“PUT THAT FOOD BACK, NATALIE! SHE CAN EAT IN THE KITCHEN LIKE EVERY OTHER SERVANT!” THE MAFIA BOSS’S FIANCÉE HUMILIATED HIS 26-YEAR-OLD MAID FOR GIVING AN ELDERLY WOMAN A SEAT AT HIS ENGAGEMENT DINNER—BUT WHEN LUCA SAW THE WOMAN HIDING HER HANDS UNDER THE TABLE, HE PUT DOWN HIS GLASS AND ASKED, “MRS. WALKER, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR WEDDING RING?”
Chapter 1 – THE COLD TRUTH
The dining room went dead silent. Thirty-two guests, all dressed in their finest, stared at the scene unfolding in front of them, completely paralyzed.
Luca Moretti didn’t…
THE MAFIA BOSS’S FIANCÉE ORDERED ME TO SEND HIS YOUNGER SISTER AWAY BEFORE THEIR ENGAGEMENT DINNER—BUT WHEN LUCA MORETTI SAW HER BLACK DRESS AND THE WEDDING RING HANGING FROM HER NECK, HE DROPPED HIS GLASS AND WHISPERED, “NINA… WHERE’S BEN?”
Chapter 1 – THE BURNING HOSPITAL MENU
The silence in the dining room was absolute, broken only by the soft rustle of Vanessa’s red satin gown as she took a slow step backward.
Fifty wealthy guests s…
“PUT THAT OLD TIE IN THE TRASH, EMMA! MY HUSBAND ISN’T WEARING SOME DEAD MAN’S CLOTHES TO OUR WEDDING!” THE MAFIA BOSS’S FIANCÉE HUMILIATED HIS 26-YEAR-OLD MAID FOR PROTECTING A GIFT FROM HIS OLDER SISTER—BUT WHEN LUCA RECOGNIZED THE FADED BLUE TIE, HE PUT DOWN HIS GLASS AND ASKED, “WHY DIDN’T ANYONE TELL ME MY SISTER WAS HERE?”
Chapter 1 – The Ghost in the Dining Room
The forty guests seated around the mahogany table had stopped pretending to eat. They were statues, their eyes darting between Luca Moretti, his trembling sis…
THE MAFIA BOSS’S FIANCÉE ORDERED ME TO SEND HIS 21-YEAR-OLD SON AWAY BEFORE THEIR ENGAGEMENT DINNER—BUT WHEN LUCA MORETTI SAW THE NAVY DUFFEL BAG ON HIS SHOULDER, HE STOOD UP SO FAST HIS CHAIR FELL BACKWARD AND ASKED, “NICO, ARE YOU LEAVING WITHOUT SAYING GOODBYE?”
Chapter 1 – THE BANK STATEMENT ON THE TABLE
“Tell me what was supposed to happen when my son left tomorrow—and I never found out what you did with his mother’s money.”
The silence in the dining room…
THE MAFIA BOSS WATCHED ME PUSHs A SIX-FOOT WEDDING SEATING CHART THROUGH HIS ENGAGEMENT DINNER WITH MY RIGHT SHOULDER HELD STIFF—THEN HIS FIANCÉE SAID, “SHE FELL IN THE BALLROOM,” BEFORE HE EVEN ASKED WHY I COULDN’T MOVE MY ARM.
Chapter 1 – THE CATERING VAN
The silence in the study was absolute.
I watched Luca Moretti stare at the heavy oak door. He didn’t blink. He didn’t move. The only sign he had even heard me was the sl…
THE MAFIA BOSS WATCHED ME CARRY HIS LATE MOTHER’S WEDDING GOWN THROUGH THE ENGAGEMENT DINNER WITH ONE ARM HELD AGAINST MY SIDE—THEN HIS FIANCÉE SAID, “SHE FELL IN THE CEDAR ROOM,” BEFORE HE EVEN ASKED WHY I WAS HURT.
Chapter 1 – THE SILVER EVENING BAG
The cedar room felt colder than usual.
Luca Moretti stared at me, his dark eyes burning with a sudden, frantic intensity. The calm, composed mafia boss had vanishe…
“TELL EVERYONE THAT BABY HAS NO FATHER! OR I’LL HAVE YOU THROWN OUT BEFORE DESSERT!” THE MAFIA BOSS’S FIANCÉE HUMILIATED HIS 25-YEAR-OLD PREGNANT MAID IN FRONT OF FORTY DINNER GUESTS—BUT WHEN LUCA MORETTI SAW THE WEDDING RING HANGING AROUND HER NECK, HE STOOD UP SO FAST HIS CHAIR HIT THE FLOOR.
Chapter 1 – The Woman in the Wreckage
The silence in the dining room was absolute, heavy enough to crush the breath from my lungs.
Forty of Chicago’s wealthiest elites sat frozen in their high-backe…
THE MAFIA BOSS’S FIANCÉE ORDERED ME TO PUTs HIS PREGNANT DAUGHTER IN A CAB BEFORE THEIR ENGAGEMENT DINNER—BUT WHEN I WALKED HER INTO THE DINING ROOM, LUCA MORETTI DROPPED HIS FORK AND WHISPERED, “YOU’RE HAVING A BABY?”
Chapter 1 – THE LOCKED CABINET AND THE LEVERAGE
The silence inside the dining room was so absolute that the ice melting in the crystal water glasses sounded like shattered glass.
Thirty guests sat c…
THE MOMENT THE MAFIA BOSS’S FIANCÉE CALLED ME “A WORTHLESS LITTLE MAID,” I PUT A BOWL OF CHICKEN SOUP IN FRONT OF HIM DURING HIS ENGAGEMENT DINNER—BECAUSE HIS MOTHER WAS EATING ALONE IN THE KITCHEN.
Chapter 1 – THE LIE IN THE KITCHEN
The crystal chandeliers above the dining table suddenly felt blinding.
Thirty wealthy guests sat in suffocating silence, their expensive wine glasses untouched, th…
THE MAFIA BOSS WATCHED ME STRUGGLE TO CARRYs HIS ENGAGEMENT DINNER WITH ONE ARM PRESSED AGAINST MY RIBS—THEN HIS FIANCÉE SAID, “SHE FELL IN THE SERVICE COURTYARD,” BEFORE HE HAD EVEN ASKED WHY I COULDN’T STAND STRAIGHT.
Chapter 1 – THE EMPTY SEAT
The rain continued to fall heavily in the service courtyard.
Luca Moretti didn’t move. He stood perfectly still, the cold water soaking into the shoulders of his tailored …