The Mafia Boss's Fiancée Cut Off the Curvy Maid's Hair—She Never Expected the Consequences

Within forty-eight hours of Ivy’s departure, the Morelli empire hit rock bottom.

The federal raid on Dock 4 resulted in the seizure of thirty million dollars in unregistered cargo. The Sterling family, panicking over the federal heat brought by their corrupt secretary, attempted to shift the entire blame onto Dante, leaking forged documents to the District Attorney.

Vanessa Sterling stood in the main study of her family’s penthouse in Manhattan, pouring a glass of champagne.

"It’s over, Dad," Vanessa smirked to her father, Senator Richard Sterling. "Dante has no choice now. He has to marry me by next week, or you let the D.A. file the indictment. He’ll sign over fifty percent of the port revenues to us just to stay out of federal prison."

Senator Sterling smiled, adjusting his golden cufflinks. "Brilliant work, my dear. I must admit, I was worried about that maid of his. She was far too sharp."

"The maid is gone," Vanessa laughed coldly, sipping her champagne. "I chopped off her ridiculous hair and drove her out like a dog. She’s probably scrubbing toilets in a diner somewhere in Brooklyn."

BANG.

The reinforced oak doors of the Sterling penthouse were blown off their hinges in a blinding flash of wood splinters and steel.

Before the Senator’s private security guards could even reach for their weapons, eight men in black tactical gear flooded the room, their suppressed submachine guns trained precisely on the Sterlings' chests.

Stepping through the smoke was Dante Morelli.

He wore a pristine charcoal suit, his silver eyes flashing with a cold, murderous fury that made Senator Sterling’s knees buckle. Beside him walked Leo Morelli, carrying a black leather briefcase.

"Dante!" Vanessa shrieked, dropping her champagne glass, which shattered on the hardwood floor. "What is the meaning of this? You can't attack my father’s home!"

Dante didn't even look at her. He walked over to the mahogany desk, taking a seat in the Senator’s plush leather chair, leaning back casually.

"Senator Sterling," Dante said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "Did you really think I built the largest syndicate on the East Coast by relying on a maid to do my intelligence work?"

Senator Sterling swallowed hard, sweat dripping down his neck. "Dante... listen to me... we can renegotiate the port shares—"

"There are no negotiations," Leo interrupted smoothly, opening the black briefcase and slapping a thick stack of documents onto the desk.

"What is that?" Vanessa stammered.

"These are encrypted bank logs from your offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands," Leo explained with a cold smile. "Along with video footage of Senator Sterling taking three million dollars in bribes from the Colombian cartel last spring."

Senator Sterling went ghost-white. "Where... where did you get those?"

"From Ivy Bennett," Dante said softly, a dark, proud smile touching his lips.

Vanessa gasped. "That’s impossible! She was just a maid!"

"She was my head of intelligence before I ever gave her the house manager title," Dante revealed, leaning forward, resting his forearms on the desk. "Ivy holds a master's degree in forensic accounting from Columbia University. She ran my financial background checks for three years. She knew about your bribes six months ago, Senator. We were just waiting for you to make a move so we could seize your entire port authority legally under syndicate protocol."

Vanessa felt the room spin violently around her. The woman she had dragged across the marble floor, the woman whose hair she had chopped off like trash... was the very architect of her family’s destruction.

"Vanessa," Dante said, finally turning his silver gaze onto his former fiancée.

Vanessa trembled, falling to her knees on the floor. "Dante... please... I loved you! I did it because I was jealous of her! She looked at you like you belonged to her!"

"She didn't look at me like I belonged to her," Dante said, standing up, his shadow swallowing her whole. "I belonged to her from the moment she walked into my house."

He looked at Leo. "Strip the Sterlings of all port access. Hand the Senator’s bribery files directly to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. And make sure Vanessa Sterling’s name is blacklisted from every high-society club, charity, and estate in the tri-state area."

"No! Dante! Please!" Vanessa sobbed hysterically as Dante’s men grabbed her father and dragged him toward the door.