Chapter 3 - Secrets Behind the Grooming Room Door
Luca did not confront Vivienne immediately.
That frightened Marco more than shouting would have.
When Luca became angry, truly angry, he became quieter.
He sent Sophie and Titan to the library with instructions that neither was to leave without security.
Sophie crossed her arms.
“I’m a housekeeper, not a prisoner.”
“For tonight, you’re someone who may have accidentally discovered a problem in my house.”
“What kind of problem?”
Luca looked at Titan.
“One I should have discovered myself.”
He left before she could ask more.
In his private office, Marco placed photographs across the desk.
The grooming room.
The restraint hooks.
The modified remote device.
Bank records.
Messages.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Adrian Vale.
Vivienne’s driver.
Former military.
Former private security.
Dismissed from two previous positions for “excessive disciplinary methods.”
“Why would Vivienne care how my dog behaves?” Luca asked.
Marco rubbed his jaw.
“That’s what doesn’t make sense.”
Luca’s gaze moved to another document.
Titan had become increasingly aggressive over the previous four months.
Visitors had complained.
Two business associates had refused to enter the estate.
Vivienne had repeatedly suggested Titan was unstable.
Once, she had recommended Luca replace him.
At the time Luca had dismissed the comments as concern.
Now he remembered something else.
Three months earlier, after Titan bit the groomer, Vivienne had said:
“One day that animal will turn on someone you care about.”
Someone you care about.
Luca looked toward the security monitor showing the library.
Titan lay at Sophie’s feet.
Sophie was reading.
Every few seconds, Titan lifted his head to check where she was.
“Someone wanted him dangerous,” Luca said.
Marco nodded slowly.
“Or wanted him gone.”
“Why?”
Neither man had an answer.
Across the estate, Vivienne was already making her next move.
She found Sophie alone the following afternoon near the greenhouse.
Titan had been taken outside by Luca for a controlled walk, the first separation he had tolerated all day.
Vivienne approached in a fitted burgundy wool coat.
“Sophie.”
Sophie turned.
“Ms. Marchetti.”
Vivienne smiled.
“You’ve caused quite a stir.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“That seems to be your specialty.”
Sophie said nothing.
Vivienne stepped closer.
“You should understand something about Luca.”
“I’m not sure why.”
“Because you’ve mistaken his curiosity for protection.”
Sophie frowned.
“I haven’t mistaken anything.”
“Good.”
Vivienne’s smile sharpened.
“Then you won’t be disappointed when he loses interest.”
Sophie looked toward the greenhouse windows.
“I work for him. That’s all.”
“Of course.”
Vivienne leaned closer.
“Take some advice from a woman who has known him for seventeen years. Luca does not keep fragile things around him.”
Something about the words touched an old wound.
Sophie hated that Vivienne saw it.
“He keeps Titan.”
“Titan is useful.”
The implication was obvious.
Sophie was not.
Vivienne walked away.
Sophie remained there longer than necessary.
That evening she dropped three wineglasses.
The sound shattered through the pantry.
Sophie closed her eyes.
Mrs. Turner entered.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“You look pale.”
“I’m fine.”
Mrs. Turner studied her.
“Vivienne spoke to you.”
Sophie looked up.
“How did you know?”
“She has spoken to every woman under thirty who has worked here for more than two weeks.”
Sophie almost smiled.
“I haven’t made two weeks yet.”
“Perhaps she’s becoming efficient.”
Mrs. Turner helped Sophie collect the glass.
Then her voice softened.
“Do not let that woman make you feel small.”
Sophie stared at a broken stem.
“She didn’t say anything I haven’t heard before.”
“That doesn’t make it true.”
Before Sophie could answer, Titan appeared in the doorway.
He walked straight to her.
Sophie smiled despite herself.
“There’s my shadow.”
Titan leaned against her hip.
Mrs. Turner watched.
“You know, Luca brought that dog home six years ago.”
Sophie looked up.
“From where?”
“A warehouse.”
Mrs. Turner lowered her voice.
“Someone had been using dogs for illegal fights. Luca shut the operation down.”
Sophie’s hand stopped against Titan’s neck.
“He rescued him?”
“Yes.”
Mrs. Turner gave a small smile.
“Luca will never tell you that story. Makes him sound too human.”
That night Sophie understood something.
Titan had not simply chosen her because she was gentle.
He recognized fear.
So did Luca.
Perhaps that was why the two had understood each other for so long.
The following morning, Luca asked Sophie to join him in the west corridor.
Not the library.
Not the dining room.
The grooming room.
Titan stopped five feet from the door.
His entire body tightened.
Sophie immediately knelt beside him.
“We don’t have to go inside.”
Luca stood behind them.
“We do.”
Sophie looked back sharply.
“No.”
Luca’s eyebrows lifted.
“No?”
“Not like this.”
“This room contains evidence.”
“Then you go inside.”
Luca stared at her.
Sophie continued.
“If you force Titan through that door, you prove the room is still dangerous.”
Luca looked at the dog.
For several seconds, the most powerful man in the house said nothing.
Then he walked inside alone.
Sophie remained outside with Titan.
Luca returned carrying a towel.
He placed it near the threshold.
Then stepped backward.
Nothing happened.
Sophie smiled slightly.
“Better.”
Over the next twenty minutes, they did something Luca Romano was not accustomed to doing.
They waited.
Titan eventually approached the doorway.
Then retreated.
Luca did not command him.
Sophie offered small pieces of chicken.
Eventually Titan placed one paw across the threshold.
Then another.
His breathing accelerated.
Sophie sat on the floor.
Luca removed his expensive coat and sat beside her.
She stared.
“You know there are chairs.”
“There are also hooks on the walls.”
He looked around.
“I’m beginning to dislike this room.”
Sophie smiled.
Titan entered.
No leash.
No restraints.
No commands.
Only choice.
By the end of the hour, he was lying on a towel between them.
Luca looked at Sophie.
“You were right.”
She blinked.
“About what?”
“The room.”
“Was that painful?”
“What?”
“Admitting I was right.”
Luca stared at her.
Then, unexpectedly, laughed.
It was quiet.
Brief.
But real.
Sophie’s expression changed.
“You can do that.”
“Do what?”
“Laugh.”
“I regret demonstrating it.”
She smiled.
For the first time, Luca noticed that Sophie’s smile transformed her entire face.
The thought irritated him.
So did the fact that he noticed.
Marco appeared at the door.
“Boss.”
Luca stood.
“What?”
“We found Adrian Vale.”
Vivienne’s driver.
“Where?”
“Trying to leave through the south gate.”
Luca’s expression hardened.
Adrian was brought to the security office.
He denied everything for twelve minutes.
Then Luca placed the modified remote device on the table.
Adrian stopped talking.
“Who told you to use it?” Luca asked.
Silence.
“Who told you to make Titan aggressive?”
Adrian looked away.
Luca leaned forward.
“You hurt an animal under my roof. You disabled my cameras. You bribed one of my employees.”
Adrian swallowed.
“You think this is about the dog?”
Luca became still.
“What is it about?”
Adrian laughed nervously.
“The dog was only step one.”
Luca’s eyes narrowed.
“Step one toward what?”
Adrian looked directly at him.
“Making you vulnerable.”
Behind the observation glass, Marco reached for his phone.
At the same moment, elsewhere in the mansion, Sophie heard Titan begin barking.
Not his ordinary bark.
An alarm.
She ran toward the sound.
Titan stood outside Luca’s private office.
The door was open.
A desk drawer had been pulled out.
Papers covered the floor.
And near the window lay a burgundy glove.
Vivienne’s glove.
But Sophie barely noticed it.
Because someone was standing behind her.
A hand covered her mouth.
And a voice whispered:
May you like
“You really should have taken Vivienne’s advice and left.”
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