Pustaka
Cari
Beranda / Mafia / The Don’s Mysterious Nanny / Chapter 21: Vanessa

Share

Chapter 21: Vanessa

Penulis: Cold Storm
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-07-08 15:51:20

The pediatric room was painted in soft pastels, with cartoon animals on the walls. Aria looked even smaller in the hospital crib, wires and monitors attached to her tiny body.

I pulled a chair as close to the crib as possible and reached through the bars to hold her hand.

"I'm here, baby," I whispered. "I'm not going anywhere."

Alessandro sat in the chair beside me, his presence both comforting and unsettling.

"She's going to be okay," he said quietly.

"You keep saying that."

"Because it's true."

"Children die from fevers all the time."

"Not her. Not my daughter."

The fierce protectiveness in his voice made my chest tight.

"You can't control everything, Alessandro."

"Watch me."

I looked at him, seeing the same fear in his eyes that I felt in my heart.

"Are you okay?"

"No," he said simply. "My daughter is in the hospital. I'm not okay."

"But you're handling it."

"I'm handling it because I have to. Because she needs me to."

"She needs both of us."

The words slipped out
Lanjutkan membaca buku ini secara gratis
Pindai kode untuk mengunduh Aplikasi
Bab Terkunci
Bab sebelumnya Bab selanjutnya

Bab terbaru

  • The Don’s Mysterious Nanny    Chapter 43: Alessandro

    The decision felt like swallowing glass."You can move back into the penthouse," I told Isabella over dinner. "For Aria's sake."Her face lit up like I'd just handed her the world."Alessandro, thank you. I know this isn't easy, but we can make this work. We can be a family again."Aria was sitting in her high chair, pushing pieces of cut-up chicken around her plate. She hadn't touched her vegetables, and she kept looking toward the kitchen.Looking for someone who wasn't coming back."There are conditions," I said, cutting through Isabella's excitement.Her smile faltered slightly. "Of course. Whatever you need.""Separate bedrooms."The words came out harsher than I'd intended, but I couldn't take them back.Isabella's fork paused halfway to her mouth. "I don't understand.""I need time to adjust. To get used to... this. Having you back."It was a lie, but it was better than the truth.The truth was that the thought of sharing a bed with anyone made my skin crawl. The truth was that

  • The Don’s Mysterious Nanny    Chapter 42: Vanessa

    My fever had finally broken, but my hands were still shaking as I scrolled through another classified file.Not from illness this time.From pure, unadulterated rage.I'd found the missing piece. The one that made Isabella's entire charade make sense.She hadn't married Alessandro out of love.She'd married him for power.The Morretti family had been losing ground for years. Smaller families were muscling in on their territory, their influence was waning, and their traditional sources of income were drying up.But Alessandro's family? The De Luca empire was thriving.Shipping. Real estate. Legitimate businesses that provided perfect fronts for less legitimate activities.Isabella had seen an opportunity and seized it."Fucking bitch," I muttered, wiping my nose with a tissue.The marriage had been strategic from day one. Get close to Alessandro, learn his business, and find his weaknesses.But Alessandro hadn't been weak.He'd been smart. Careful. Too careful for Isabella to get the a

  • The Don’s Mysterious Nanny    Chapter 41: Vanessa

    The laptop screen blurred in front of my eyes as another wave of nausea hit.I pushed the computer away and stumbled to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before my stomach emptied itself for the third time today.This flu was killing me.Three days of fever, chills, and feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. Three days of living on saltines and ginger ale because everything else came right back up.Three days of being completely alone.I splashed cold water on my face and caught my reflection in the mirror. Pale skin, hollow eyes, hair that looked like I'd been sleeping in a dumpster.Which wasn't far from the truth.My apartment had become my prison. Dishes piled in the sink, takeout containers scattered across the coffee table, and tissues everywhere because I'd run out of energy to clean up after myself.This was pathetic.I was a federal agent. I'd survived undercover operations, dangerous criminals, and psychological warfare.But a simple flu was going to take me down.

  • The Don’s Mysterious Nanny    Chapter 40: Alessandro

    Aria's laughter echoed through the penthouse, but it felt hollow to me.She was sitting on the living room floor with Isabella, stacking colorful blocks into a tower that would inevitably fall. Isabella's voice was soft and musical as she counted each block, trying to teach Aria numbers she was still too young to understand."One, two, three," Isabella said patiently. "Can you say three, sweetheart?"Aria babbled something vaguely like the number, and Isabella's face lit up like she'd just solved world hunger.I watched from the doorway, coffee cup in hand, feeling like an outsider in my own home.This should be perfect. This should be everything I'd dreamed of during those dark months when I thought Isabella was dead.My wife. My daughter. My family.So why did it feel like I was watching someone else's life?"Alessandro?" Isabella looked up at me, her smile bright. "Come sit with us."I forced myself to move, settling onto the couch behind them. Close enough to be part of the scene,

  • The Don’s Mysterious Nanny    Chapter 39: Vanessa

    The drive to Alessandro's neighborhood felt like driving toward my execution.Every block brought me closer to something I wasn't sure I could handle seeing.But I had to know.Had to know that Aria was okay. That she was adjusting to life without me.Had to know that Alessandro was moving on.Even if it destroyed me.I parked three blocks away from the penthouse, my hands shaking as I turned off the engine. The tree-lined street was quiet, expensive cars parked in perfect rows like soldiers standing at attention.This wasn't my world. It never had been.I was just a federal agent who'd gotten in over her head.I walked back toward Alessandro's building, staying in the shadows of the oak trees that lined the sidewalk. My heart hammered against my ribs with every step.What was I even doing here?Stalking the man I'd lied to for three months?Spying on a child who probably didn't even remember my name by now?But I couldn't stay away. Some masochistic part of me needed to see them one

  • The Don’s Mysterious Nanny    Chapter 38: Vanessa

    The federal building looked like a tomb in the gray morning light.I sat in my car for ten minutes, staring at the entrance, trying to work up the courage to walk inside.Agent Sullivan was waiting for me in Conference Room B. The same room where this whole nightmare had started eighteen months ago.The same room where I'd agreed to become someone else.To become Vanessa Rodriguez, the naive nanny who'd fallen in love with her target.I checked my reflection in the rearview mirror. Dark circles under my eyes. Hollow cheeks. I looked like I'd been living on coffee and regret for the past week.Which I had.My phone buzzed. A text from Sullivan: *Where are you?*I turned off the engine and forced myself to move.---Conference Room B was exactly as I remembered it—gray walls, fluorescent lighting, and a table that had seen too many broken dreams.Sullivan was already there, sitting at the head of the table with a stack of files in front of him. He looked up when I entered, his expressio

Bab Lainnya

Anda juga akan menyukai

Jelajahi dan baca novel bagus secara gratis
Akses gratis ke berbagai novel bagus di aplikasi GoodNovel. Unduh buku yang kamu suka dan baca di mana saja & kapan saja.
Baca buku gratis di Aplikasi
Pindai kode untuk membaca di Aplikasi
DMCA.com Protection Status