Chapter 5 - The Changing of the Guard
By noon the next day, the architecture of the Falcone estate had shifted completely.
The small, windowless bedroom near the service entrance was empty. Rebecca’s single, battered suitcase had been moved by three formal liveried attendants into the east wing—the master guest suite that overlooked the rose gardens and the private lake.
Rebecca stood in the center of the massive room, her feet sinking into a silk Persian rug that felt softer than anything she had ever touched. Clementine was already on the bed, jumping up and down on the Egyptian cotton sheets, her laughter ringing through the high, vaulted ceilings.
A knock came at the open door. Adriano stood there, no longer wearing his armor of tailored suits. He wore a simple black sweater and dark trousers, his hands tucked loosely into his pockets.
“Is the room acceptable, Rebecca?” he asked.
Rebecca turned around, her face pale, her hands gripping the edge of her old wool coat which she refused to let the maids take. “Mr. Falcone... Adriano... I don't belong here. I am very grateful for what you did last night. You saved me from... from her. But I cannot live like this. I am a housekeeper. I don't know how to be a guest in a palace.”
Adriano walked into the room slowly, his heavy boots making no sound against the thick carpet. He stopped three feet from her, his tall frame blocking out the bright light from the balcony windows.
“You are not a guest, Rebecca,” he said gently. “And you will never clean another surface in this state as long as I have breath. Half of everything I own—the real estate, the shipping lines, the corporate accounts—is being transferred into a trust fund for Clementine this afternoon. It is the debt I owe Thomas. It is thirty years too late, but it is his.”
Rebecca shook her head, tears filling her eyes again. “Thomas didn't save you for money, Adriano. He saved you because you were a human being in a fire. If he were here right now, he’d tell you to take all this wealth and give it to a hospital. He just wanted us to be safe.”
“You will be safe,” Adriano said, his voice hard as iron. “But to be safe in my world, you must be powerful. The Lombardi family is not going to let Genevieve’s humiliation go unanswered. They think I am weak because I chose a mechanic’s memory over their illegal docks. They are going to come for this house, Rebecca.”
Clementine stopped jumping on the bed. She looked at Adriano with her wide, serious brown eyes, then slid off the mattress and walked over to him. She reached up and touched the pale scar on his jaw with one tiny, curious finger.
“Are you the king of this house?” she asked.
Adriano looked down at her, his expression softening into something beautiful and protective. “I am, little one.”
May you like
“Are you going to let the mean lady come back?”
“Never,” Adriano said, kneeling down until his eyes were level with hers. “If anyone tries to make your mommy cry again, Clementine, I will make the whole world go dark for them. I promise you.”
