Chapter 3 - The Cancelled Meetings
The towering stranger looked directly into my eyes. His gaze was dark, intense, and incredibly calculating. He looked at my frayed coat, my cracked hands, and finally, he looked down at Rosie.
"Ladies first," the stranger replied smoothly, stepping aside to give us a wide berth.
Rosie, entirely unfazed by the terrifying bodyguards, grabbed the edges of her cheap, worn coat and gave the towering man her sweetest, most polite little curtsy.
"Thank you, sir!" Rosie beamed.
To my absolute, cinematic surprise, the dark, imposing stranger actually let out a genuine, warm laugh.
I didn't know his name was Dominic Moretti. At thirty-eight years old, he controlled one of New York's most powerful, ruthless mafia syndicates. Corrupt politicians genuinely feared him. Wealthy, arrogant businessmen instantly obeyed him. Even the manager of Bergman’s had personally greeted him at the door. Dominic had only come to the store to quickly purchase an expensive birthday present for his mother.
But now, standing near the shoe display, the apex predator of the city was watching my daughter clutch a sketch of shoes she knew she could never afford.
"Boss, the car is waiting," one of the bodyguards whispered urgently.
Dominic didn't answer. He kept his eyes locked on Rosie.
"Sir, your afternoon meetings with the waterfront developers..." the guard tried again.
"Cancel them," Dominic ordered smoothly.
"Boss, those meetings are critically important!"
May you like
Dominic slowly turned his head. The cinematic realism of his terrifying, lethal expression made the massive bodyguard physically shrink backward. "Did I ask for your opinion?" Dominic growled. "Cancel every damn meeting."
👉 Dominic turned his attention back to my daughter, and he was about to issue a command that would rewrite our entire destiny.
