LOGINRosella’s POV Smoke first. It slid in thin and bitter. Stuck at the back of my throat before I even sat up. I stayed on the edge of the bed a moment longer than I needed to. Silk clung to the backs of my thighs. My hands stayed flat on the mattress like they did not trust the floor yet. The night light still threw that soft circle across Alexander’s crib. He slept the way he always did. One small fist near his mouth. Soft breathing. Like the house had not changed around him. I did not move right away. Leo stood in the sitting room doorway. Phone pressed to his ear. Eyes fixed on the dark window. Damien already at the outer lock, one hand resting on it. “Talk.” Leo’s voice stayed low. The edge under it did not. Elias came through clear enough for me to hear every word. “Greenhouse is gone. Full burn. We found something in the ashes.” Leo’s free hand curled once against his leg. “What.” “A phone. Still warm. And a photo.” Silence stretched between them. I watch
Rosella's POV Something brushed the stone outside. Closer this time. I stayed on the cold tile with Alexander against my chest. The only light was the thin line under the bathroom door. Leo’s voice came through the wood. “Damien. East wall. Less than ten feet.” Damien answered. “Hatch is holding. No tools. Just movement.” “Keep weight on it. Elias, pull the last cameras on this side.” I pushed my back harder into the wall. More scraping. Then nothing. Leo’s phone buzzed. “New message,” he said. I waited. “They can hear the baby breathing.” My arms tightened. Alexander didn’t wake. Leo’s voice got closer to the door. “Rosella. Don’t move.” I didn’t. The scraping started again. Higher. Right by the small bathroom window. Damien’s voice went sharp. “They’re at the bathroom wall
Rosella's POV Leo locked the phone. Outside the secure wing something moved in the dark hallway again. He turned toward the outer door without speaking. Damien was already moving with him. “Stay with Alexander,” Leo said. “Door locked.” I stepped back into the bedroom and closed the door. The lock clicked. Alexander slept on in the crib. The night light held its circle. I stood with my back against the wood and listened. Footsteps. Low voices. Then silence. Minutes passed. A soft knock. “Rosella. Open.” I unlocked the door. Leo stepped in. Dust on his shirt. The cut on his arm still wrapped. “Empty,” he said. “Whoever it was moved fast. Cameras caught nothing.” Damien stood behind him in the sitting room, phone to his ear. Leo looked at me. The heat from earlier was still there under the tiredness. “We stay here. No one
Rosella's POV I stayed in the bathroom doorway, Alexander still in my arms. Leo stood in the sitting room with Damien and Elias, voices low, dust and blood on his shirt. “Lower landing is held,” Elias said. “One man down. The second ran for the service tunnel. We have men on both ends.” Leo nodded once. “Sweep every connecting door. No gaps.” Damien looked at me, then at Leo. “She should stay in the bathroom until the full sweep is done.” Leo turned to me. The heat from earlier was still in his eyes under the dirt and the cut on his arm. “Go back inside. Lock it. I will call when it is clear.” I stepped back into the small bathroom and locked the door again. Cold tile under my feet. Alexander warm against my chest. The leftover need from the long night still sat low under the fear. The two would not separate. Outside, footsteps moved away. Doors opened and closed. Radio static. I sat on the closed toilet lid and held the baby. The silk of the nightdress stuck lig
Rosella's POV Smoke reached the secure wing first. Thin, Bitter,Real. I sat up, Alexander still slept in the crib, The night light held its soft circle. Leo was already on his feet in the sitting room, phone pressed to his ear. “How close,” he said. Elias’s voice came through, tight. “Greenhouse is gone. Fire team has it contained but the east path is blocked. Tracks lead straight back toward the main house. Toward your wing.” Leo’s eyes met mine across the open doorway. “Toward us.” “Yes.” He ended the call and came to the bedroom threshold. “Stay with him. Door open. Do not go near the windows.” I nodded. The leftover want from the long night still sat low under the new edge in his voice. Damien called from the outer door. “Motion on the lower service corridor. One person. Moving fast.” Leo turned. “Hold the door. I am coming.” He looked back at me once. “Lock it behind me if you have to.” Then he was gone. The outer lock turned. I stayed by
Rosella's POV I stayed awake longer than I meant to. The night light held its circle on the crib. Alexander slept without stirring. Leo sat in the sitting room doorway, phone in his hand, eyes moving between the outer door and the screen. The last message still sat in my head. Come to the old greenhouse. Alone. Or I come to the crib. Leo’s phone lit. He read it, then spoke low. “Elias has movement near the service road. Two figures. Not the driver.” Damien answered from the outer door. “I can take the south path.” “No. Stay on this door. Elias handles it.” Leo stood and came to the bedroom threshold. He did not step inside. “You heard.” “I did.” He looked at Alexander, then at me. “No one from this wing moves. Not for any message.” I nodded. The leftover want from earlier still sat low under the new edge in his voice. He stayed in the doorway a second longer. “When this is finished I am not waiting.” The words landed. My body answered before I could sto
Rosella's POV.Leo stood in the living room, turning the silver cufflink over in his fingers. The morning light caught the polished metal, making it gleam innocently. My heart slammed against my ribs as recognition hit me like a punch. It was Damien’s. One of the pair he always wore with his dress
Rosella's POV.Morning light filtered softly through the heavy curtains of the master bedroom, casting a deceptive calm over everything. I lay beside Leo, my body still humming from the chaos of the night before, every muscle deliciously sore in ways he could never imagine. He stirred first, his a
Rosella's POV.My heart slammed against my ribs like a caged animal desperate for escape as I stared at the phone screen. Leo’s message glowed mockingly in the dim bedroom light: “On my way home early after all. Be there in 15 minutes. Miss you.” The gate camera notification flashed right after—hi
Rosella's POV.The door swung open fully, and the silhouette stepped into the light. My heart, which had been hammering like a trapped bird, stuttered and then steadied as recognition hit me. It wasn’t Leo. Thank God. It was Damien, our head of security.He stood there in his crisp black uniform,







