Chapter 1
The grandfather clock struck two.
Each chime echoed through the Romano mansion like a warning.
Outside, rain lashed against the towering windows overlooking Boston.
Inside the master bedroom...
Alexander Romano was dying.
The most feared mafia boss in New England lay helpless beneath black silk sheets, his body burning with fever. Sweat soaked his dark hair as his breathing became slower with every passing minute.
Doctors had already come and gone.
They all gave the same answer.
"The medication will reduce the fever."
But it wasn't.
It was getting worse.
Much worse.
Only one person refused to leave his side.
Nina Carter.
The youngest housemaid in the mansion.
Twenty-five years old.
Quiet.
Invisible.
The kind of employee nobody noticed.
Except Alexander.
Months earlier, after catching another servant stealing money, everyone expected Alexander to fire the frightened young maid who happened to be standing nearby.
Instead, he had calmly said,
"I know who tells the truth in this house."
He believed her.
It was the first time anyone powerful ever had.
From that day forward...
Nina secretly fell in love with the man everyone else feared.
She knew it could never happen.
He was the head of the Romano family.
She was only a maid.
So she buried those feelings.
Deep.
Where nobody could ever find them.
Now she sat beside his bed with a damp towel pressed against his forehead.
"Please..."
Her voice trembled.
"Don't leave me."
Alexander didn't answer.
His eyes remained closed.
His breathing grew weaker.
Across the room, attorney Marcus Hale stood silently beside the bedroom door.
He had managed Alexander's legal affairs for over a decade.
Calm.
Precise.
Impossible to read.
He watched every movement Nina made.
Without speaking.
Without blinking.
The silence felt unbearable.
Nina reached for the medicine bottle resting beside the untouched glass of water.
Something felt wrong.
She couldn't explain why.
She had given Alexander this medicine every night for three weeks.
She knew exactly what the pills looked like.
Tonight...
They looked different.
Her heartbeat accelerated.
She carried the bottle beneath the warm bedside lamp.
Slowly unscrewing the cap.
A single white tablet rolled into her trembling palm.
She stared.
No...
No, no...
These weren't the same pills.
The shape was wrong.
The color was slightly darker.
Even the smell was different.
She quickly picked up the prescription label.
Same bottle.
Same instructions.
Different medication.
Her face turned pale.
Someone had switched them.
"This isn't possible..."
She whispered.
Marcus looked toward her.
"What is it?"
Nina instinctively closed her hand around the pill.
Her mind raced.
If someone changed Alexander's medication...
Then this wasn't an accident.
It was attempted murder.
She looked back at Alexander.
His fever had suddenly become much worse after taking tonight's dose.
Dear God...
Someone inside the mansion wanted him dead.
Before she could say another word...
Alexander's fingers suddenly wrapped weakly around her wrist.
His eyes opened only halfway.
Clouded by fever.
Barely conscious.
Yet somehow...
He recognized her.
"Nina..."
His voice was almost inaudible.
"Don't... leave..."
Tears instantly filled her eyes.
She leaned closer.
"I'm here."
"I won't go anywhere."
For just a second...
The feared mafia boss looked less like a criminal.
And more like a frightened man fighting to stay alive.
Marcus watched the exchange carefully.
His expression hardened.
He had never seen Alexander reach for anyone.
Especially not a maid.
Suspicion quietly settled behind his eyes.
"What aren't you telling me?"
Marcus asked calmly.
Nina froze.
She looked at the medicine bottle.
Then back at Alexander.
Should she tell him?
Could she trust him?
Before she could decide...
A faint metallic sound echoed through the room.
Click.
Everyone looked toward the bedroom door.
The brass doorknob...
Was slowly turning.
Someone was outside.
Someone who believed Alexander was already too weak to fight back.
Nina's fear disappeared.
Only determination remained.
She tightened her grip on Alexander's hand.
And whispered,
May you like
"They're here...
They're trying to finish him."
