Chapter 7 - A BED FOR A GUARDIAN
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We followed Luca up the curved marble staircase to the master wing.
This was a place I had only ever entered with a feather duster and cleaning supplies.
Luca kicked open the double oak doors to the massive master bedroom.
He walked straight toward the king-sized bed adorned with Egyptian cotton and silk throws.
Without a second thought, Luca laid the wet, muddy dog directly onto the center of the bed.
I gasped instinctively.
“Mr. Moretti, the sheets—!”
“The sheets can be replaced, Claire.”
Luca replied, stripping off his ruined suit jacket and tossing it unceremoniously onto the floor.
“The dog that saved my son’s life cannot.”
He pulled the heavy velvet comforter up over Bruno’s shivering shoulders, tucking it snugly around the dog’s neck.
Bruno let out a long, contented groan and rested his chin on the down pillows.
Benjamin scrambled onto the bed, curling his small body tightly against Bruno’s flank.
The little boy’s eyes were heavy with exhaustion, the immense terror of the night finally catching up to him.
Luca pulled the bedroom telephone from the nightstand and dialed a private number.
“Dr. Hayes?”
Luca spoke into the receiver with crisp authority.
“This is Luca Moretti.”
“I need you at my estate within twenty minutes.”
“Bring portable antibiotics, fluids, and a cardiac monitor.”
A pause lingered on the line before Luca continued.
“No, not for me.”
“For Isabella’s dog.”
“If you save him tonight, name your price and I will triple it.”
Luca hung up the phone and walked over to where I was still lingering awkwardly by the bedroom threshold.
He looked exhausted, his hair uncharacteristically disheveled.
“You have worked in this house for five years, Claire.”
He said softly, leaning against the doorframe.
“Why didn’t you come to me sooner about Vanessa?”
I lowered my eyes, shame burning my throat.
“I tried once, two months ago, Mr. Moretti.”
“I mentioned that she didn’t let Bruno inside the dining hall.”
“She told you I was being difficult and territorial over Isabella’s old routines.”
Luca flinched as if struck.
“And I dismissed you because I was too blind to see what was right in front of me.”
“You were trying to build a normal life for Benjamin,” I said gently.
“You wanted him to have a mother.”
Luca looked back at the bed, where Benjamin had already fallen asleep, clutching Bruno’s paw.
“I thought a mother meant a family.”
Luca’s voice cracked with raw regret.
“Instead, I invited a viper into the nursery.”
He looked back at me, his gaze intense, piercing, and entirely unguarded.
“You were the only one who truly protected him, Claire.”
“You and an old, dying dog.”
Before I could answer, the mansion’s intercom buzzed softly from the wall panel.
Marco’s voice came through the speaker.
“Boss, Dr. Hayes is at the gate.”
Luca straightened his posture, stepping aside to let me enter the room fully.
“Let him up immediately,” Luca answered.
May you like
He turned back to me with a faint, sorrowful smile.
“Let us see if we can keep Isabella’s promise alive for one more night.”
