Chapter 3 - The Doctor's Verdict
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Lorenzo didn't take Nora to the cramped, freezing servant's quarters. He carried her up the main staircase and into one of the luxurious guest suites in the west wing.
He laid her gently on the plush, king-sized bed, surrounded by silk pillows and thick, warm blankets.
"Stay here," Lorenzo ordered, pulling a heavy down comforter over her shivering body. "I am calling my private physician."
"Sir, you don't have to do this," Nora whispered, overwhelmed by the sudden shift in her reality. "I’m just a maid."
"You are a mother carrying a child," Lorenzo corrected sharply. "And no one bleeds in my house unless I order it."
Within thirty minutes, an older man carrying a black medical bag arrived at the estate, braving the treacherous blizzard conditions. Dr. Evans was the syndicate's personal physician, accustomed to treating gunshot wounds and keeping secrets, not examining terrified, pregnant maids.
Lorenzo stood by the window, his arms crossed over his chest, his jaw tight as he watched the doctor examine Nora.
"She is severely malnourished and dehydrated, Lorenzo," Dr. Evans reported, packing his stethoscope back into his bag. "Her blood pressure is dangerously low, and she is suffering from extreme physical exhaustion. The cramp she experienced was a severe Braxton Hicks contraction brought on by stress and trauma."
Lorenzo’s gray eyes darkened significantly.
"Is the baby safe?" he asked.
"For now," the doctor nodded. "But she needs strict bed rest, proper nutrition, and absolutely no physical labor for the remainder of her pregnancy. If she continues scrubbing floors, she will go into premature labor."
"Thank you, Doctor," Lorenzo said, dismissing him with a nod.
When they were alone, Lorenzo walked over to the bed. He looked at Nora’s raw, cracked hands resting on the silk sheets, then at the dark, exhausted circles under her eyes.
"How long has Mrs. Gable been treating you like this?" he asked quietly.
"Since I arrived, sir," Nora admitted, looking down. "I had nowhere else to go. I needed the money for the baby."
Lorenzo stared at her, a profound, uncharacteristic guilt settling heavily in his chest. He had paid Mrs. Gable generously to manage his estate, completely unaware that he had hired a tyrant who abused desperate women under his roof.
"You are no longer a maid in this house, Nora," Lorenzo stated firmly.
Nora’s heart dropped. "You're firing me?"
"I am promoting you," Lorenzo corrected. "You will remain in this room. You will rest, you will eat the meals my chef prepares, and you will not lift a single finger until that baby is born healthy. That is an order."
Nora looked up at the terrifying mafia boss, tears springing to her eyes. He was offering her salvation.
"Thank you, Mr. Moretti," she whispered.
May you like
"Get some sleep," he ordered softly.
He turned to leave the room, his mind already shifting to the business he had come to the estate to handle. He needed to check on his father.
