Chapter 1 - The Promotion
The silence in the grand foyer was absolute, broken only by the ragged, heartbreaking sobs of the little boy burying his face in Sofia’s cheap cotton uniform.
Dante Navarro did not move. He was a man who commanded an army of sicarios, a man who could level a city block with a single phone call, yet he was entirely paralyzed by the sight of his son surrendering to a stranger.
Slowly, Sofia wrapped her arms around Leo’s small, shaking back. She didn't shush him. She didn't tell him to be brave. She just rocked him gently back and forth on the cold marble, letting two years of poisoned grief pour out of him.
"Señor," the head housekeeper, Señora Carmen, whispered nervously, stepping forward to intervene. "I will have her removed immediately. She shouldn't be touching—"
"If you take one more step toward them, Carmen, it will be your last," Dante’s voice was a lethal, quiet rasp.
He walked slowly toward the center of the room. The armed guards instinctively stepped back to give him a wide berth. Dante knelt beside Sofia. Up close, Sofia could smell expensive cologne, dark tobacco, and the dangerous metallic scent of a man who lived in a state of perpetual war.
He looked at his son, then raised his dark eyes to meet Sofia’s. She remembered the rule: Do not look the boss in the eye. But with Leo clinging to her, she didn't look away.
"What is your name?" Dante asked.
"Sofia, sir," she whispered.
"You are no longer a maid, Sofia," Dante declared, standing back up. His tone left no room for negotiation. "As of this second, you are Leo’s primary caretaker. Your salary is just multiplied by fifty. Whatever you need, you ask me directly."
Sofia’s heart pounded. "Mr. Navarro... my little brother. He is at the General Hospital. He needs a kidney operation by the end of the month, or he..."
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Dante looked at his head of security, a tall, scarred man named Hector. "Call the director of the private Angeles Clinic. Have the boy transferred via helicopter tonight. I’m covering the surgery, the recovery, and the best surgical team in North America."
Sofia gasped, tears spilling hot and fast down her cheeks. She buried her face in Leo’s dark hair, weeping tears of pure relief. But as she held the boy, she looked up and caught Hector staring at her. The head of security wasn't smiling. His eyes were narrowed, calculating, and filled with a cold, terrifying malice.
