Chapter 1 - THE DISMISSAL
A single mistake ended Layla Bennett’s livelihood.
Dominic Gallo discarded her as though she were worthless, unaware that the maid he had just dismissed was carrying the one thing he desperately needed: the continuation of his bloodline.
She was carrying two of his children.
The sprawling penthouse overlooking the Chicago skyline was silent apart from the rhythmic movement of a vintage grandfather clock and the scratching of a fountain pen against paper.
Dominic sat behind a massive mahogany desk.
To the public, he was a ruthless real-estate developer, a self-made billionaire with an unforgiving grip on Chicago’s commercial property market.
To the men who worked for him in the shadows, he was the architect of the city’s underground port operations and the head of the Gallo crime syndicate.
Layla kept her eyes fixed on the imported marble floor.
Her hands, roughened by bleach and hot water, held the handle of a cleaning cart.
She was twenty-three years old and overwhelmed by the medical debt left behind after her father’s death. Employment inside Dominic’s home paid exceptionally well, provided the employee understood one rule:
Remain invisible.
For Layla, invisibility had become increasingly difficult.
A sharp wave of nausea passed through her.
She closed her eyes and waited for the dizziness to recede.
Three months earlier, everything had changed.
The Gallo Syndicate had held its annual masquerade charity gala.
The catering staff had been severely understaffed, and Layla had been ordered to exchange her maid’s apron for a server’s uniform and a gilded Venetian mask.
Late that evening, she had entered Dominic’s private library searching for a quiet place to breathe.
She had found him there.
Dominic had been drinking heavily. A territorial war with the Moretti family was approaching, and the pressure had turned the normally controlled crime boss into a man barely holding himself together.
He had not recognized Layla.
Behind the mask, she was simply a stranger.
For one reckless night, two lonely people forgot who they were.
Before dawn, Layla had slipped away.
She never intended to see that side of Dominic again.
But three weeks later, a doctor had placed two ultrasound images in her hands.
“Twins.”
She had stared at the screen.
Two tiny lives.
Two heartbeats.
And one impossible father.
Dominic Gallo.
She had decided immediately that he would never know.
Not because she hated him.
Because she feared him.
A man like Dominic could take her children with a single order.
So she continued working.
Until that morning.
“Are you going to polish that silver, or do you intend to stand there breathing my air all morning?”
Dominic’s cold voice pulled her back.
Layla flinched.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Gallo. I’ll finish it immediately.”
She stepped forward.
The room tilted.
Dark spots spread across her vision.
Her heel caught the Persian rug.
The silver tray crashed onto the floor.
The impact shattered a crystal decanter.
Scotch spread across the carpet.
Then the door opened.
Celeste Rossi entered.
She looked down at her ruined designer shoes.
Her face hardened.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
Layla dropped to her knees.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Rossi. I became dizzy. I can clean everything.”
“Dizzy?”
Celeste laughed.
“Dominic, why do you employ addicts from the street?”
Layla froze.
“I’m not—”
“You look half-dead.”
Dominic stood.
His expression was unreadable.
“Leave it.”
Layla looked up.
“Mr. Gallo, please. I need this position.”
“I don't pay you to make excuses.”
“I can fix it.”
“You have made mistakes all week.”
“That isn't true.”
The words escaped before Layla could stop them.
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
“What did you say?”
Layla lowered her head.
“I’m sorry.”
Dominic walked around the desk.
“You are a liability.”
He reached into his jacket and removed several hundred-dollar bills.
They landed beside the broken glass.
“Take your severance.”
Layla stared at the money.
Her hand instinctively moved toward her abdomen.
“Please.”
Celeste smiled.
“You heard him.”
Layla wanted to tell him.
She wanted to say:
I'm pregnant.
With your children.
Instead, she looked at Celeste.
Then at Dominic.
Fear won.
She picked up the money.
“I understand.”
Dominic turned away.
“If you're still here in thirty minutes, security will escort you out.”
Layla swallowed.
“Goodbye, Mr. Gallo.”
He didn't answer.
May you like
She walked away.
Neither of them knew that it would be the last time Dominic saw her for four months.
