The Maid Who Took the Blow

The sound of laughter drifted through the marble corridors of the Rossi Estate.

Crystal chandeliers sparkled overhead.

Waiters moved between guests carrying silver trays loaded with champagne.

Politicians mingled with judges.

Business tycoons exchanged smiles with men who secretly controlled entire criminal networks.

To the outside world, it was a charity gala.

To those who mattered, it was something far more important.

A treaty.

A merger.

A marriage.

Tonight, Dominic Rossi was expected to announce his engagement to Bianca Moretti, daughter of one of the most powerful mafia families on the East Coast.

The alliance would unite two empires worth billions.

It would make the Rossi syndicate nearly untouchable.

Everyone was celebrating.

Everyone except Skyler Gallagher.

The oversized maid struggled to carry a tray piled high with caviar appetizers through the crowded ballroom.

Heat soaked her uniform.

Her feet ached.

Her lower back screamed in protest.

At twenty-six years old, Skyler weighed far more than society considered acceptable, and every step reminded her of it.

The tailored black uniform stretched tightly across her curves.

The apron strings dug into her waist.

Sweat dampened the collar around her neck.

She felt enormous.

Visible.

Awkward.

Exactly the way she always felt.

A group of young women standing near the champagne tower snickered as she passed.

Skyler pretended not to hear.

Years of experience had taught her the value of silence.

People always laughed.

People always stared.

People always judged.

Eventually, you learned to stop caring.

Or at least pretend to.

She adjusted the heavy tray and continued moving through the ballroom.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans.

A guest stumbled backward unexpectedly.

Skyler tried to avoid him.

The tray shifted.

Her hip brushed against the chair beside her.

A splash of red wine landed on pristine white silk.

The room seemed to freeze.

Skyler closed her eyes.

Not her.

Anyone but her.

Slowly, she turned around.

Bianca Moretti stared down at the dark stain spreading across the front of her custom designer gown.

For several terrifying seconds, nobody spoke.

Then Bianca looked up.

Her eyes burned with hatred.

“You stupid cow.”

The insult cut through the ballroom.

Several nearby guests turned to watch.

Skyler felt heat flood her cheeks.

“I’m sorry, Miss Moretti.”

“Sorry?”

Bianca laughed sharply.

“Do you have any idea how much this dress costs?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Of course you don’t.”

Bianca’s gaze swept over Skyler’s body with obvious disgust.

“A woman like you probably couldn’t afford the zipper.”

A few guests laughed.

Skyler lowered her eyes.

Humiliation wasn’t new.

But somehow it never hurt less.

“I apologize.”

Bianca rolled her eyes.

“Get out of my sight.”

Skyler didn’t need to be told twice.

She hurried away as quickly as possible.

Behind her, laughter followed.

As always.

But while everyone else returned to the party, Skyler noticed something strange.

Carmela Rossi wasn’t in her seat.

The elderly matriarch should have been sitting beside Dominic at the head table.

Instead, her chair sat empty.

A knot formed in Skyler’s stomach.

That wasn’t normal.

Not anymore.

Over the past year, Carmela’s memory had begun slipping.

Sometimes she forgot conversations.

Sometimes she forgot names.

And sometimes…

She forgot where she was.

Only Skyler knew how serious it had become.

Only Skyler had seen the older woman wandering the gardens at midnight searching for a dog that had died decades ago.

Only Skyler knew how frightened Carmela truly was.

Setting down her tray, Skyler slipped quietly from the ballroom.

The music faded behind her.

The mansion became silent.

Dark.

Still.

She checked the library first.

Empty.

Then the drawing room.

Nothing.

Then the east wing.

Her heartbeat quickened.

Finally, she spotted light spilling from beneath the conservatory doors.

Relief washed through her.

Until she heard voices.

One voice trembled.

The other dripped venom.

Skyler froze.

Carefully, she approached the door.

And looked inside.

Her blood turned cold.

Carmela Rossi stood backed against a wrought-iron table.

The elderly woman looked confused.

Terrified.

Her hands trembled visibly.

Standing across from her was Bianca Moretti.

And Bianca looked furious.

“You really believe Dominic loves you more than he needs me?” Bianca sneered.

Carmela shook her head.

“My son would never—”

“Your son is a businessman.”

Bianca took another step forward.

“He needs this marriage.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Am I?”

Bianca smiled cruelly.

“After the wedding, you’ll be gone.”

Carmela’s face paled.

“You wicked girl.”

“I’ll put you in a nursing home so far away Dominic won’t even remember where you are.”

Carmela looked devastated.

Skyler felt rage stir inside her chest.

Bianca wasn’t merely insulting her.

She was terrorizing a confused elderly woman.

But before Skyler could intervene, something happened.

Carmela stepped backward.

Her hand struck a flower pot.

The heavy planter tipped.

She stumbled.

Instinctively reaching for balance, she accidentally knocked Bianca’s wine glass aside.

Red wine exploded across Bianca’s white gown.

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Bianca looked down.

Then slowly looked back up.

Her face transformed.

The expression wasn’t anger anymore.

It was madness.

Pure rage.

“You senile old witch.”

Her hand rose.

A massive diamond ring gleamed beneath the conservatory lights.

Carmela gasped.

Skyler moved.

She didn’t think.

Didn’t hesitate.

Didn’t calculate.

She simply moved.

The doors burst open.

Skyler lunged forward.

Her foot caught the threshold.

Her body stumbled.

But momentum carried her forward anyway.

Directly between Bianca and Carmela.

The slap landed.

CRACK!

Pain exploded across Skyler’s face.

The force snapped her head sideways.

The diamond ring tore through flesh.

For a split second, she felt nothing.

Then came the warmth.

Blood.

Blood poured down her cheek.

Across her neck.

Onto her uniform.

The world tilted.

Skyler hit the floor.

Hard.

Somewhere nearby, Carmela screamed.

“Oh my God!”

Skyler blinked.

The room spun.

Her face felt like it had been ripped open.

Bianca stared down at her.

Instead of horror, there was annoyance.

“You idiot.”

Blood pooled beneath Skyler.

Bianca wrinkled her nose.

“Look what you’ve done.”

Then she kicked Skyler’s thigh with the pointed tip of her heel.

Hard.

The pain shot through her leg.

“Move, you disgusting pig.”

A voice interrupted.

Cold.

Deadly.

Terrifying.

“Is there a problem?”

Every person in the room froze.

Bianca’s face drained of color.

Slowly, Skyler lifted her head.

Dominic Rossi stood in the doorway.

And he looked terrifying.

The six-foot-four mafia boss wore a tailored black tuxedo.

His expression was unreadable.

But his eyes…

His eyes promised death.

The room seemed colder simply because he was standing in it.

Dominic surveyed the scene.

His mother crying.

Broken glass everywhere.

Bianca’s stained gown.

And Skyler.

Bleeding heavily on the floor.

His gaze stopped.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Then Bianca rushed forward.

“Dominic, thank God you’re here.”

He didn’t look at her.

“Your mother attacked me.”

Still no response.

“She ruined my dress.”

Nothing.

“The maid charged at me.”

Silence.

Dominic walked past her.

As though she didn’t exist.

Then he knelt beside Skyler.

The gesture shocked everyone.

A mafia king kneeling before a maid.

Impossible.

Yet there he was.

Dominic removed a silk handkerchief from his pocket.

Gently.

Carefully.

He pressed it against Skyler’s torn cheek.

She flinched.

The pain was unbearable.

“Easy.”

His voice softened unexpectedly.

“You’re safe.”

Safe.

Nobody had ever said those words to her before.

Not like that.

Not as a promise.

Behind them, Carmela grabbed Dominic’s arm.

“She saved me.”

Tears streamed down the older woman’s face.

“Bianca tried to hit me.”

Dominic became perfectly still.

A dangerous stillness.

The kind that came before disasters.

Slowly, he looked toward Bianca.

The air changed.

Bianca stepped backward.

For the first time all evening, she looked afraid.

“Dominic—”

“Did you raise your hand against my mother?”

The question was calm.

Too calm.

Bianca swallowed.

“I was angry.”

Wrong answer.

Something dark flashed across Dominic’s face.

“The engagement is over.”

Bianca blinked.

“What?”

“The engagement.”

His voice remained cold.

“Is over.”

Shock flooded the room.

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am.”

“My father—”

“Will receive the same message.”

Bianca’s breathing became ragged.

“You would destroy an alliance over her?”

She pointed toward Skyler.

“She’s a maid.”

Dominic looked at Skyler.

Then at his mother.

Then back at Bianca.

“No.”

His voice dropped dangerously low.

“I’m destroying it because you forgot your place.”

Bianca stared.

Dominic stepped forward.

The room practically vibrated with tension.

“You raised your hand against my mother.”

Another step.

“You spilled innocent blood inside my home.”

Another.

“And you harmed someone under my protection.”

Bianca’s confidence shattered.

For the first time, she looked genuinely terrified.

Dominic pointed toward the door.

“Leave.”

“Dominic—”

“Now.”

She left.

Without another word.

The moment the doors closed, Dominic returned to Skyler’s side.

His hand remained pressed against her cheek.

Blood soaked through the silk.

Too much blood.

Far too much.

“Get my car.”

His bodyguards moved instantly.

Dominic slid one arm beneath Skyler’s knees.

Another behind her back.

Then he lifted her.

As though she weighed nothing.

Skyler stared at him through blurry vision.

The strongest man she’d ever seen.

The most feared man in New York.

Carrying her.

Protecting her.

Like she mattered.

Like she wasn’t invisible.

Like she wasn’t a joke.

The last thing Skyler remembered before darkness claimed her was Dominic’s voice.

Low.

Dangerous.

Filled with a fury that promised destruction.

“No one touches what’s mine.”

And somewhere far away, the first sparks of a mafia war had already begun.