Chapter 1 - THE TEN-MILLION-DOLLAR JUMP
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THE MAFIA BOSS'S FIANCÉE HUMILIATED ME IN FRONT OF A HUNDRED GUESTS, OFFERING TEN MILLION DOLLARS IF I DARED TO PERFORM A DEADLY STUNT THIRTY FEET ABOVE THE BALLROOM. SHE EXPECTED A HELPLESS MAID TO MAKE A FOOL OF HERSELF, BUT WHEN I JUMPED, HER FIANCÉ ENDED THEIR ENGAGEMENT, AND DAYS LATER, HE REVEALED A SECRET THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING.
“DON'T CATCH ME, MR. MORETTI!”
I stood thirty feet above the marble floor, gripping two golden aerial silks.
“If I fall, Vanessa keeps her money!”
Below me, a hundred guests screamed.
Vincent Moretti, New York's most feared Mafia king, stared upward.
Then I released my hands.
***
My name is Grace Mitchell.
I'm twenty-five, and I work as a maid in the Moretti mansion.
Vincent Moretti is thirty-six, towering, muscular, and dangerously handsome, with black tattoos covering his powerful arms and chest.
His cold gray eyes can silence an entire room.
He commands one of New York's deadliest Mafia empires.
And tonight was his engagement party.
His fiancée, Vanessa Whitmore, was beautiful, wealthy, and cruel.
She hated me for one simple reason.
Vincent had been watching me.
I'd merely helped an elderly guest find a chair.
But Vanessa noticed his attention.
She tapped her champagne glass.
“Everyone! Our little maid wants attention. Let's give her some!”
I froze.
She pointed toward the golden aerial silks hanging beneath the chandelier.
“I'll pay you TEN MILLION DOLLARS if you can perform something impressive up there!”
The guests laughed.
“A maid doing circus tricks?”
“She'll break her neck!”
Vincent's jaw tightened.
“Vanessa. Enough.”
“Oh, darling. It's just a joke!”
But I wasn't laughing.
Because nobody knew my secret.
***
Years earlier, I'd been a professional aerial performer in a traveling circus.
I loved flying above an audience.
Then a terrible injury ended my career.
Medical bills destroyed my savings.
Eventually, I became a maid.
But I'd never forgotten how to fly.
I placed my champagne tray down.
“Ten million dollars?”
Vanessa smirked.
“Every penny.”
I looked directly at her.
“Then remember your promise.”
***
I removed my shoes.
Asked an attendant to inspect the rigging.
Then began climbing.
Ten feet.
Twenty.
Thirty.
The laughter disappeared.
I wrapped the silk around my ankle and extended my arms.
Then I spun beneath the chandelier.
The ballroom gasped.
I flipped upside down, dropped several feet, and caught myself in a breathtaking twist.
Applause erupted.
Vanessa's smile vanished.
But I wasn't finished.
I climbed higher.
Vincent stepped forward.
“Grace, you've proved yourself. Come down.”
I looked at him.
“Don't catch me, Mr. Moretti.”
Then I let go.
The room erupted in screams.
I plunged toward the marble floor.
At the final moment, the silk tightened around my ankle.
My fall stopped.
I unfolded gracefully and landed on both feet.
The ballroom exploded with applause.
Vincent approached me.
Then turned toward Vanessa.
“You humiliated a woman under my protection.”
“Vincent, it was a joke!”
His expression turned icy.
“Our engagement is over.”
***
Over the following days, Vincent sent flowers and gifts.
I refused them.
I didn't want his money.
Then one evening, he appeared outside my room holding a velvet box.
“Grace, there's something you need to know about Vanessa's ten-million-dollar promise.”
He opened it.
Inside lay a diamond bracelet.
And beneath it, a photograph.
A photograph of me performing in the circus years earlier.
On the back, someone had written:
“Make sure she never performs again.”
My hands began trembling.
May you like
Vincent's voice turned deadly.
“Grace, your accident wasn't an accident.”
