Chapter 2 - The Silver Medal Beneath the Seams

Lucy did not take Gabriel's hand immediately.

She looked down at her scuffed shoes.

She looked back up at the imposing mafia boss.

“If I dance,

do you really mean it?” she asked.

“Mean what?” Gabriel asked,

his lips curving into a faint,

dangerous smile.

“About adopting me,

” Lucy said earnestly.

“People always make promises when they are bored,

Mama says.

She says rich people treat promises like disposable napkins.

”

A collective gasp rippled through the assembled elite.

Several socialites covered their mouths with jeweled hands.

Gabriel did not laugh.

Instead,

a low,

rumbling chuckle vibrated in his chest.

“Your mother is a very cynical woman,

” Gabriel said,

his gaze never leaving my frozen form.

“She is also a very observant one,

” I called out,

my voice cutting through the heavy air of the ballroom.

I stepped out from the shadows of the service entrance.

The linen bundle slipped from my arms and hit the polished floor with a dull thud.

“Mr.

Caruso,

the child is tired,

” I said,

marching straight toward them.

“She doesn't belong here,

and your games are cruel.

”

Gabriel stood slowly to his full height.

He towered over me,

radiating an aura of absolute dominance.

“I don't play games,

Elena,

” he said softly,

using my first name for the first time since I had been hired.

My blood ran cold.

He knew my name.

He had known it from day one.

“I asked her a question,

and she answered,

” Gabriel continued.

“Now,

let her dance.

”

Before I could interject,

Lucy took a sudden step backward.

As she shifted her weight,

a sharp metallic clinking sound echoed through the quiet room.

It was a sound out of place among silk and velvet.

It was the sound of heavy,

unpolished metal striking the floor.

A heavy silver ribbon slipped from the hem of Lucy's oversized blue dress.

It pooled on the floor like liquid moonlight.

Attached to it was a massive,

tarnished silver medallion.

Engraved across its surface was the crest of the federal anti-corruption task force—the exact task force my husband had worked for before he was murdered.

The color drained entirely from Gabriel Caruso's face.

The titanium composure cracked instantly.

He stared down at the medal,

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