THE MAID BROKE DOWN OUTSIDE THE MAFIA BOSS’S OFFICE—THEN HE HEARD WHO WAS THREATENING HER DYING BROTHER AND CLAIMED HER BEFORE THE WHOLE CITY

The morning sun broke through the heavy rain clouds, casting pale golden light across the opulent marble foyer of the Costello estate.

Sadi sat at the massive mahogany dining table, feeling like a misplaced ornament. In front of her sat a untouched plate of eggs, toast, and fresh fruit. Across the table, Victor Costello was calmly sipping black coffee while reviewing a stack of financial dossiers.

He had returned from the hospital at four in the morning, escorted her back to the estate, and ordered his housekeeper, Mrs. Gable, to prepare a guest suite on the second floor. Sadi hadn't slept a wink. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the silhouette of Declan holding a syringe over her brother’s sleeping body.

"Eat," Victor said, not looking up from his papers.

"I can't," Sadi replied in a small voice. "Mr. Costello, I... I need to understand what happened last night. Marcus said you handled Declan. But what did you mean when you said... what you told Mick?"

Victor set his porcelain cup down with a soft click. He folded his hands on the table and looked directly at her.

"Mick O’Shea is a symptom of a larger rot," Victor said smoothly. "For the last six months, someone has been funding the East End gangs. Small-time loan sharks don't suddenly acquire the balls to threaten people inside my household, nor do they target my staff by accident."

Sadi blinked, confused. "Your staff? You think... you think Mick targeted me because I work for you?"

"I know he did," Victor replied, his voice dangerously level. "You borrowed sixty thousand dollars. That’s chump change to an organized syndicate. But sixty thousand dollars with predatory interest that guarantees you can never pay it back? That creates leverage. Mick wanted to use you."

"To do what?"

"To put cyanide in my morning coffee. To leave a side door unlocked during a raid. To plant a bug in my private study." Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Desperate people do desperate things when their loved ones are dying. Mick was waiting for the exact moment you broke so he could offer you a trade: my life for your brother's."

A chill raced down Sadi’s spine. The horror of the realization settled into her stomach like lead. She had been a pawn in a game she didn't even know existed.

"I would never have hurt you," Sadi said fiercely, her voice shaking with conviction. "Even if he beat me to death. I would never have poisoned someone."

Victor studied her face for a long moment, taking in the fierce, stubborn defiance burning in her hazel eyes. "I know. If I thought for a second you were capable of betrayal, you wouldn't be sitting at my table."

"Then why tell Mick that I'm... that we're..." She couldn't even bring herself to say the words.

"Engaged," Victor finished for her.

The word hung in the air between them, heavy and suffocating.

"Mick is backed by someone on my High Council," Victor explained, standing up and buttoning his suit jacket. "One of my capos is planning a coup. They thought they could break my perimeter by using a fragile, terrified maid. Tonight is the annual Syndicate Gala at the Grand Plaza Hotel. Every major boss, corrupt politician, and crime family in the tri-state area will be in attendance."

He walked around the table, stopping behind her chair. He leaned down, placing both hands on the dark wood, caging her within his presence.

"If I simply pay off your debt, Mick looks strong, and my council sees me as soft," Victor whispered, his breath warm against her ear. "If I kill Mick in the dark, the man pulling his strings will simply hire another dog to finish the job. But if I walk into that ballroom tonight with you on my arm—if I announce that the woman they tried to blackmail is under my absolute, sacred protection as my fiancée—they can't touch you without declaring open war against the entire Costello empire."

Sadi turned her head, her breath hitching as she looked up into his chiseled, uncompromising face. "And what happens to Sam?"

"St. Jude’s received a two-million-dollar anonymous donation this morning," Victor said smoothly. "A dedicated medical team, including the top pediatric hematologist in the country, has already taken over his case. He will receive the bone marrow transplant he needs. All expenses paid. Forever."

Tears pricked the corners of Sadi’s eyes. It was everything she had prayed for, everything she had sold her soul and sanity to achieve.

"And what do you want from me?" she asked, her voice trembling. "Nobody does this for nothing. What's the price, Victor?"

Victor reached out, his thumb gently brushing across her cheek, wiping away a stray tear. His touch was surprisingly tender for a man whose hands had spilled an ocean of blood.

"Tonight, you put on the finest dress in this city," Victor said, his gaze locking onto hers with hypnotic intensity. "You lift your chin, you look the monsters of this city in the eye, and you let them see that Sadi Hayes is no longer prey."

He straightened up, his face hardening back into the mask of the underworld king.