Page 51 of Protecting My Nanny

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I just expose that he's sleeping with his nanny, who's funneling money to the mafia. That he's beeninvolved with us before. What will happen to his company and his reputation?"

"What are you talking about?" I question. "What do you know about Shane?"

"I know that you're not the only one keeping secrets," he says, ending with a laugh.

I go quiet, my breath hitching in my throat. This call was a mistake. I thought I could reason with him, but it's worse than I imagined. He's threatening everyone I care about, and I walked right into his trap.

"I'll give you time to think it over," Raffaele says, his voice softening with a false gentleness that sends chills through me. "Call me back when you're ready to make a real deal, Nicola. Goodbye."

The line goes dead. The silence that follows is suffocating. I sit there, frozen, unable to move. How did I let this happen? How did I let him back into my life, back into control?

A cold sweat clings to my skin, and my breath comes in shallow gasps. He knows everything. He's watching me. Watchingus.

I crawl out of the closet and back into bed after the phone call, my body heavy with the weight of Raffaele's words. The night stretches endlessly before me as I stare at the ceiling, running over the possible outcomes in my mind. Leaving Shane, leavingJaime—it feels like the only way to protect them, but it tears me apart. Every scenario I come up with ends in disaster.

Raffaele's threats will hang over me if I stay like a dark cloud. If I leave, I lose everything. There's no way to win here. Money no longer satisfies him, and striking back only risks Gio's life. I could try to reach someone higher in the Avvoltoi, but it's been years since I had contact with any of them. Even if I did reach them, would they care enough to stop Raffaele? The Avvoltoi aren't saints. They'd need a good reason to protect some billionaire and his nephew—assuming they'd even get involved.

I'm lost in these thoughts when a soft tap comes at my door.

"You awake?" Shane's voice is gentle, barely above a whisper. It's early, the sun not yet risen, and I freeze, not wanting to face him. I'm afraid he'll see through me—sense that something is terribly wrong. So I remain silent.

A few moments later, my phone buzzes with a text from him:

Leaving early. Sorry if I came off dismissive last night. I want to see you, but we don't need to talk until you're ready. Take care.

The message is kind, but it cuts through me all the same. He's giving me space, being patient, but I don't deserve his understanding. I'm dragging him into a world that could ruin him, and the guilt gnaws at me.

Sleep continues to evade me, so I give up and get out of bed, slipping into the kitchen an hour before anyone else is awake.I move through the motions of preparing Jaime's breakfast, but my mind is distant. I feel restless, my hands shaking slightly as I crack eggs into a bowl. I tell myself I need to make this morning special. I need to see Jaime's smile today—it's the only thing that might make me feel less like I'm drowning.

I prepare his favorite: French toast with whipped cream, blueberries, and crispy bacon. It's a treat I usually reserve for weekends, but today… today, I need it. I need to know I can dosomethingright. The kitchen smells sweet and warm as the toast sizzles on the pan, and I try to focus on the small joy of cooking for him.

Jaime bounds downstairs, his face lighting up when he sees the spread on the table. "What's special about today?" he asks, grinning from ear to ear.

I force a smile. "Just wanted to do something nice for you," I say softly, brushing his hair back as he takes his seat.

"Thanks, Nicole!" He digs into his plate, clearly delighted by the surprise.

I watch him as he eats, my heart aching with every bite he takes. He looks so much like Gio when he was young—so full of life, so innocent. I failed Gio, and the weight of that failure sits like a stone in my chest. I won't fail Jaime. He's already lost so much, and I refuse to let him lose more because of me.

As he finishes, I kiss him on the forehead before he heads out the door, running excitedly down the walkway to the waiting car.I watch him climb in, his face pressed against the window as he waves to me. I wave back, forcing a smile until the car disappears down the street.

As soon as the door clicks shut behind me, the weight of everything crashes down. I lean back against the door, my body sliding down until I sit on the floor, knees pulled to my chest. Tears blur my vision, and I can't hold them back any longer.

The sobs come, quiet but relentless, as I bury my face in my hands. Raffaele's threats, the danger to Gio, the risk to Shane and Jaime—it's all too much. I've dragged them into a nightmare they don't even know exists, and now it's only a matter of time before the darkness catches up to them. To us.

"I can't lose them too," I whisper to myself, the tears continuing to fall.

As I sit there against the door, the sobs quiet to soft, shaky breaths, but the weight of everything still presses down, suffocating me. I can't stay here anymore. Raffaele's threats are real, and the longer I stay, the greater the danger I bring to Shane and Jaime. They don't deserve this—none of it.

Wiping my eyes, I push myself up from the floor. Every step feels heavy as I make my way to the bedroom. I open the closet, staring blankly at the clothes hanging there, the life I've built around me. It all feels like a facade now. I had let myself believe I could leave my past behind, but I was wrong. The mafia's reach is far, and the past... it never lets go.

With trembling hands, I pull a suitcase from the top shelf, drag it down, and open it on the bed. I start throwing clothes in, not paying attention to what I pack—just grabbing things quickly. Tears blur my vision again as I stuff the suitcase, but I keep going, trying to ignore the lump growing in my throat.

My mother's voice echoes in my mind, something she had said when I was young, just before everything fell apart. She warned about trusting people outside the family. Never get too close to anyone who isn't one of us. I had been so naive back then, thinking I could break free, that I could love someone from outside the life we knew. A lesson I learned when I told her about how little Fredo asked me to be his girlfriend. "His parents are good people, and they'll ask questions about who their son is dating," she'd warned me.

I should have listened, I say to myself.

I choke on a sob as I throw the last piece of clothing into the suitcase. I should have known better than to get close to Shane and Jaime.

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