century ago for gardeners, but kept immaculate by Sophia Bennett, the head housekeeper, and her daughter Emma.
I knocked once on the weathered wooden door before stepping inside.
Sophia stood near the small kitchen sink, holding a heavy iron frying pan like a club, shielding Emma behind her skirts. When she saw me walk in, her face paled, and she lowered the pan, trembling.
"Mr. Romano," Sophia whispered, her voice filled with panic. "I... I’m sorry. Whatever Emma said, she’s just a child, she has an imagination—"
"Mama, I told him the truth," Emma said firmly, peeking out from behind her mother’s apron. She was still holding her button-eyed doll, Rosie.
I walked into the small room, the space feeling cramped under my tailored suit. I knelt down on one knee, bringing myself eye-to-eye with the six-year-old girl.
"Emma," I said softly.
The child looked at me, her sea-dark eyes entirely steady.
"You saved my life today," I said.
Sophia gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "What?"
"Miss Marchetti was indeed poisoning my food," I explained, looking up at Sophia before turning back to Emma. "You were very brave to come to me. You did the right thing."
Emma nodded once, a tiny sense of pride lifting her shoulders. "She gave me a hundred dollars, sir. I put it under my pillow. I didn't want her bad money."
I reached into my pocket, pulled out my leather wallet, and took out a heavy gold signet ring engraved with the Romano family crest. I placed it gently in Emma’s tiny palm and folded her fingers over it.
"This belongs to you now," I told her. "If anyone in this city ever frightens you, or if you or your mother ever need anything, you show them this ring. It means you are under my personal protection."
Emma looked at the heavy gold ring, then up at me. "Thank you, Mr. Marco."
"Mr. Romano," Sophia stammered, tears welling in her eyes. "We... we don't know how to thank you. But if Miss Isabella’s people find out Emma talked—"
"They won't," I interrupted, standing up. "Because starting today, you and Emma are moving out of this cottage. You will occupy the guest suites on the second floor of the main mansion. Santino will assign two guards to watch over you around the clock."
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Sophia looked stunned. "The second floor? But sir, we are the help—"
"You are the family that saved my life," I said coldly, leaving no room for argument. "Pack your clothes. Santino will move your things within the hour."
