Chapter 6: Marco Makes His Move
I woke at 4 a.m.
to the sound of Alessandro's voice in the corridor.
Low.
Controlled.
The kind of quiet that means something has happened.
I picked Mia up without waking her and sat on the edge of the bed, listening.
The door opened.
Alessandro stood in the frame.
He was still dressed.
"Marco went to the building management office at midnight," he said.
"He used his security override to access the after-hours system.
He pulled three files — maintenance contracts, staff employment records, and the penthouse household log."
"The household log." My throat tightened.
"That has my name.
My hours.
My—"
"It also now has a notation added by me at eleven-fifty p.m.
stating that Mia has been an approved dependent guest of the household since her first day in the building." He said it evenly.
"Backdated is the wrong word.
Corrected is more accurate.
The building's legal counsel reviewed it an hour ago."
I stared at him.
"You did that tonight?"
"I did that the moment Raymond showed me the envelope." He stepped into the room.
"I also contacted child services directly.
Before Marco could.
A caseworker has already reviewed the situation and closed any potential inquiry.
Mia is safe.
That part is finished."
My eyes burned.
I didn't let it become anything more than that.
"He went to the files looking for ammunition," Alessandro continued.
"What he found instead was a clean record and a closed inquiry.
When he realized that, he made a phone call."
"To who?"
"A journalist.
A tabloid reporter he's used before for small leaks." Alessandro sat down in the chair near the window.
"The reporter called my publicist at two in the morning with a story about a housekeeper and a hidden baby.
My publicist told him the story was not only false but that we had documentation proving it, and that any publication would result in immediate legal action."
"Did he believe her?"
"He's dealt with my publicist before.
Yes.
He believed her."
Mia made a small sound against my shoulder.
I rubbed her back.
"Marco is running out of moves," I said.
"He has one left." Alessandro looked at me directly.
"He'll try to speak to me personally.
He'll want to negotiate.
He'll offer to return what he's taken in exchange for the complaint being withdrawn."
"Will you?"
"No."
The word was quiet and final.
"He'll threaten you again," I said.
"He'll try." Alessandro stood.
"At seven this morning, two detectives will be in the lobby.
When Marco arrives for his shift, they'll be waiting."
"What if he doesn't come in?"
"He'll come in.
He doesn't know how much we have.
He still thinks he has something to bargain with." Alessandro moved toward the door.
"Try to sleep.
Mia needs you rested more than this building needs you awake."
He was almost through the door when I said his name.
He stopped.
"Why did you do all of this tonight?" I asked.
"You could have let the police handle it in the morning.
You could have put us somewhere and waited."
He was quiet for a moment.
"Because he used your daughter," Alessandro said.
"And I don't let that stand while I'm still in a position to prevent it."
May you like
He pulled the door closed behind him.
Mia slept through all of it.
