Chapter 3 - The Taste of Fear
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The kitchen of the Whitfield estate was a massive, industrial space of stainless steel and white marble. Usually, it was a comforting place, filled with the aroma of roasting garlic and fresh herbs. Today, it felt like a bunker.
Rosie set Norine down on a tall stool at the central island, her hands shaking so violently she could barely open the freezer to retrieve the vanilla ice cream.
“Mommy, why was the pretty lady yelling?” Norine asked, swinging her little legs, completely oblivious to the danger they had just brushed against.
“She was just surprised, baby,” Rosie lied, forcing a smile onto her face as she scooped the ice cream into a small porcelain bowl. “You know how adults get when they find things they weren't looking for.”
The head chef, a burly Italian man named Enzo who had worked for the Whitfield family for twenty years, walked over. He didn't speak. He simply placed a warm, heavy hand on Rosie’s shoulder. He had seen her running down the hall. He had heard Emily’s panicked scream. In a house run by a syndicate boss, the staff knew how to read the temperature of the air.
“The boss told you to take the afternoon off, Rosie,” Enzo murmured quietly, wiping a counter with a damp cloth. “Take the girl to your quarters. Lock the door. Do not come out for the staff dinner tonight. I will bring plates to your room.”
“Enzo, what is happening?” Rosie whispered, her voice barely carrying over the hum of the massive refrigerators. “Emily looked like she was going to kill my daughter.”
“Emily is a snake wrapped in expensive silk,” Enzo muttered darkly. “The old boss, Vincenzo, he never liked her family. The Rossis from Chicago. He said they smiled with their teeth but carried knives in their pockets. When Vincenzo died, the engagement between Thomas and Emily was arranged to keep the peace between the families. But peace built on a grave never lasts.”
Rosie’s blood ran cold. She knew Thomas was powerful, but she had spent six years intentionally ignoring the whispers about how his family accumulated their wealth. Now, the reality of the mafia underworld had literally opened up in the wall of her workplace.
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“I should quit,” Rosie whispered, staring at the marble counter. “I should pack my bags and take Norine back to the city. It isn't safe here.”
Enzo shook his head slowly. “You know too much now, Rosie. If you try to run, Emily’s people will find you before you reach the city limits. Your only safety is Thomas. Stay close to the boss. He protects what is his.”
