Chapter 1
THE MAFIA BOSS PROMISED TO MARRY ANY WOMAN WHO COULD PLAY THE IMPOSSIBLE CONCERTO, BUT WHEN HIS CURVY MAID SAT AT THE PIANO, 300 GUESTS DISCOVERED HER HEARTBREAKING SECRET.
Three hundred guests laughed when I, a curvy housemaid, dared to touch the grand piano after New York's most feared mafia boss promised marriage to anyone who could master the Impossible Concerto. My wealthy ex-fiancé joined their mockery, never expecting me to finish the piece he'd once watched me practice for years. But when the final chord silenced the ballroom, the ruthless mafia boss offered me more than marriage, then began investigating the man who had destroyed my family.
***
My name is Elena Marlow.
I was twenty-seven, with long brown hair, soft curves, and pale blue eyes.
That evening, I wore a fitted lavender maid's dress and a white lace apron at the Voss mansion.
My employer was Cassian Voss.
Thirty-nine years old. Six-foot-six. Broad-shouldered, muscular, dangerously handsome, with black tattoos covering his powerful arms.
He ruled one of New York's deadliest mafia empires.
Nobody dared challenge him.
Until he announced something outrageous.
“Any woman who plays the Impossible Concerto perfectly will become my wife.”
The ballroom erupted.
Then Vivian Ashcroft noticed me staring at the piano.
“Perhaps the maid wants to try!”
Everyone laughed.
My former fiancé, Julian Hale, went pale.
Because he knew something they didn't.
***
Years ago, I'd dreamed of becoming a concert pianist.
My father, Arthur Marlow, repaired old pianos and taught me everything.
“Count the silence before you count the notes, Ellie,” he'd whisper.
Then he became terribly ill.
I abandoned music to pay his medical bills.
Julian stole the money we'd saved for Arthur's experimental treatment.
Eleven weeks later, my father died.
Julian didn't even attend the funeral.
Instead, he left me for Vivian's wealthy mafia family.
***
I approached the piano.
Vivian smirked.
“Careful, sweetheart. Those keys cost more than your salary.”
I sat down.
Closed my eyes.
And remembered my father's voice.
Finish what you begin.
My fingers moved.
The first notes floated beneath the chandeliers.
Then the music surged.
The laughter vanished.
Cassian lowered his champagne.
Adrian Falk, the legendary pianist who'd performed earlier, stepped forward.
“Impossible,” he whispered.
Tears blurred my vision as I remembered my father's swollen hands and the cheap keyboard beside his hospital bed.
He'd never heard me finish this concerto.
Tonight, I played for him.
The final chord thundered.
Silence.
Then three hundred guests rose in applause.
Adrian Falk approached.
“You didn't just play it. You brought it to life.”
Cassian stood before me.
“You've won my challenge.”
I lifted my chin.
“Mr. Voss, I didn't play because I wanted a husband.”
His cold expression softened.
“Then perhaps you'll accept dinner instead.”
Before I could answer, Vivian screamed.
“She was engaged to Julian!”
Julian rushed forward.
“Elena, I can explain!”
“You had four years,” I whispered.
Vivian slapped him.
Adrian Falk pressed a card into my hand.
“I teach twelve students worldwide. I currently have eleven.”
My eyes filled.
“You belong onstage, Elena.”
I turned toward the servants' entrance.
Behind me, Cassian stopped Julian.
His voice was dangerously quiet.
“What exactly did you do to her?”
Julian trembled.
May you like
Then Cassian's security chief approached with a sealed file.
**“Boss, the money stolen from Arthur Marlow's treatment fund was transferred into an account belonging to the Hale mafia family.
