Chapter 10 - The King’s True QueenThat evening, Villa Moretti was opened to the public—or at least, as public as a mafia estate could ever be. A grand charity gala was held in the ballroom, celebrating the establishment of the Bennett-Moretti Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping widowed mothers and orphaned children across northern Italy.
The very same twelve mafia bosses who had once sat in cold judgment were now standing in line to donate millions to the cause, eager to prove their loyalty to their undisputed leader.
I wore a simple, elegant midnight-blue gown—no diamonds, no designer excess, just grace. As I walked down the grand staircase holding Emma's hand, the chatter in the ballroom died down, replaced by a wave of respectful applause.
Waiting at the bottom of the stairs was Alessandro. He looked devastatingly handsome in his tailored black tuxedo, but his eyes were fixed entirely on us.
He didn't care about the cameras, the reporters, or the powerful capos watching from the shadows. He walked up the first two steps, reached out his hand, and took mine.
“Shall we dance, Mrs. Moretti?” he asked softly.
I paused, a warm smile spreading across my face. “Mrs. Moretti? I thought I was just your housekeeper.”
Alessandro chuckled, pulling me close against him as the orchestra began to play a slow, romantic waltz.
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“You were never just a housekeeper, Elena,” he whispered into my hair as we swayed beneath the crystal chandeliers. “You were the storm that brought down an empire, and the only peace I ever found.”
Emma ran past our feet, giggling as she chased her blue rabbit across the polished marble floor, completely unaware that she had rewritten the history of Milan. And as I looked up into the eyes of the most feared man in Italy, I knew that our story was only just beginning.
