Chapter 1 - The Last Normal Morning
Three weeks earlier, Mia Moretti had eaten pancakes at a kitchen island covered in morning sunlight.
At the time, nobody in the house knew how quickly ordinary things could disappear.
Her pink cup sat beside a plate cut into small pieces.
Her stuffed rabbit, Benny, leaned against the fruit bowl.
Rocco stood at the opposite side of the kitchen reading a message on his phone.
Mia watched him.
"You have your serious eyebrows."
Rocco looked up.
"My what?"
"Your serious eyebrows."
She demonstrated by pushing her own eyebrows together.
Rocco smiled.
"Is that what they look like?"
"Worse."
He laughed.
Mia grinned.
Those moments had become more precious since Isabella died.
Two years earlier, Mia's mother had been killed in a highway accident outside Boston.
For months afterward, Mia had asked when Mommy was coming home.
Rocco had never found a good answer.
There was no good answer.
Eventually Mia stopped asking.
That hurt him even more.
He had become both more protective and more absent after Isabella's death.
He told himself the absence was temporary.
There were companies to protect.
Employees to manage.
Lawsuits.
Investments.
Meetings.
A foundation Isabella had created for children's hospitals.
Rocco convinced himself that working harder meant preserving the life Isabella had helped build.
He never considered that a mansion full of employees could still become an unsafe place for a child.
Bernice Hale entered the kitchen that morning carrying a tablet.
She had managed the Moretti household for nearly nine years.
She had worked first for Isabella and later for Rocco.
She knew every contractor.
Every schedule.
Every staff member.
Every alarm code.
Every delivery.
Her efficiency had become part of the architecture of the house.
"The driver will arrive in twenty minutes," she said.
Rocco nodded.
"Chicago first. Toronto Thursday. Boston again Saturday morning."
"If everything stays on schedule."
"It will."
Bernice smiled.
"Of course."
Mia's smile disappeared.
"Saturday?"
Rocco looked at her.
"I'll be home Saturday."
"You said Friday."
"I know."
"You promised movie night."
Rocco placed his phone down.
"I did."
Mia stared at the pancake on her fork.
Rocco walked around the island and crouched beside her.
"I'll make it up to you."
"You always make it up."
The words were not angry.
That made them worse.
Rocco studied her.
Before he could answer, Laine Hale entered the kitchen.
She was Bernice's daughter.
She worked occasionally as an interior consultant for several Moretti properties and had gradually become a frequent presence in the mansion.
"Mia," Laine said brightly, "your daddy has important work."
Mia looked at her.
"I know."
Rocco stood.
Laine smiled at him.
"We'll take good care of her."
Rocco looked at Bernice.
Bernice nodded.
"Always."
That word would return to him later.
Always.
Rocco picked up Mia.
She wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I love you, bug."
"I love you more."
"Impossible."
She kissed his cheek.
At the front entrance twenty minutes later, Rocco gave Bernice several final instructions.
"She has the pediatric appointment Thursday."
"Already scheduled."
"No changes to her food."
"I know."
"Call me if anything happens."
Bernice almost looked offended.
"Rocco, I have cared for this household for years."
"I know."
"We will be fine."
Rocco glanced back toward the staircase.
Mia stood there holding Benny.
Laine had one hand on her shoulder.
Rocco waved.
Mia waved back.
Then the front door closed.
The black car disappeared down the drive.
Bernice waited until it passed the gate.
Then her hand left Mia's shoulder.
So did the smile on her face.
Mia looked up.
"Can I finish my pancakes?"
Bernice glanced toward the kitchen.
"No."
"But Daddy said I could."
"Your father is gone."
Mia frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Bernice walked toward the kitchen.
"It means the house follows my rules now."
Laine remained beside Mia.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then Mia heard footsteps from the corridor.
Ralph Hale appeared carrying two large sports bags.
He was Bernice's son and Laine's older brother.
Unlike Laine, he had no official reason to be in the Moretti mansion.
Mia had seen him before.
But never with so many bags.
Never with that expression.
Ralph dropped them on the floor.
"Where do you want these?"
Bernice looked toward the rear hallway.
"Sports storage."
Ralph noticed Mia.
"Still here?"
Bernice nodded.
"For now."
Mia did not understand the words.
She did notice something else.
Bernice took Rocco's household tablet from her bag.
She opened the security controls.
Then she disabled three cameras.
One in the kitchen.
One in the rear hallway.
And one outside Mia's bedroom.
Mia hugged Benny tighter.
"Why did you turn Daddy's cameras off?"
Bernice looked at her.
For the first time, there was no attempt at kindness.
"Because your father doesn't need to see everything."
That afternoon, Mia's favorite nanny was sent home.
The cook was dismissed before dinner.
The night housekeeper was told not to return until Monday.
By sunset, most of the people Mia trusted were gone.
Only the Hales remained.
And just before Mia was taken upstairs, she heard Ralph ask a question behind the study door.
"How long do we have?"
Bernice answered.
"Until Saturday."
Laine's voice came next.
"And if he comes back early?"
May you like
Bernice laughed softly.
"Rocco Moretti never comes back early."
