On Christmas Eve, Mafia boss Dominic Moretti found his maid’s three-year-old daughter sitting alone beneath the grand staircase, clutching a photograph and whispering, “I’m waiting for my mom.” He almost walked past her, until he saw the woman in the picture. It was Sophia, the woman he had loved and searched for four years earlier, and before sunrise, Dominic would discover his own mother had known exactly why she disappeared.

I stood in my father’s old study with the classified document trembling in my hand.

My own mother had forced the only woman I ever loved to disappear.

I looked at Enzo, my most trusted lieutenant, who was refusing to make eye contact with me.

“Did you know about this?” I demanded.

Enzo swallowed hard and shook his head slowly.

“I swear on my life, Dominic, I had no idea your mother paid her off.”

I threw the file onto the mahogany desk and stormed out of the study.

The sounds of my lavish engagement party echoed up the grand marble staircase.

I ignored the music and the wealthy guests, sprinting down the hallway toward the servant quarters.

Lily had pointed toward the service corridor when I asked where her mother was.

Sophia had been in my house this entire evening, working disguised as a maid for my engagement party.

My heart hammered violently against my ribs as I kicked open the door to the staff locker room.

The room was completely silent and entirely empty.

Rows of grey metal lockers stood perfectly still under the flickering fluorescent lights.

“Sophia!” I yelled, my voice echoing desperately off the concrete walls.

There was absolutely no answer.

I walked down the narrow aisle, searching for any sign that she had been there.

I noticed a slightly open locker at the very end of the row.

Tucked inside was a familiar silver necklace I had given Sophia five years ago.

I reached out to grab the necklace, but my foot slipped on something wet.

I looked down at the cold tile floor.

When my newborn 'passed away,' my mother-in-law leaned in and said

My Husband Left Me Alone in My Car While I Was in Labor

“You’re Dead When We Get Home,” He Snapped

A massive pool of fresh, dark blood was slowly spreading across the white linoleum.

And lying right in the center of the blood was a highly customized, suppressed handgun belonging to the Vitale family.

Chapter 1 - The Blood on the Floor