“Your Eyes Just Moved, Uncle,” the Maid’s Toddler Whispered—The Mafia Boss Froze

Days bled into weeks. The safe house in the woods remained entirely off the grid.

Matteo’s recovery was agonizingly slow, but miraculous. He was breathing without the ventilator, sitting up in bed, and speaking in short, raspy sentences.

Elina had become an integral part of the quiet household. She cooked, she helped Nina with the medical supplies, and she kept Mia from overwhelming the healing mafia boss.

"She has too much energy," Matteo wheezed one afternoon, watching Mia run circles around the bedroom with a toy airplane.

"She is three," Elina smiled apologetically, bringing him a cup of broth. "I can take her outside."

"No," Matteo said, raising a weak hand. "Let her stay. She is the only light in this miserable bunker."

Matteo looked at Elina, his sharp, intelligent eyes analyzing her. "Dante looks at you differently."

Elina blushed, looking down at her hands. "I am just a maid, Matteo. I just happened to be in the room."

"My brother does not look at maids the way he looks at you," Matteo corrected, taking a slow sip of the broth. "He looks at you the way a man looks at his salvation. You kept him grounded when he was ready to burn the world down."

Before Elina could respond, the heavy satellite phone on the kitchen counter rang.

Elina rushed to answer it, expecting Dante’s daily check-in.

"Hello?"

"Elina, listen to me very carefully," Dante’s voice came through the speaker, tight with absolute panic. "Carmine’s men found a discrepancy in the financial ledgers. They know I was funneling money to a secure medical account. They know Matteo might be alive."

"Oh my God," Elina gasped, her blood running cold.

"They are pinging the satellite towers," Dante rushed on. "They are going to find the cabin's location within the hour. You have to get Matteo out of there."

"Dante, we can't move him fast enough! We have no armored cars!"

"I am sending a helicopter to the clearing two miles north of your position," Dante commanded. "Lorenzo’s men are coming to escort you. Do whatever it takes to reach that chopper, Elina. I love you."

The line went dead.