Chapter 4 - The Senator's Sin
By 2:00 AM, the grand study on the second floor of the Rossi mansion was suffocating with tension.
Senator Richard Kensington sat in a leather armchair, his expensive Italian suit rumpled, his hair disheveled. Victoria sat beside him, crying hysterically into a silk handkerchief, her manicured fingers clutching her father's arm.
Leo sat behind his massive mahogany desk, pouring himself two fingers of scotch. Mateo stood near the locked doors, his arms crossed over his chest.
"This is kidnapping, Leo!" Senator Kensington roared, slamming his fist onto the armrest. "You hold my daughter against her will over an domestic misunderstanding with a servant?! Victoria is a refined woman! She panicked!"
"She locked a child with severe asthma in a subterranean vault," Leo said calmly, taking a slow sip of his drink. "And then she split open the skull of the woman trying to save her."
"A maid!" Victoria sobbed, pointing a shaking finger toward the floor. "She's a nameless, fat maid! She laid her hands on me first! She was threatening me!"
Leo set his glass down. The heavy crystal hit the mahogany desk with a sharp clack that silenced the room.
"Her name is Beatrice Miller," Leo said. Every word was precise, sharp, and deadly. "And as of two hours ago, she is no longer a maid in this house."
Victoria blinked through her tears. "What?"
"She is the primary guardian of my daughter," Leo continued, his dark eyes fixing on the Senator. "Which means an attack on Beatrice Miller is an attack on the Rossi family direct lineage."
Senator Kensington’s face paled. He knew what that meant in Leo’s world. An attack on the inner family was punishable by total destruction.
"Leo, let's be reasonable," the Senator stammered, adjusting his silk tie. "We have a deal. The shipping permits for the Port of Chicago go through my committee next week. You need my signature to clear your cargo. If you prosecute Victoria or cause a public scandal, those permits die on my desk."
Leo pulled a thick black leather folder from his desk drawer and tossed it across the wood. It landed right in front of the Senator.
"Open it," Leo said.
The Senator hesitated, then opened the folder. As his eyes scanned the printed financial statements, wire transfers, and photographic evidence, the color drained completely from his skin.
"Where... where did you get this?" the Senator whispered.
"You thought you were the only one taking notes, Richard?" Leo asked, leaning back in his executive chair. "I have every bank account you’ve opened in the Cayman Islands since 2018. I have the receipts for the bribes you took from the syndicate in Detroit. If I release this file to the federal prosecutor tonight, you won't just lose your Senate seat. You will die in a federal penitentiary."
Victoria gasped, looking at her father in terror. "Dad... what is he talking about?"
"Shut up, Victoria!" the Senator snapped, his voice cracking with fear. He looked at Leo, his pride utterly broken. "What do you want?"
"First," Leo said, standing up and walking toward them, "you will sign the shipping permits right now. Mateo has the documents ready."
"Done," the Senator choked out.
"Second," Leo continued, stopping in front of Victoria, who shrank back into her chair. "Victoria will sign a formal confession admitting to the assault on Beatrice Miller and child endangerment. The confession will be held in my safe. If either of you ever comes within five miles of my daughter or Beatrice again, the confession and the financial files go directly to the FBI."
Victoria began to sob hysterically, but her father grabbed her pen and shoved it into her hand. "Sign it, Victoria. Sign it right now!"
Ten minutes later, the Senator dragged his sobbing daughter out of the mansion into the pouring rain.
Leo stood at the window of his study, watching their sedan speed down the long driveway.
Mateo walked up beside him. "You let them walk away too easily, Leo. Victoria is vindictive. She won't let this go."
"I know," Leo said softly, his reflection dark against the rain-streaked glass. "Which is why I need you to double the security detail on the house. Starting tomorrow, Beatrice and Lily don't leave this estate without four armed escorts."
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"Beatrice?" Mateo asked, a subtle smirk playing on his lips. "You really made her the primary guardian?"
Leo turned away from the window, his expression unreadable. "She took a blow meant for my child, Mateo. She bleeds for this family. That makes her more real than anyone else in this house."
