Chapter 1 - The Christmas Eve Firing
The grand hallway of the Moretti estate was breathtakingly beautiful. Polished marble floors reflected the warm, festive glow of three towering, meticulously decorated Christmas trees. It was the night of the annual corporate charity gala, an event that blended the city's most powerful elites with the staggering, untouched wealth of the Moretti criminal syndicate.
But hiding in the shadows of the marble hallway, a devastating tragedy was quietly unfolding.
Olivia, a beautiful young woman in her twenties, stood trembling. She wore a simple white button-down shirt and a plain black skirt, the standard uniform for the event’s temporary catering staff. Clutching her leg tightly was Lily, her three-year-old daughter. The little girl wore a cheap, faded red dress, holding a pair of oversized, pristine white gloves in her tiny hands.
Looming aggressively over them was Margaret.
Margaret was the event supervisor, a woman in her forties with a severe blonde updo, wearing a chic grey dress. She held a heavy, gold pocket watch up in the air, pointing it directly at Olivia’s face like a weapon.
"A clerical mistake. That's all," Margaret hissed viciously, ensuring her voice didn't echo into the main ballroom. "Your name was never on the final payroll sheet. You aren't getting paid for tonight, Olivia. And you are officially terminated from the agency."
Olivia physically staggered backward, her heart shattering into a million pieces. "Margaret, please! I worked a fourteen-hour shift! Tomorrow is Christmas! I need that money for my daughter!"
Margaret scoffed, radiating toxic, unfiltered arrogance. "Not my problem. Take your brat and use the service exit."
Before Olivia could beg again, heavy, terrifying footsteps echoed down the marble hallway.
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Gabriel Moretti, the thirty-eight-year-old boss of the syndicate, stepped out of the shadows. Tall, heavily muscular, and wearing a flawless dark charcoal suit, he radiated a crushing, lethal authority. He completely froze when he saw the crying catering waitress.
👉 Gabriel stepped forward, completely unaware that the weeping mother was about to shatter his entire world.
