Chapter 1
It's nice to see a maid who knows her place,” the mafia boss's fiancée sneered as I stood before her holding a silver tray of champagne. Minutes earlier, I'd congratulated her on marrying the man I'd secretly fallen in love with, and now she was threatening to fire me while her friends laughed. But when a tear escaped down my cheek, the most feared mafia boss in New York crossed the ballroom, looked directly at me, and demanded to know who had made me cry.
My name is Elena Carter, I'm twenty-six years old, and I work as a maid in the Moretti mansion. I never imagined I'd fall in love with my employer, especially when his name alone was enough to frighten some of the most powerful men in the city.
Dante Moretti was thirty-eight, dangerously handsome, and the ruthless leader of a criminal empire. Everyone feared him, but I'd seen a side of him that nobody else seemed to know existed.
Three months earlier, he'd found me crying in the mansion's kitchen after receiving another hospital bill for my mother. Instead of walking past, he'd quietly pulled out a chair and asked what was wrong.
When my mother was hospitalized again, Dante personally drove me there. He waited outside her room for hours, even though he had important business meetings scheduled that evening.
"If another emergency happens, call me," he'd told me. "You shouldn't have to handle everything alone."
I knew better than to mistake kindness for love.
But somewhere between our late-night conversations over coffee and the mornings when he remembered to ask about my mother, I'd fallen hopelessly in love with him.
Then Vanessa Bennett appeared.
Beautiful, wealthy, and perfectly connected, she was everything a mafia boss's wife was expected to be. When Dante announced their engagement, I smiled politely while something inside me shattered.
That evening, the mansion glittered beneath enormous crystal chandeliers. Nearly two hundred guests gathered to celebrate the engagement, while I moved between them carrying trays of champagne.
Vanessa stood surrounded by her friends, proudly displaying her enormous diamond ring.
"Congratulations, Miss Bennett," I whispered.
She looked me up and down before smiling.
"How sweet. It's refreshing to see someone who understands exactly where she belongs."
Her friends laughed.
I lowered my eyes and continued serving.
Then Vanessa glanced at the hem of her expensive dress.
"Look what you've done!"
A tiny drop of champagne stained the fabric.
"I'm terribly sorry," I said, immediately bending to examine it. "I'll have it cleaned."
She grabbed my wrist.
"Listen carefully, Elena. Once I'm Mrs. Moretti, whether you keep this job will depend entirely on me."
My stomach twisted.
Without my salary, I couldn't afford my mother's treatments.
"I understand, Miss Bennett."
She smiled triumphantly.
"Good girl."
I straightened and forced another congratulations, but my voice trembled. Before I could turn away, a tear slipped down my cheek.
I quickly wiped it away.
Too late.
Across the ballroom, Dante had stopped speaking to a group of businessmen.
His eyes were fixed on me.
Then he started walking.
Vanessa immediately brightened.
"Darling! Perfect timing. We were just discussing how I'll manage the household after our wedding."
Dante ignored her.
He looked directly into my eyes.
"Elena, what happened?"
"N-nothing, Mr. Moretti."
His expression hardened.
"Then why are you crying?"
I shook my head, terrified of losing my job.
Vanessa laughed nervously.
"Oh, don't be dramatic, Dante. She's just a little sensitive."
Dante slowly turned toward her.
"I wasn't asking you."
The ballroom fell silent.
Then he noticed the red fingerprints around my wrist.
His jaw tightened.
"Elena, did my fiancée put her hands on you?"
Before I could answer, Dante's security chief approached and whispered something into his ear.
His face changed instantly.
He turned back toward Vanessa.
May you like
"Before we discuss this wedding, perhaps you'd like to explain why Elena's mother's hospital payments were canceled this afternoon."
Vanessa went completely pale.
