Chapter 6 - The Fall of Kensington
By midnight, Victoria Kensington was placed in an armored transport vehicle surrounded by twenty federal marshals and thirty of Leo’s private security units.
There would be no escape this time.
She was taken directly to a maximum-security federal facility in Indiana, held under non-bailable terrorism and treason charges. Her father, Senator Kensington, was stripped of his office, his assets seized by the federal government, his name forever erased from the political landscape of Illinois.
In the master suite of the Rossi mansion, the family doctor finished putting three neat stitches into Beatrice’s left shoulder.
“It’s just a graze,” Dr. Gabriel said, smiling kindly as he packed his medical kit. “You’re going to have a small scar, Miss Miller, but you’ll be good as new in two weeks.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Beatrice said softly.
When the doctor left, the room fell into a quiet, cozy stillness.
The storm outside had passed, leaving behind a crisp, starry night over the lake.
Leo sat on the edge of the bed beside her. He was holding a small glass of cognac, looking at her with an intensity that made Beatrice’s skin flush warm beneath her bandages.
“What?” she asked shyly, looking down at her lap. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m thinking about how blind I was,” Leo said quietly.
He set his glass down on the nightstand and reached out, taking her soft, large hand into his own.
“For eighteen months, you walked through this house,” Leo whispered. “You washed my dishes. You cleaned my floors. You were the softest, kindest thing in this dark world, and I was too buried in my own grief to notice.”
“Leo... I was just a maid,” Beatrice said softly. “I was comfortable being invisible.”
“You were never just a maid, Beatrice,” Leo said firmly. He leaned in closer, his dark eyes searching hers. “You have more courage, more dignity, and more love in your heart than anyone I have ever known. You took a bullet for my daughter tonight.”
“I’d take ten more,” Beatrice said without a second of hesitation.
May you like
Leo let out a breath that sounded like a prayer. He raised her hand to his lips, pressing a soft, lingering kiss against her knuckles.
“I don't deserve you,” he murmured against her skin. “But I am never letting you go.”
