Chapter 5 - The Day the Devil Became Her Protector
The envelope stayed on my kitchen table for three hours.
I stared at it.
Read the sentence again.
And again.
Stop trying to save a man who was never meant to be saved.
It was only eight words.
But those eight words carried a message.
Someone was watching me.
Someone knew where I lived.
Someone knew exactly who I was helping.
I should have called the police.
That would have been the logical thing to do.
A normal person would have reported it immediately.
But nothing about my situation was normal anymore.
I was treating Massimo Pascale.
A man whose name was connected to things people whispered about.
A man surrounded by guards because danger followed him everywhere.
And now that danger had found me.
The terrifying part wasn’t that someone threatened me.
The terrifying part was that I knew exactly who they wanted to hurt.
Massimo.
---
I barely slept that night.
The next morning, I arrived at the Pascale estate earlier than usual.
For the first time since I started working there, I didn’t walk in confidently.
I looked around.
At the security cameras.
At the guards.
At the massive gates.
Everything looked the same.
But it didn’t feel the same.
Because now I knew.
This beautiful prison had enemies outside its walls.
Elena noticed immediately.
“You’re quiet.”
I placed my bag down.
“Long night.”
Her eyes moved to my face.
Then she looked toward the entrance.
“What happened?”
I hesitated.
That was enough.
Elena understood.
“What did they do?”
The way she asked told me something.
This wasn’t her first time seeing fear.
I reached into my bag and handed her the envelope.
She read the message.
And the color disappeared from her face.
“Where did you get this?”
“My apartment.”
“When?”
“Last night.”
She immediately looked toward the security cameras.
“Massimo needs to know.”
“No.”
Her eyes snapped back to me.
“No?”
“I don’t want him reacting without thinking.”
A strange expression crossed her face.
Almost surprise.
“You’re worried about what he’ll do?”
“Yes.”
Elena studied me carefully.
“You really don’t understand him yet.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means Massimo Pascale has spent his entire life believing fear is the only language people understand.”
I looked down.
“And now?”
“Now you’re the first person who has ever made him want to speak another language.”
I didn’t know what to say.
Because deep down…
I knew she was right.
---
Massimo immediately noticed something was wrong.
Of course he did.
The man noticed everything.
“You’re distracted.”
I avoided his eyes.
“I’m fine.”
“No.”
His voice was firm.
“You’re lying.”
I sighed.
“You know, for someone who claims he doesn’t care about people, you’re strangely observant.”
His expression didn’t change.
“I care about results.”
“Is that what this is?”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you staring at me like you’re trying to figure out who hurt me?”
Silence.
I knew I had hit the truth.
Massimo looked away.
“Start therapy.”
I didn’t move.
“Massimo.”
“That’s an order.”
I almost laughed.
“Wrong answer.”
His eyes returned to mine.
“What?”
“I’m not one of your employees.”
The room became silent.
The guards near the door immediately looked uncomfortable.
But Massimo didn’t get angry.
Instead, he looked tired.
“What happened?”
I took a breath.
Then I handed him the envelope.
He read it.
And everything changed.
The man disappeared.
The patient disappeared.
The vulnerable person I had started seeing disappeared.
In his place was Massimo Pascale.
The man everyone feared.
His face became completely emotionless.
Too emotionless.
That was somehow worse than anger.
“Who else knows?”
I answered carefully.
“Elena.”
“Anyone else?”
“No.”
He folded the paper slowly.
Too slowly.
“Did they touch you?”
The question surprised me.
“No.”
“Did they follow you?”
“I don’t know.”
His jaw tightened.
“Did they threaten you?”
I looked at him.
“Massimo.”
“Answer me.”
“Yes.”
The silence that followed was terrifying.
Because I realized something.
He wasn’t angry because someone threatened him.
He was angry because someone threatened me.
---
Within an hour, the entire estate changed.
More guards arrived.
Security checks doubled.
Every person entering the property was questioned.
I watched from the hallway as Massimo gave instructions.
Calm.
Precise.
Cold.
This was the man people feared.
The man who built an empire through control.
And for the first time, I understood why.
Because beneath all that darkness was something else.
Protection.
Massimo Pascale didn’t know how to love people normally.
He knew how to protect them.
Even if protection meant destroying anyone who came close.
---
“You’re angry.”
I found him alone that evening.
He was looking outside the window.
“I’m handling the situation.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
He remained silent.
I moved closer.
“You’re angry because someone got close enough to scare me.”
His expression tightened.
“You shouldn’t be involved in this.”
“I didn’t choose this.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“That’s why I’m angry.”
I didn’t expect that answer.
Massimo looked exhausted.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
“I spent my whole life knowing how to handle enemies.”
His voice was low.
“I know how to deal with people who want money. Power. Revenge.”
He paused.
“But this…”
He looked away.
“This is different.”
“Because of me?”
“Yes.”
The honesty surprised me.
Massimo Pascale did not admit weakness.
Ever.
But he was doing it now.
“I know how to lose things,” he continued.
“My father.”
“My mother.”
“People I trusted.”
His hands tightened.
“But I don’t know how to lose you.”
My heart stopped for a moment.
Because those words were not supposed to matter.
He was my patient.
I was his therapist.
There were boundaries.
Rules.
A professional relationship.
But emotions did not care about rules.
They arrived quietly.
They grew slowly.
And by the time you noticed them…
They were already there.
---
The next few days were different.
Massimo became more protective.
Too protective.
He insisted on knowing when I arrived.
When I left.
Who I spoke to.
At first, it annoyed me.
“You’re controlling.”
“Yes.”
The honesty caught me off guard.
“You admit it?”
“I’ve never denied it.”
“That’s not a good quality.”
“I know.”
I stared at him.
“You’re impossible.”
“And yet you’re still here.”
That sentence silenced me.
Because he was right.
I was still there.
---
Then came the night everything changed.
We were finishing a late rehabilitation session.
Massimo had pushed himself harder than ever.
He had stood for almost a full minute.
Sixty seconds.
A month ago, he couldn’t even imagine it.
“You’re improving,” I said.
He looked at me.
“I’m improving because you refuse to let me quit.”
I smiled.
“Maybe.”
“No.”
His voice softened.
“Definitely.”
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
The world outside disappeared.
No mafia.
No danger.
No fear.
Just two people standing at the edge of something neither understood.
Then the lights went out.
Completely.
The mansion fell into darkness.
A second later—
An alarm sounded.
Every instinct in my body reacted.
The guards moved instantly.
Massimo grabbed the wheelchair controls.
“Tessa.”
His voice changed.
“Stay behind me.”
I almost laughed.
“You’re in a wheelchair.”
His eyes met mine.
Cold.
Protective.
Dangerous.
“And I’m still the most dangerous person in this house.”
Before I could answer, glass shattered somewhere downstairs.
Someone had entered the estate.
Someone had crossed the gates.
Someone had come looking for Massimo Pascale.
But they had made one mistake.
They thought they were attacking a wounded man.
They didn’t understand something.
Massimo Pascale might have lost the ability to walk.
But he had not lost the ability to fight.
And now…
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He had something worth fighting for.
Me.
