THE HUMILIATED MAID'S TODDLER PAINTED FLOWERS ON THE SLEEPING MAFIA BOSS—THEN HE SHOCKED HIS ENTIRE FAMILY BY CALLING HER MOTHER HIS FUTURE WIFE
THE HUMILIATED MAID'S TODDLER PAINTED FLOWERS ON THE SLEEPING MAFIA BOSS—THEN HE SHOCKED HIS ENTIRE FAMILY BY CALLING HER MOTHER HIS FUTURE WIFE
The porcelain teacup slipped from Sophia's trembling fingers.
It exploded against the polished marble floor.
She didn't even look down.
Her terrified gaze was fixed on one impossible sight.
Her three-year-old daughter stood beside the sleeping man whose name alone could silence politicians, judges, and crime bosses across New York.
A tiny paintbrush rested in the child's hand.
"Emma..." Sophia breathed.
The little girl turned with a proud smile.
"Look, Mama. I made him prettier."
Bright yellow petals decorated the man's cheek.
A crooked blue butterfly stretched across his forehead.
An orange sun glowed on his chin, surrounded by cheerful freckles painted over the hard jawline that had frightened countless enemies.
Sophia's heart nearly stopped.
She had only brought Emma to work because her babysitter had canceled at the last minute. Staying home wasn't an option—not after her violent ex-husband had spent the morning pounding on her apartment door with two dangerous-looking men.
She needed this job.
Without it, she and Emma had nothing.
Now her daughter had painted the face of Alessandro Moretti.
The man everyone feared.
Sophia rushed forward, dropping to her knees as she reached for the brush.
"What have you done, sweetheart?"
Emma only looked confused.
"He looked lonely," she whispered. "So I gave him flowers."
A pair of footsteps echoed behind them.
Vincent, the elderly steward who had faithfully served the Moretti family for decades, froze in the doorway.
The color drained from his face.
Sophia had never seen the old man frightened.
Until now.
Then the impossible happened.
Alessandro stirred.
Sophia shot to her feet so quickly she nearly slipped on the spilled tea. Without thinking, she stepped in front of Emma, shielding her with her own body.
Whatever punishment was coming...
She would face it first.
The notorious mafia boss slowly opened his eyes.
His cold gaze settled on Sophia's pale face.
Then on the tiny child clutching a worn stuffed rabbit.
Without saying a word, he lifted his hand and touched his cheek.
When he looked at his fingertips...
They were stained with bright yellow paint.
Silence swallowed the room.
Emma beamed at him.
"I fixed your sad face," she said innocently.
Alessandro remained expressionless.
He stood from the sofa with slow, deliberate movements and crossed the room toward an antique mirror.
Everyone held their breath.
No one dared speak.
No one dared move.
May you like
Sophia closed her eyes for a single second, convinced the next few moments would decide whether she and her daughter walked out of the Moretti estate...
Or never left it at all.
