Chapter 4 - An Invitation to the Tower
Clara gasped, her heart sinking. "Are you firing me too?"
"Firing you?" Luca laughed softly, taking her rough, work-calloused hand in his own large, warm palm. "I'm promoting you. Starting right now, you are the personal caretaker and companion for my daughter, Sofia. Your salary will be ten times what this hotel paid you, with full medical benefits and private living quarters in the penthouse suite."
Clara stared at him, stunned. "Mr. Bellandi, I'm just a maid. I don't have a degree in child care. I'm... I'm not the kind of person who belongs in penthouses."
"You gave a shivering child warm milk and your own shawl when everyone else walked past her," Luca said, his dark eyes locking onto hers with intense sincerity. "That makes you more qualified than anyone I have ever met in my life. Please, Clara. Say yes."
Before Clara could answer, little Sofia stirred on the sofa. She rubbed her eyes, looked around the plush library, and then saw Clara standing there.
"Cookie lady?" Sofia murmured in a small, sleepy voice. "Are you staying?"
Clara looked at the innocent, hopeful face of the little girl, then at the powerful mafia king who was looking at her as if she held the keys to his entire world.
"I'm staying, sweetheart," Clara whispered, tears blooming in her eyes. "I'm staying."
Over the next two weeks, Clara’s life transformed completely. She was moved out of her tiny, damp basement apartment on the edge of the city and into a stunning suite on the top floor of the Grand Bellandi Estate—a private fortress nestled on a cliff overlooking the ocean.
She spent her days playing with Sofia, teaching her how to bake cookies, and helping her draw pictures in the sunlit garden. For the first time in her life, Clara felt safe, valued, and respected.
However, behind the scenes, dark forces were gathering.
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Luca’s long-standing empire was built on ironclad discipline and absolute loyalty, but his three-year absence from the city had allowed ambition to rot the lower ranks. His former Underboss, a ruthless man named Viktor Rostov, had begun making secret deals with rival syndicates, aiming to seize control of the Bellandi ports and hotels.
And Viktor didn't like the influence a simple, kind-hearted maid was suddenly having on the great Luca Bellandi.
