**THE MAFIA BOSS’S SECRET SAVIOR**

A month later, the Ashford estate had been restored to its former glory. The shattered glass was replaced, the blood scrubbed from the marble, and the Moretti family had been systematically dismantled. Sabrina was serving a life sentence in federal prison, her family's empire in ruins.

Julian, no longer poisoned, was growing stronger every day. He was out of the hidden East Wing and spending his afternoons reading in the sunroom, breathing on his own.

Everything was perfect. Except for Eleanor.

She stood in her small servant's quarters, packing her canvas bag. Her duty was done. The threat was neutralized, Julian was safe, and Vincent... Vincent was a king who no longer needed a shield. She folded her grandmother's old sweater, fighting the tears stinging her eyes.

A heavy knock sounded at her door.

Before she could answer, the door swung open. Vincent stood there, wearing a perfectly tailored black suit, looking every inch the powerful Mafia Don. His eyes swept over the room, landing on her packed bag. A flash of panic crossed his stoic features.

"Where are you going?" he demanded, stepping into the small room and closing the door behind him.

"My contract is fulfilled, Mr. Ashford," Eleanor said, keeping her voice perfectly level. "Julian is safe. The ledger is secure. There is no longer a need for me to—"

"Stop." Vincent crossed the room in two strides. He grabbed the canvas bag from her hands and tossed it onto the floor. "Do not give me that corporate nonsense. You are not an employee, Eleanor. You never were."

"Vincent, please," she whispered, looking away because the intensity in his eyes was too much to bear. "I don't belong here anymore. Sabrina was right about one thing. I'm just a maid."

"Sabrina was a fool who couldn't recognize a queen when she stood before one," Vincent fiercely countered. He reached out, gently catching her chin and forcing her to look at him. His thumb stroked her cheek. Her hair had grown just enough to frame her face in soft, dark waves. "You saved my brother. You saved my empire. You saved me, Eleanor."