Chapter 3 - The Alliance of Blood
By the third week of her confinement in the east wing, Hannah's physical condition had stabilized.
The color had returned to her cheeks, and the warm, quiet environment of the private suite had allowed her blood pressure to settle into a safe, healthy range. She spent her days sitting by the large windows, watching the spring green return to the estate’s gardens, her hands constantly resting over her round, seven-month belly.
But she wasn't alone.
Ethan had begun to visit her every evening after the corporate offices closed. He didn't bring security dossiers or business managers; he brought small, simple things—a plate of warm, fresh pastries from the kitchen, a stack of classic novels from his father’s private library, or simply his own quiet, grounding presence. He would sit in the armchair across from her, listening to her talk about her childhood in the old harbor district, his grey eyes softening in a way that none of his business partners would have ever believed possible.
"My father used to say that the lake was the heartbeat of the city," Hannah said one evening, her voice soft as she looked out at the distant, blue line of Lake Michigan. "He worked the coal docks for thirty years. He always told me that no matter how dark the water looked, it would always wash away the dust of the day."
Ethan looked at her, his gaze moving to the small, silver scar near her temple. "Your father was Thomas Reed, wasn't he?"
Hannah blinked, surprised. "Yes. How did you know?"
"My father kept a private ledger of the harbor families," Ethan said, his voice carrying a deep, historical weight. "The families who stood by the Morettis when the old organizations tried to push us out of the shipping lanes in the seventies. Your father was one of the men who guarded the main warehouse during the dock strikes of eighty-two. He took a bullet in the shoulder to protect my father’s life."
Hannah’s eyes filled with soft, glowing warmth. "He never told me that. He only said he got the scar from a falling cargo hook."
"Because he was a loyal man, Hannah," Ethan said, standing up and walking to her side. He reached down, his large, steady fingers gently brushing against her jawline, his thumb resting near the scarred temple. "In our world, loyalty isn't something you brag about. It’s something you carry in your blood. And your family has paid enough blood to the Moretti name."
Before Hannah could answer, the door of the sitting room was thrown open with a violent, resounding crash.
Vanessa Caruso stood in the doorway, her face pale with fury, her designer silk coat open to reveal a diamond-encrusted necklace that caught the light of the room. Behind her, two of her father's private security guards stood in the corridor, their hands resting near their waistbands.
"I knew it!" Vanessa shrieked, pointing a manicured finger at Hannah. "You're keeping her in the master guest suite! You’re parading this common servant around like she’s some kind of queen, while my father and I are sitting in the parlor waiting for you to sign the harbor merger!"
Ethan didn't flinch. He didn't step back. He simply shifted his weight, placing his tall, broad frame directly between Vanessa and Hannah’s sofa, his hand dropping to the inside of his jacket where his private weapon was concealed.
"You have five seconds to walk out of this wing, Vanessa," Ethan said, his voice carrying a freezing, absolute calm that made the guards in the hall take a step backward. "You are violating a direct security order."
"A security order?!" Vanessa laughed, her voice high and hysterical. "For a maid?! Ethan, you are supposed to be marrying me next month! We are supposed to be uniting our families! And you are ruining everything for a pregnant girl who doesn't even know who the father of her bastard child is!"
"The father of her child is Leo Reed," Hannah said, her voice trembling but her chin held high as she stood up from the sofa, holding Ethan’s jacket around her. "A man your family murdered."
Vanessa’s expression flickered, a sudden, sharp look of panic crossing her features before she could mask it with her usual arrogance. "That... that is a lie! He was a clumsy construction worker who fell from a scaffold! My father paid you more than enough to buy your silence, you ungrateful little—"
"Get out," Ethan said.
The two words were spoken with such a quiet, lethal finality that Vanessa’s voice died in her throat.
"Marco," Ethan called out without looking back.
Instantly, four of the Moretti family’s elite security detail stepped out from the shadows of the corridor, their weapons drawn and aimed directly at Vanessa’s guards. The Caruso men immediately raised their hands, their faces turning pale as they realized they were completely outmatched.
"Escort Miss Caruso to her vehicle," Ethan ordered, his grey eyes locked onto Vanessa with an unblinking, predatory intensity. "And tell her father that the harbor merger is officially under review. If I see either of them on my property again before the formal hearing, they will be treated as hostile intruders."
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Vanessa stared at him, her eyes wide with a mixture of terror and disbelief. "Ethan... you can't do this. My father will ruin you."
"Your father can try," Ethan whispered. "But he should remember who controls the water."
