Not a nurse. Not Martha. Not a physician.

Roman.

Nicholas's cheek rested against his father's shoulder, and his small fingers curled into the shirt fabric.

Rachel stopped at the doorway.

Roman looked at her.

"I want to change the household schedule."

She waited.

"The nursery staff will remain, but I want a proper rotation, with a licensed pediatric nurse on every shift. Dr. Sterling will supervise the medical arrangements, and I want the emergency protocols reviewed by someone who isn't employed by me."

"That's sensible," Rachel said.

"I also want you to oversee the household schedule."

She blinked.

"Me?"

"You've managed the nursery better in one day than my staff has in six months."

"Mr. Bellini, I'm a housekeeper."

"You were hired to clean the house. That doesn't mean cleaning is the only thing you're capable of doing."

Rachel felt an uncomfortable warmth rise in her cheeks.

"I don't have formal training in childcare management."

"Then we'll arrange it."

She looked at Nicholas.

The baby had fallen asleep again, his mouth slightly open, his breathing soft against Roman's shoulder.

"And Sophie?" Rachel asked.

Roman followed her gaze.

"She stays out of the basement."

Rachel's eyes widened.

"If daycare closes again, she can stay in the kitchen or the rear garden. There'll be someone responsible for her. She won't have to hide."

Rachel swallowed.

"Thank you."

Roman shifted Nicholas carefully in his arms.

"And one more thing."

She waited.

"I don't want anyone in this house pretending that nothing happened yesterday."

His voice was steady, but his eyes were not.

"We're going to find out how my son ended up in that car, why Evelyn thought she could take him, and who helped her."

Rachel felt the warmth leave her face.

"You think someone inside the house knew?"

"I think someone should have noticed."

He looked toward the door.

"Marco will investigate. Until then, nobody leaves with Nicholas without my explicit permission and confirmation from the medical team."

Rachel nodded.

She had entered the estate believing the greatest danger was being dismissed from a job she desperately needed.

Now she understood that the house contained a far more complicated kind of risk.

People were not merely fighting over a child.

They were fighting over the future of an empire.

And somewhere within those limestone walls, someone had decided that Nicholas Bellini was a bargaining chip.

Three days later, Marco found the first piece of evidence.

It was not a dramatic discovery. No secret ledger, no confession, no hidden recording.

It was a telephone log.

A member of the household staff had called Evelyn's driver twice during the previous week. The calls were short, both placed from a number associated with the service wing.

The employee was a temporary nursery assistant who had been dismissed by Roman two months earlier for violating the estate's privacy policy. She had since returned as a contractor through an outside agency.

Her name was Denise Harper.

Marco found her in a small rental house outside Mount Pleasant.

She denied everything.

Then he showed her the call records.

Her face changed.

"I didn't know what they were planning," she said.

Marco sat across from her at a plain wooden table.

"What did they tell you?"

"That Mrs. Whitmore was worried about the baby. That she wanted to know when Roman was in meetings and whether the nursery staff had changed."

"Why?"

"She said she was arranging a family visit."

"Did she pay you?"

Denise looked down at her hands.

"Five hundred dollars."

Marco said nothing.

The silence became unbearable.

"She said the baby would be safer with her," Denise whispered. "She said Roman was unstable. That he wasn't really taking care of him."

"And you believed her?"

Denise's eyes filled.

"I don't know what I believed."

Marco closed the notebook.

"That's the problem."

By the time he returned to the estate, Roman was waiting in the study.

Rachel stood near the windows, her arms folded tightly across her chest. She had not been invited to the meeting, but Roman had asked her to stay after learning that she had seen Evelyn near the east courtyard before the incident.

Marco placed the notebook on the desk.

"Denise Harper gave Evelyn information about your schedule. She knew when the nursery staff changed shifts, and she told Evelyn when you were likely to be occupied."

Roman's face remained still.

"Did she know about the car?"

"She says she didn't. I believe she knew Evelyn intended to remove Nicholas from the estate, but I don't know whether she knew about the heat incident."

Roman looked at Rachel.

"Did you see Denise that morning?"

Rachel thought carefully.

"I saw a woman near the service corridor. I assumed she was there to deliver supplies. She wasn't wearing a uniform, so I remember noticing her."

"Could you identify her?"

"Yes."

Marco nodded.

"I'll arrange a formal statement."

Roman turned toward the window.

The estate spread beneath the afternoon sun, all manicured lawns, white gravel, and ancient oak trees. From the outside, it looked invulnerable.

He knew better now.

A fortress could keep enemies out.

It could also make it easier for betrayal to go unnoticed.

"What about Evelyn?" he asked.

"She's meeting with Victor Moretti tomorrow."

Roman turned sharply.

"Where?"

"At a private club downtown."

For the first time that afternoon, Roman smiled.

It was not a pleasant expression.

"Then we'll let them talk."

Rachel looked at him.

"What are you planning?"

Roman met her gaze.

"To find out what they think they're buying."

The next morning, Victor Moretti arrived at the estate.

He came in a black Mercedes with tinted windows and a driver who never looked directly at the security cameras. Victor was in his late fifties, tall and thin, with white hair combed straight back from his forehead. His gray double-breasted suit seemed designed for a colder climate.

He carried a narrow leather document case.

Roman met him on the rear patio beneath the pergola.

Marco stood behind Roman, his hands loosely folded in front of him.

"Roman," Victor said, taking a seat without waiting for an invitation. "You've been difficult to reach."

"I've been busy."

"So I've heard."

Victor opened his case and placed three documents on the glass table.

"Evelyn Whitmore has offered to transfer her voting rights in the Charleston Port Terminal Holding Corporation to our coalition. In return, she wants our support in securing temporary custody of Nicholas."

Roman did not move.

"Claire's shares are held in trust."

"Precisely. And Evelyn is the designated temporary trustee in the event of parental incapacity."

"An event you seem very eager to manufacture."

Victor smiled.

"Let's not be emotional. We both understand how these things work."

"Do we?"

"Your position has become complicated. The federal inquiries are distracting you, your family situation is unstable, and your absence from the docks has weakened your influence. You could settle this entire matter by selling us the terminal leases and stepping down from the board."

Roman looked at the papers.

"How much?"

"Twelve million dollars for the voting rights. More for the leases."

"And Evelyn gets my son?"

Victor spread his hands.

"Evelyn gets what she believes is best for the child. We get a more stable business environment. Everyone wins."