Chapter 4 - The Ring on the Silver TrayThe aftermath of Vivian’s dismissal hung over the grand ballroom like a toxic fog.
As the heavy oak front doors slammed shut behind Vivian Romano, the gathered syndicate bosses, capos, and politicians stood in stunned silence. No one moved. No one breathed. To publicly humiliate the daughter of Salvatore Romano—the most powerful kingpin in the Midwest—was an act of open war.
Dominic Moretti didn't care.
He remained kneeling on the polished marble floor, his expensive Italian trousers soaked in spilled champagne, looking directly into the wide, defiant hazel eyes of a three-year-old girl.
"Are you all right?" Emma asked again, her tiny brow furrowed with genuine concern.
Dominic felt a strange, unfamiliar tightness in his chest. For years, he had surrounded himself with killers, liars, and sycophants. No one had ever asked if he was alright. Everyone only cared about what he could give them, what territory he could conquer, or what blood he could spill.
"I'm fine," Dominic answered softly.
Emma tilted her head, unconvinced. "That’s what Mommy says when she isn’t."
Dominic looked up slowly, meeting Sophia’s tear-filled eyes. She was shaking from head to toe, her hand trembling as she hovered over Emma, terrified that Dominic would snap and have them both thrown out—or worse into the Hudson.
"Mrs. Bennett," Dominic said, rising smoothly to his feet, towering over the terrified mother.
"Mr. Moretti, please—she's just a baby, she didn't understand—" Sophia blurted out, dropping to her knees to pull Emma into her arms. "We’ll leave right now. We won't take anything, we'll pack our bags—"
"Pack your bags?" Dominic interrupted, his voice cutting through her panic. He turned to Marcus Vance, who was standing stiffly near the archway. "Marcus. Have the guest suite on the second floor prepared for Mrs. Bennett and her daughter."
Marcus blinked, his jaw dropping an inch before he recovered his professional mask. "Boss? The second floor? That’s next to your private wing."
"Did I stutter?" Dominic asked coldly.
"No, Boss." Marcus nodded briskly, casting a bewildered glance at Sophia and the little girl in the rain boot.
Dominic looked down at Sophia, who was staring at him as if he had grown a second head.
May you like
"You are not leaving, Mrs. Bennett," Dominic said quietly, his dark eyes flashing with a dangerous intensity. "You work here now. And your daughter stays where she is safe."
As Dominic turned and walked back toward his private study, the whispers among the syndicate bosses began like a nest of angry vipers. Salvatore Romano’s alliance was dead. War was coming. And Dominic Moretti had just declared it all for a maid and her little girl.
