CHAPTER 2 — THE WOMAN WHO REACHED THE BOY
The word hung in the air.
"Mom."
No one breathed.
Not Matteo.
Not the security guards standing outside the glass doors.
Not even Camryn.
She felt Leo's tiny body trembling against hers.
His fingers clung desperately to the fabric of her gray uniform, as though letting go would send him back into the darkness where he had been trapped for two long years.
Matteo slowly stepped forward.
His voice was barely audible.
"Leo..."
The little boy flinched.
His arms tightened around Camryn's neck.
For the first time in months, Leo wasn't afraid of the world.
He was afraid of losing the one person who hadn't been afraid of him.
Camryn gently stroked his curls.
"You don't have to be scared anymore."
Leo buried his face deeper into her shoulder.
A quiet sob escaped him.
Then another.
Soon, years of grief poured out in heartbreaking cries.
Matteo had watched his son scream in anger countless times.
He had never once seen him cry.
The sound shattered something inside him.
That evening, Matteo canceled every meeting.
The bosses of three crime families waited for hours.
Politicians called repeatedly.
His phone remained untouched.
Nothing mattered except the child asleep in Camryn's arms.
When she carefully laid Leo into his bed, the little boy refused to release her hand.
She smiled softly.
"I'll still be here when you wake up."
Only then did he finally let go.
Outside the bedroom, Matteo stood silently.
"I owe you an apology."
Camryn looked surprised.
"You expected a maid."
"I expected another person who would quit."
She shook her head.
"He doesn't need someone stronger."
"He needs someone who won't leave."
Matteo lowered his eyes.
No one had ever dared speak to him that honestly.
"Will you stay?"
Camryn hesitated.
"My mother is very sick."
"I clean because it's the only job I could find."
Matteo answered without thinking.
"Whatever you're earning now..."
"I'll pay ten times more."
She smiled politely.
"I'm not staying because of the money."
For the first time in years...
Someone had just told Matteo DeLuca no.
May you like
And somehow...
He respected her even more.
