Chapter 6 - An Unbreakable Shield
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The guards moved with terrifying efficiency, dragging Julian out of the room by his collar.
Two other men escorted a sobbing, cursing Isabella toward the grand staircase to collect her things.
The dining room was in utter disarray, smelling of spilled alcohol, roasted meat, and raw fear.
Dante stood in the center of the devastation, breathing slowly until his pulse settled.
He turned back toward the table, where twenty-eight guests remained frozen in petrified silence.
“The dinner is concluded,” Dante announced, his voice flat and absolute.
“My drivers will escort each of you to your vehicles.”
“Tomorrow morning, the commission will receive my formal declaration regarding the Romano family.”
“Until then, go home.”
Nobody argued, nobody complained, and nobody asked for dessert.
Within three minutes, the grand dining hall was completely emptied of Manhattan's elite.
Only Dante, Mia, and I remained beneath the glimmering chandeliers.
Dante walked back over to Mia, who was still leaning against my apron with wide, watchful eyes.
He gently removed my hands from her ears and knelt down beside her chair.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” he asked, his rough voice softening into pure tenderness.
Mia looked at the broken glass on the floor, then looked back at her father’s face.
“Did Miss Isabella have to leave because of me?” she asked timidly.
Dante shook his head firmly, taking both of her tiny hands into his large palms.
“Miss Isabella had to leave because she was a liar and a thief, Mia.”
“She had to leave because she didn't know how to treat my most important person.”
Mia’s lower lip trembled, but then a tiny, hesitant smile touched the corners of her mouth.
“Am I really your most important person, Daddy?”
“Always,” Dante said, his dark eyes shining with undeniable conviction.
“From the second you took your first breath until the second I take my last.”
He looked up at me, standing tall in my maid’s uniform and stained apron.
His gaze was intense, penetrating, and filled with a profound respect I had never seen in a boss.
“Sarah.”
“Yes, Mr. Rinaldi?”
“You knew who Isabella was.”
“You knew what her family was capable of in this city.”
“Why did you bring that place card down to this table?”
I took a deep breath, smoothing my hands over the rough fabric of my apron.
“Because I grew up in a foster home after my parents passed away, Mr. Rinaldi.”
“I spent ten years sitting in empty rooms, wondering why nobody came to get me.”
“I promised myself when I was a child that if I ever saw another child feeling unwanted, I wouldn't stay quiet.”
“Even if it cost me my job.”
“Even if it cost me my life.”
Dante stared at me in complete silence for several long moments.
The fierce, terrifying mafia king looked at me as if I were something miraculous.
He slowly rose to his feet, towering over me in his charcoal suit.
“You will never lose your job in this house, Sarah Mitchell.”
“In fact, your duties as a housekeeper end tonight.”
I blinked, my stomach dropping with sudden anxiety.
“Sir?”
“Starting tomorrow morning, you are Mia’s personal guardian and household manager.”
“Your salary will be tripled, and your sister’s apartment lease will be paid in full for the next ten years.”
“I need someone in this house who loves my daughter more than they fear me.”
Mia let out a joyful squeak, jumping out of the oversized chair and wrapping her arms around my hips.
“Miss Sarah is staying?” Mia cheered, looking up at her father with glowing eyes.
Dante placed a gentle hand on Mia’s dark curls, his eyes never leaving mine.
May you like
“Miss Sarah is family now, Mia.”
“And in this house, nobody abandons family.”
