Aftermath

Erin’s POV

The morning light came too early.

I barely slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw flashes of the red light, the siren, the fear on Luca’s face. Even now, with sunlight filtering through the curtains, my body still felt like it was waiting for another alarm to sound.

The house was quiet in a strange way. Not peaceful. Heavy. Like everyone was pretending to breathe normally again, even though the air hadn’t cleared.

Luca was still asleep beside me. His arm rested across the blanket, small fingers clutching the edge of his rabbit. I brushed a strand of hair from his forehead and felt that soft tug in my chest again. I didn’t want to move. I didn’t want to wake him. But I knew I had to.

The knock came before I even stood up. Short, controlled.

I opened the door and found one of Michele’s guards outside. The same man from last night, tall with sharp eyes that gave nothing away.

“Morning,” he said flatly. “The boss wants breakfast sent up for the boy. You too.”

“Is everything alright?” I asked.

He looked past me into the room, scanning quickly before answering. “It will be. Just stay inside until someone tells you otherwise.”

The same line as before.

I nodded and shut the door. My stomach tightened.

When I turned, Luca was sitting up, rubbing his eyes. “Is Papa here?”

“Not yet,” I said. “But he’s close.”

He smiled sleepily and yawned. “Are we still locked in?”

I tried to sound casual. “Just for now. It’s like a game, remember?”

He seemed to accept that and climbed out of bed. I helped him get dressed, my mind somewhere else. Every small sound in the house seemed louder than usual. A drawer closing, footsteps in the hall, a door opening far away. It was like the mansion itself was holding its breath.

Breakfast arrived on a silver tray — pancakes, fruit, a glass of milk. I wasn’t hungry, but Luca ate like nothing had happened. Children were good at that. They moved on faster than adults did.

When he finished, I cleaned up the tray and set it aside. “Want to play?” I asked.

He nodded and went to get his toy cars. I sat near the window while he lined them up, watching the courtyard below. Guards patrolled in pairs. Some carried rifles openly now. The front gate was closed, reinforced with extra vehicles.

Something bad had happened last night. Something worse than they wanted me to know.

I kept watching until I saw movement by the garage. Michele. He was standing with two men, his jacket off, shirt sleeves rolled, head slightly bowed as he listened to one of them. Even from this distance, there was a tension in the way he stood — still, hard, contained.

Luca followed my gaze. “Papa’s outside,” he said softly.

“Yes.”

“Can we go see him?”

“Not yet. He’s busy.”

The boy sighed and went back to his cars. I stayed by the window. After a while, I saw Michele’s head turn slightly, like he felt someone watching him. My breath caught, but then he looked away again, giving another order before walking toward the house.

Something in my chest shifted at the sight of him. Relief mixed with something I didn’t want to name.

Half an hour later, the same guard returned. “You can come downstairs now,” he said. “The lockdown’s lifted, but stay on the main floor.”

Luca’s face brightened. “Can we see Papa?”

The guard nodded. “If he’s free.”

We followed him down the hallway. The mansion looked different in daylight — wide, elegant, but colder somehow. Every corner that once felt open now looked like a hiding place. Two more guards stood at the end of the corridor, murmuring to each other. When they saw us, they stopped talking.

We went down the stairs. The living room was spotless again, as if nothing had happened. But the silence was strange. No music, no laughter from the kitchen, no maids chatting. Just the quiet shuffle of boots and the occasional crackle of a radio.

“Wait here,” the guard said and walked off.

Luca ran toward the piano and started pressing random keys. I tried to smile at him, but my eyes kept drifting to the hallway Michele had disappeared into.

Curiosity got the better of me.

“Stay here, Luca,” I said. “I’ll be right back.”

He nodded, too busy making noise with the piano to notice.

I walked quietly toward the other end of the hall. The closer I got, the more I heard — muffled voices, low and steady. I followed the sound until it led me to a half-open door near the study.

I hesitated, then leaned just close enough to listen.

“…dead before we got there,” a man was saying. “Clean cut. No struggle.”

Michele’s voice followed, quieter but sharper. “Inside job, then.”

“Yes, boss. We’re still checking comms, but the timing was too precise. Whoever came knew when the cameras looped.”

A pause. Then Michele again. “Find out who they talked to. I want every device checked, every message traced. I don’t care how long it takes.”

Another voice spoke, older, more cautious. “Could’ve been random, Michele. Just another group testing boundaries.”

“No,” he said firmly. “This was different. They knew where to go. They knew where my son was.”

The air in my lungs froze.

I stepped back from the door, heart pounding. The words hit too close. Someone had tried to reach the part of the house where Luca slept. Where I was.

I wanted to move, but my legs wouldn’t.

“You think someone inside leaked the nanny post?” the older man said next.

There was a pause.

Then Michele’s voice, lower this time. “Maybe. Or maybe someone wanted him here.”

My stomach turned. He was talking about me.

I took another step back, trying to breathe quietly.

“You think the new one’s involved?” the man asked.

Another pause. “No,” Michele said finally. “Not yet. But if he is, I’ll find out.”

The sound of papers rustling followed, and I knew I couldn’t stand there any longer. I turned and walked quickly back down the hall. My chest ached.

When I reached the living room, Luca looked up and smiled. “You took long.”

I forced a smile. “Sorry. Got lost.”

He didn’t notice the tremor in my hands when I sat down beside him.

The rest of the morning passed slowly. Michele didn’t come out again. The guards rotated in silence. The maids cleaned quietly, heads down. I tried to keep Luca busy, but my mind wouldn’t stop replaying what I heard.

Someone had died. Someone inside had helped them. And Michele thought someone might have wanted me there.

By noon, Luca wanted to go outside. “Please, Erin. Just for a little.”

I hesitated. The courtyard looked calm again. “Alright, but only if the guard says it’s okay.”

The man by the door nodded once. “The perimeter’s clear. You can stay in the garden.”

Luca ran out first, laughter breaking the stillness for the first time all day. I followed slowly, hands in my pockets, trying to steady my thoughts.

The air smelled like wet earth. The grass was still damp from the night. I could see faint tire marks near the gate, where they must have taken the body away.

Luca knelt by a puddle and started floating leaves in it like boats. I crouched beside him. “Be careful, okay?”

He nodded and smiled. “Papa says puddles are like tiny oceans.”

I laughed softly. “He’s not wrong.”

The sound of footsteps behind me made me turn. Michele stood a few feet away, jacket back on, eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses.

“Playing sailor?” he asked.

Luca jumped up and ran to him. “Papa!”

Michele lifted him effortlessly, his expression softening for a second. “You slept well?”

“Yes. Erin stayed with me.”

“I know,” Michele said. His eyes met mine briefly. “He did good.”

I looked down, unsure how to answer. “He was scared,” Luca added.

Michele smiled faintly. “So was everyone.” He set Luca down and looked at me again. “Walk with me.”

It didn’t sound like a request.

We walked toward the far end of the garden while Luca chased a butterfly. The silence between us stretched, thick but not uncomfortable.

Finally, I said, “You handled it fast last night.”

He didn’t look at me. “That’s my job.”

“Did you find out who it was?”

“Not yet.”

His tone was final, but I couldn’t stop myself. “I heard someone say there was… someone inside.”

He stopped walking. I felt his gaze even before I turned to face him. “You were listening?”

I swallowed hard. “The door was open.”

He didn’t look angry. Just thoughtful. “Then you already know enough.”

“Enough to be scared,” I admitted.

He looked at me for a long moment. Then said quietly, “Good. Fear keeps people alive.”

I looked away. “But someone died, didn’t they?”

His silence was answer enough.

We stood there in the cold sunlight, not speaking for a while. Then he said, “You shouldn’t worry about things that aren’t your burden.”

“It’s hard not to when I’m part of it,” I said softly.

That made him turn his head toward me again. “You’re part of it now?”

The question hit hard. I didn’t know how to answer.

“I mean…” I started, then stopped. “Luca depends on me. So yes, I guess I am.”

He studied my face for a long moment, eyes unreadable behind the glasses. Then he nodded once. “Take care of him. That’s all I need from you.”

He started to walk away.

Something made me call after him. “And if they come again?”

He stopped but didn’t turn. “Then I make sure they don’t leave.”

The quiet way he said it made something inside me shiver.

He walked back toward the house, his shoulders straight, his movements calm. But I could feel the weight behind every step — the man who could control a crisis without blinking, yet still come out here to make sure his son smiled again.

Luca ran back to me, breathless. “Papa said we can go to the stables later!”

“That’s good,” I said softly.

He grinned and went back to his game.

I watched him play, but my mind wasn’t really there. The echo of Michele’s words stayed with me. Someone inside had helped them. And maybe, without knowing, I had stepped into the middle of something far bigger than I could handle.

As the sun climbed higher, the tension in the house didn’t fade. Guards came and went, whispering into radios. Doors opened and closed. Everyone moved carefully, like the wrong word could break something fragile.

I sat on the garden bench, hands clasped together, eyes drifting toward the tall windows where I knew Michele’s office was.

Somewhere behind that glass, he was watching everything — including me.