—Leo… this is a misunderstanding—Mick stammered. —She owes my boss.
“You don’t owe her anything,” Leo said, frozen. “The debt is paid. If you, your boss, or any of your cronies come within 10 miles of Sereña Jenkins or her daughter again, Mr. Roma will make sure nobody finds their bodies. Is that clear?”
Mick nodded frenetically.
—Yes, yes. Extended.
—Fυera. Ya.
The three of them ran out, tripping over broken furniture. The apartment was left in silence, only Lily’s soft voice.
Leo put away the weapon and looked at Serepa with a little gentleness.
“Mr. Roma assumed there could be complications,” he said in a low voice. “He sent me to make sure I got home. It seems he was right.”
Serepa looked at the destroyed apartment. Reality hit her like a ton of bricks: she had no money, no safe place to sleep, the wolves were already at the door… they were inside. She alone could not protect Lily.
She looked up at Leo. She wiped away her tears.
“Take us back,” he said, with a hollow determination. “Take us to the pethouse. Tell Mr. Roma that I accept the deal.”
Part 2
The drive back to the Great felt stifling. Serena was in the back of the armored truck, hugging Lily, who had fallen asleep from exhaustion and terror. Leo drove like a ghost, looking in the rearview mirror to make sure no one was following them.
When the private elevator opened directly into the petty house, the contrast between the chipped door of her apartment and the flawless Italian marble made her dizzy.
Gabrielle Romaño was waiting for them in the main studio. He was already wearing a jacket: black shirt, sleeves rolled up, dark tattoos peeking out. Less polished businessman… more the dangerous leader he was talking about.
With just one look at Serepa’s pale face, at the bruise blooming on her shoulder and the tear-stained cheeks of the sleeping pineapple, a muscle in his jaw moved.
—Leo— said Gabrielle, dangerously calm. —Did O’apo come out breathing?
—Apeas, boss. The new arrangement has already been implemented.
Gabrielle nodded and gestured for him to leave. Then the camera focused on Serepa.
—There’s a guest room in the east hallway. The bed’s already made. Put her to bed, Serepa. Then come back. We need to talk business.
Serena carried Lily down a huge hallway to a room that was bigger than her old entire apartment. The bed looked like a bed. She tucked her daughter in and kissed her forehead.
—I’m doing it for you —he promised in silence—. Only for you.
When he returned to the study, Gabrielle had placed a pile of legal documents on the mahogany desk. She poured a glass of amber liquid and slid it toward her.
—Here. You look like you’re about to break.
Serena took a sip. The whiskey burned her throat, but it grounded her.
—What is all this?
“The terms of the arrangement,” Gabrielle explained, touching the first page with a golden pen. “A confidentiality agreement and a contract for six months. For half a year now, you are not Serena Jekis, the chambermaid. You are Serena Jekis, my fiancée.”
Sereпa looked at the black text.
—Six months…
“Tomorrow is the family summit. My uncle, Viscount, is the shadow successor,” Gabrielle said. “If he takes a stable and respectable woman by the arm, he’ll sign the legal empire in my name. If not, he’ll give it to Silas. Silas is a butcher. If he takes power, the city will become a bloodbath.”
—And what am I supposed to do? —asked Serepa, trembling.
—You live here. You sleep in the main suite, but it will all be strictly for show. You attend dinners, galas, and events by my side. You smile for the press. You wear the collar. In exchange: I’ll write off the $40,000 debt tonight. And at the end of six months, I’ll deposit $200,000 into a private account for you. Plus, Lily’s trust.
Serepa was left without air.
—Two hundred thousand?
“It’s a transaction,” Gabrielle said. “You’re providing a high-risk service. But there are rules: no contact with anyone from your past, no going out without my safety, and above all… no falling in love with me. This is acting.”
Serena looked at him. Falling in love with a mafia boss seemed absurd.
—Don’t worry, Mr. Romaño. I stopped believing in fairy tales the day my husband bet my daughter’s lunch money.
He grabbed the pen. His hand trembled as he signed, selling six months of his life to buy Lily’s future.
Gabrielle kept the contract.
—Good. Rest, Serepa. Tomorrow the chambermaid dies… and so does the future Mrs. Roma.
At seven o’clock the next morning, her new reality arrived in the form of a very elegant and terrifying French woman named Vivière , Gabrielle’s stylist and “fixer”. She entered like a general, followed by three assistants with racks of dresses, jewelry boxes and makeup cases.
—Oh God—murmured Vivieppe, turning Serepa around and looking at her old sweater with horror—. Gabrielle, you brought me a stray kitten and you want me to dress it in leopard print before sunset. It’s a miracle I charge you double.
Gabrielle was sitting, drinking black coffee.
—Just do it, Vivie. We’re leaving at four.
For six hours, Serena was polished and transformed. Her hair was cut, dyed shiny brown, given a manicure, treatments… Lily played on the floor with new blocks that Leo “magically” obtained.
—Mommy… you look like a princess —whispered Lily.
—Quietly, darling —Vivie scolded affectionately—. Now, the dress.
She brought out an emerald green silk dress with an elegant opening. When Serena put it on and looked at herself in the mirror, a gasp escaped her: she didn’t recognize the woman before her. The exhausted chambermaid disappeared. There was a woman with powerful grace.
Gabrielle looked up. The room remained silent. For a second, the ice in her gaze broke.
—Acceptable—he said, in a lower voice than normal.
Vivieппe pυso los ojos eп blaпsco.
—Men… Blind. You look magnificent, Serepa.
Gabrielle took out a small velvet box. Inside: a huge diamond, emerald cut.
—Dame to the left.
Serepa lifted her trembling. Gabrielle took her fingers with unexpected softness and put the collar on her.
“Now,” he whispered, pressing himself close to her. “We need a story. My uncle detects lies. If we hesitate, he’ll find us out.”
Sereña breathed deeply.
—How did we meet?
—At the mayor’s charity gala, three months ago—Gabrielle recited. —I saw you, we had a drink, we talked until dawn.
“No,” Serepa interrupted. “That sounds like a millionaire cliché. I don’t know how to talk about galas. I’m going to stumble over my words. I’ll use the wrong cutlery, I’ll talk nonsense about caviar.”
Gabrielle raised an eyebrow.
—¿Etoïces?
—Closer to the truth —said Serepa—. I used to work at the Grande. Tell him I bumped into you in the lobby and spilled coffee on your very expensive shoes. You got mad, but I yelled at you for looking at your cell phone.
Gabrielle let out a real giggle, so rare that Leo, at the door, almost got scared.
—Did you yell at me?
—That proves I’m not afraid of you. Your family will respect that. You demanded I pay for the shoes. I said I couldn’t. And you “forced” me to pay with you to compensate… and you liked that I didn’t praise you.
Gabrielle observed her, understanding that she was just a desperate piece.
—Well. In the lobby. You ruined my Berluti and I fell in love with your audacity. Just look at me like I’m your universe tonight.
—And you look at me as if you hadn’t bought me —replied Serepa.
Gabrielle offered him her arm.
—To work, my love.
The Hamptons family home was a fortress disguised as a coastal mansion. Enormous gates, guards everywhere. Serena sat rigidly in the armored Beetle. Lily stayed in the petty house watched over by Leo and two other guards.
“Breathe,” Gabrielle murmured, placing her hand on Serepa’s for the cameras, but her grip felt… steady. “You’re with me. Nobody touches you.”
—I’m not worried about him hitting me… I’m worried about lying to a room full of murderers.
—Stay with the story of the coffee. If it corners you, smile and look at me. I’ll take care of it.
Extraro. Chandeliers, paintings, the smell of expensive cigars, perfume and roast beef.
—Gabrielle. Finally.
From the staircase appeared Doп Viпceпzo Romaпo , seteptóп, bastóп de plata, ojos пegros como kυchillos.
—Uncle Vicezzo —said Gabrielle.
Viпceпzo ignored Gabrielle and fixed his eyes on Sereпa.
—So the ghost woman finally materializes. I already thought my nephew invited you so I’d leave him alone.
—It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Romao —said Serepa, with a firm voice.
“We’ll see,” he grumbled. Cepá eп ten miпυtos. Don’t be late.
When he left, another vexed voice came out of the shadows.
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