Chapter 4

Nora’s pov

Life inside the Castellano mansion settled into a quiet, structured routine over the next two weeks.

Every morning at nine, Leo and I would meet in the music room. Instead of forcing rigid lessons or drill exercises, I sat beside him on the long mahogany bench, letting him take the lead. I played gentle, rolling chords while teaching him simple songs, singing low and soft about bright rivers and distant stars.

Instead of asking him to speak or tell me stories, I used music as our bridge. When I played a questioning phrase on the high keys, he would smile and press a low note to answer me. He wasn't talking yet, but his silence no longer felt like a wall, it felt like a quiet room where we were slowly building trust.

When he hit a clean harmony or remembered a rhythm, a tiny dimple would show on his left cheek, and he would let out that breathy, silent laugh that warmed my entire heart.

One warm morning, as the sunlight streamed through the tall windows and washed over the black Steinway, I felt a shadow fall across the doorway.

I didn't stop playing, but I glanced at the reflection in the polished black wood of the music stand.

Luca was leaning against the heavy oak frame. He had discarded his dark suit jacket, wearing only a white dress shirt with the top buttons undone, revealing the edge of the coiled serpent tattoo on his throat. He wasn't holding his usual leather folders or looking at his phone. He was just watching us.

When the final note faded into the quiet room, Leo clapped his small hands together twice, nudging my elbow for another song.

"You're usually at your office by now," I said softly, looking over my shoulder at Luca.

Luca walked over to the piano, stopping right behind the bench. He reached out, his broad hand resting lightly on top of Leo’s dark hair. Leo didn't shrink away; he leaned his head back against his uncle's arm.

Luca’s grey eyes moved from his nephew down to me, resting for a beat on the platinum ring on my left hand.

"Gable told me about his progress," Luca said, his deep voice holding a low, quiet weight. "Starting this week, your monthly salary will be raised by fifty thousand."

I paused, my hands dropping from the keys. "Luca, no. That’s far too much. You are already paying for my mother's private room and her entire medical team. I’m just doing the job I was hired for."

"You are doing far more than what was on paper," he said smoothly, leaning down slightly so his breath brushed my collarbone. "In my world, when someone delivers value like this, they are compensated. It’s settled."

Before I could object, he gave Leo a firm pat on the shoulder and walked out of the room, his long stride echo-ing down the hall.

Whenever I watched Luca interact with Leo, I couldn't help but compare it to how Sebastian and his family used to act.

Back when I lived with Sebastian, his sister would often drop her young son off at our tiny apartment without warning. Sebastian’s family treated the boy like an inconvenience, barking orders at him to sit still and keep quiet so he wouldn't interrupt their evenings. Sebastian himself would lock his study door the moment the boy started crying, leaving me to cook, clean, and manage a hysterical child all by myself while Sebastian complained that I wasn't paying enough attention to his needs.

Here, despite the dangerous world he ran, Luca looked at Leo like he was the only thing that mattered.