Chapter 3 - The Night on the Cliff
Dante stayed on his knees beside the crib for twenty minutes, his fingers gently wrapped around his daughter's tiny hand, refusing to break contact as if she might vanish if he let go.
Finally, Camilla walked into the nursery carrying two mugs of black coffee. She set one on the small changing table beside Dante and pulled up a wooden rocking chair.
"Her name is Victoria," Camilla said softly. "Elisa told me she wanted to name her Victoria if she was a girl. Because it meant victory."
Dante slowly stood up, wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeve, and turned his dark, intense gaze toward the housemaid. The warmth in his eyes instantly vanished, replaced by the deadly sharpness of La Pietra.
"Explain," Dante commanded, his voice cold and low. "Start from the beginning. Every detail. If you leave out a single second of that night, Camilla, I will tear this city apart."
Camilla took a slow sip of her coffee, her hands trembling slightly against the ceramic mug.
"Eight months ago," Camilla began, her eyes fixed on the silver nightingale dangling around the baby's neck. "The Tuesday of the crash. You were in Chicago meeting with the commission. Elisa was seven months pregnant, staying at the estate on the Palisades."
"I remember," Dante growled. "I talked to her at five o'clock. She said she was going to bed early."
"She tried to," Camilla said. "But at seven o'clock, Tommy Grimaldi came to the back entrance of the estate."
Dante's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "Tommy? My underboss? My underboss was at my house while I was out of state?"
"He didn't come to see you," Camilla replied, her voice dropping into a whisper. "He came to see Elisa. I was in the pantry folding linens. The door was cracked open. Tommy didn't know I was there."
She paused, taking a deep, shuddering breath.
"Tommy told her that there was a security breach at the main warehouse," Camilla continued. "He said you had been compromised in Chicago and that rival hitmen were on their way to the Palisades estate right now. He told her he had an armored car waiting at the cliff road to take her to a safehouse in New Jersey."
Dante’s blood turned to pure acid. "She was seven months pregnant! She was terrified!"
"She trusted him, Dante!" Camilla cried softly. "He was your right hand! He was like a brother to you! She didn't hesitate. She grabbed a small bag and walked out to his car. But I saw Tommy's face as he led her out the side door. He was smiling. A horrible, cold smile."
Camilla looked straight into Dante’s eyes.
"I knew something was wrong," she said. "I ran to my car—my old beat-up Honda—and I followed them onto the Palisades highway from a distance. I was terrified, but I couldn't leave her."
"What happened on the cliff road?" Dante demanded, stepping closer, his breathing heavy and fast.
"Tommy drove her to the overlook," Camilla said, tears welling up in her eyes. "Another car was waiting there—a black SUV with blackened windows. I saw two men get out. One of them was Marco Caruso."
Dante slammed his fist against the wooden doorframe, splintering the oak trim. "The Caruso family."
"They pulled Elisa out of the car," Camilla sobbed. "They threw her to the ground. Marco Caruso had a gun. But then... Elisa went into sudden, violent labor right there on the cold dirt. The stress, the terror—it triggered her body."
Camilla wiped her tears with the back of her apron.
"They didn't care," she continued. "They left her screaming on the ground while Tommy and Marco argued near the cliff edge. I hid in the bushes behind the stone wall. While they were arguing about money, Elisa gave birth right there in the dark on a picnic blanket."
Dante’s face was pale as death. "She delivered Victoria on the cliff?"
"Yes," Camilla whispered. "And the moment the baby cried, Elisa knew they were going to kill them both. She managed to slip her silver nightingale around the baby’s neck, wrapped her in her own cashmere shawl, and crawled through the brush toward where I was hiding. She saw me, Dante. She saw me in the shadows."
May you like
Camilla’s voice broke completely into a ragged sob.
"She shoved the baby into my arms," Camilla wept. "She looked me in the eyes and whispered, 'Take her to the green door. Keep her safe from Tommy. Tell Dante when the time is right.' And then... she crawled back toward the car so they wouldn't look for the baby."
