Chương 2
“You think someone did something?”
Liana looked at Nico.
The baby was peaceful in her arms.
Too peaceful compared to the nights before.
“I think he is trying to tell you something,” she said.
Those words stayed in Matteo’s mind.
Nobody had ever spoken about his son that way.
Everyone around him searched for medical explanations.
They blamed stress.
They blamed illness.
They blamed anything except the possibility that someone inside his home had caused the problem.
Matteo turned toward the security monitor.
The footage from the nursery appeared on the screen.
He watched the recorded images carefully.
For several minutes, nothing seemed unusual.
Then the timestamp changed.
A figure appeared near the crib.
A person entering the nursery while everyone believed the room was empty.
Matteo’s face became completely still.
Liana looked at the screen and felt a chill move through her body.
The mysterious figure leaned over the crib.
The footage was unclear.
But the movement was enough.
Someone had been near Nico.
Someone Matteo had not authorized.
Matteo stepped closer to the monitor.
His calm expression returned, but his eyes revealed fear.
Not for himself.
For his son.
Liana held Nico tighter.
The baby remained asleep, unaware of the secret unfolding around him.
Matteo looked at the hidden footage again.
Then he looked at the crib.
Something beneath the surface of the mansion was beginning to reveal itself.
And Liana knew where they needed to look next.
She turned toward Matteo.
“Check under the mattress,” she whispered.
Matteo did not move for several seconds after Liana spoke.
The words seemed impossible, yet something inside him already knew she might be right.
Slowly, he walked toward the crib while keeping his eyes fixed on the mattress.
Every instinct he had developed as a man who survived dangerous situations told him to be careful.
He had searched for enemies outside his home for years.
He had never imagined the danger could be hidden inside the room where his son slept.
Liana stood quietly behind him, holding Nico close.
She watched Matteo’s expression change from confusion to determination.
The exhausted father disappeared.
The man who protected his family returned.
“Everyone leaves this floor,” Matteo said.
His voice was calm, but there was a warning beneath it.
The security team immediately moved through the hallway.
The servants lowered their heads and stepped away.
Within moments, the nursery became silent except for Nico’s soft breathing.
Matteo looked at Liana.
“Stay here.”
She nodded.
She did not want to leave the baby.
Not after seeing the fear in Matteo’s eyes.
Two security officers carefully moved toward the crib.
They removed the blankets first.
Then they lifted the mattress slowly.
At first, there was nothing unusual.
Only the expensive bedding Matteo had chosen himself before Nico was born.
For a brief moment, Matteo thought they were wrong.
Then one of the officers stopped.
“Sir.”
The single word changed the atmosphere in the room.
Matteo stepped closer.
Beneath the mattress frame, hidden between the wooden support panels, was a small object wrapped in dark fabric.
No one spoke.
The officer carefully removed it and placed it on the table.
Matteo stared at the object as if it carried a memory he did not want to face.
Liana looked at it with growing concern.
“What is that?” she whispered.
Matteo did not answer.
He had no idea.
But he knew one thing.
Someone had placed it there deliberately.
The officer slowly opened the fabric.
Inside was a small recording device.
The room went completely still.
Matteo’s jaw tightened.
For weeks, someone had been inside his son’s nursery.
Someone had been watching.
Someone had listened to every cry.
Every night.
Every moment.
Liana looked at Nico and held him closer.
The baby remained calm, unaware of the danger that had surrounded him.
Matteo picked up the device carefully.
His hands remained steady, but his eyes were filled with anger.
“Find out who installed this,” he ordered.
The security team immediately began checking the device.
Liana noticed something else.
The camera monitor on the wall showed a reflection from the nursery window.
She stepped closer.
“Matteo.”
He turned.
She pointed toward the screen.
“There.”
The image was blurry.
But in the corner of the footage, a person had been standing near the doorway.
Not entering.
Not leaving.
Just watching.
Matteo leaned toward the screen.
The figure was wearing dark clothing.
The face was hidden.
But the posture looked familiar.
Too familiar.
His expression changed.
Liana noticed.
“Do you know who it is?”
Matteo remained silent.
Memories moved through his mind.
People he trusted.
People who had access.
People who knew exactly how to move through his home without raising suspicion.
“No,” he finally said.
But Liana could tell he was not completely certain.
That frightened her more than the footage itself.
Later that evening, Nico slept peacefully in another room while the nursery was examined completely.
Every corner was checked.
Every object was inspected.
Every security record was reviewed.
Matteo stayed beside the doorway, watching everything.
He had spent years building a fortress around his family.
Yet someone had entered that fortress without breaking a single lock.
Liana sat in a nearby chair, quietly looking at Nico.
The baby had fallen asleep holding a small piece of her apron.
Matteo noticed.
“He does not do that with anyone else.”
Liana looked down.
“I think he just needed someone who stayed.”
The sentence affected Matteo more than she realized.
Because he knew exactly what she meant.
Since Nico’s mother had died, the mansion had become filled with people trying to solve problems.
Doctors.
Nannies.
Security.
Specialists.
Everyone had touched his son.
Everyone had examined him.
But maybe no one had simply comforted him.
Matteo walked closer.
“You lost someone.”
It was not a question.
Liana looked surprised.
She lowered her eyes.
“Yes.”
“I can see it.”
She was quiet for a moment.
“Some pain does not disappear.”
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Matteo looked at his son.
For the first time, he understood that Liana’s sadness was not weakness.
