Chapter 5 - Whispers in the Glass House
By the fifth week, Leo was thriving, his infant giggles filling the once-silent halls of the mansion. But as Hunter’s role shifted from a secret maid to the central figure in the Don’s personal life, whispers began to echo among the secondary staff and lower-tier capos.
Some saw Hunter as a opportunistic gold-digger who had manipulated her way into the Don's heart using an sick baby. Others suspected she might be a spy planted by rival families.
The tension reached a boiling point during a formal dinner Lorenzo insisted Hunter attend downstairs. Surrounded by high-ranking mafia lieutenants and their glamorous, jewel-draped wives, Hunter felt utterly out of place in her simple dress.
"So, Miss Higgins," hissed Sofia Morelli, the snobbish sister of an allied underboss, cutting her steak with deliberate precision. "We all find it fascinating how a temporary cleaning woman managed to secure quarters on the executive floor. Tell us, is wet-nursing all you provide to Don Rossi?"
The dining hall fell dead silent. Marco shifted uncomfortably, his hand instinctively moving toward his suit jacket.
Hunter felt a wave of humiliation, but before she could speak, Lorenzo laid his cutlery down on his plate with a sharp, echoing clack.
The temperature in the room plummeted to sub-zero.
"Sofia," Lorenzo said softly, his voice carrying a terrifying lethality. "The woman sitting at my right hand saved the heir to the Rossi dynasty when every doctor in Europe failed. She carries more courage in her small finger than your entire family possesses."
Sofia turned pale, swallowing hard. "Lorenzo, I was only joking—"
"You will address her as Lady Hunter," Lorenzo commanded, standing up and towering over the table. "And if I hear another disrespectful word whispered about her in this house, or anywhere in Milan, I will treat the speaker as an enemy of my family. Am I clear?"
"Yes, Don Rossi," the entire table answered in unison, bowing their heads.
May you like
Lorenzo turned to Hunter, offering his hand with royal grace. "Let us go back upstairs, my love. The company here is uninspiring."
As Hunter took his hand and walked out of the dining room under the awe-struck gazes of the syndicate, her heart pounded—not from fear, but from the realization that Lorenzo was publicly claiming her as his equal.
