No nanny survived dinner with the mafia boss’s quadruplets—until a broke stranger took charge

The parlor cleared out as the police officers apologized to Victor and departed.

Silence settled over the estate once again.

Upstairs, Mrs. Gable, the housekeeper, tucked Lucia into bed alongside the four quadruplets, who insisted on sleeping on sleeping bags on the floor of her room to "protect their sister."

Downstairs in the private library, Serena sat on a velvet sofa, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, holding a mug of warm tea. Her hands were still shaking from the adrenaline.

Victor walked in, carrying two glasses of scotch. He set one on the table beside her and sat down on the other end of the sofa.

"It’s over," Victor said softly. "Dominic Senior has permanently revoked Julian’s parental rights based on the corruption evidence. He can never file for custody again."

Serena looked up at him, tears welling in her eyes once more. But this time, they weren't tears of fear—they were tears of overwhelming relief.

"You saved her," Serena whispered. "You saved both of us."

"I protected what is mine," Victor said simply.

Serena looked into his eyes. "I’m just the nanny, Victor."

Victor set his glass down on the mahogany table with a heavy thud. He leaned across the cushions, closing the distance between them until Serena could feel the heat radiating from his body.

"Do you really believe that?" Victor asked, his voice low, gravelly, and intense. "Do you think I let just anyone into this house? Do you think I bring four-hundred-dollar-an-hour lawyers out at midnight for 'just the nanny'?"

Serena’s heart fluttered wild in her chest. "Victor..."

"I haven't felt alive in two years, Serena," Victor confessed, his dark eyes searching every inch of her face. "My house was dead. My sons were lost. I was waiting for a bullet to end my own misery. And then you walked through that front door in a damp blazer, rolled up your sleeves, and made carbonara while my life was falling apart."

He reached out, his warm, rough thumb gently tracing her lower lip.

"You brought light back into this fortress," Victor whispered. "You gave my boys a mother. And you gave me... a reason to fight again."

Serena dropped her tea mug onto the table and reached up, her fingers sliding into his thick, dark hair. "I was so tired of fighting alone, Victor."

"You will never fight alone again," Victor promised.

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

The kiss was deep, possessive, and filled with a fierce, quiet passion that dissolved years of grief, poverty, and fear. Serena sank into his touch, wrapping her arms around his neck, feeling the solid, unyielding strength of the man holding her.

When they finally broke apart, out of breath, Victor rested his forehead against hers.