Chapter 3 - THE VIP GALA DISASTER
Three weeks passed in a blur of remarkable progress and mounting tension.
Under Emma’s gentle, patient guidance, Lily’s physical therapy turned into a daily adventure. The sunroom had evolved into a magical kingdom where every step earned a golden star on a giant wall map. Within twenty days, the little girl had cast aside her walker entirely, taking long, confident strides across the lawns of the estate, her laughter bringing a radiant life back to the once-gloomy Moretti home.
In turn, Gabriel’s devotion to Emma became the talk of the underworld.
He didn't just employ her; he adored her. He sat with her during late-night dinners in the main dining hall, listening with genuine fascination as she spoke about her dreams of building non-profit pediatric rehabilitation centers. He ordered custom jewelry for her, presenting her with diamond-encrusted necklaces that rested against her collarbones, blatantly ignoring the whispers of rival mafia families who questioned why the undisputed King of New York was courting a former servant.
However, peace in the Moretti empire was a fragile thing.
The annual Moretti Maritime Charity Gala—the biggest high-society event of the season—was taking place at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. Every major shipping magnate, politician, and mob boss on the East Coast was in attendance.
In the master dressing suite, Emma stood before a triple-mirror, her breath catching in her throat.
She was wearing an emerald-green velvet ballgown custom-designed by a top Parisian atelier. The gown hugged her soft waist, flowing elegantly over her hips, while the off-the-shoulder neckline highlighted her ivory skin and the heavy emerald necklace Gabriel had gifted her that afternoon.
A knock sounded at the door, and Gabriel stepped inside.
He wore a tailored black tuxedo with a velvet lapel that matched her dress perfectly. When his eyes landed on her, he stopped dead in his tracks, his dark gaze traveling slowly from the hem of her gown to the top of her styled hair.
For a man who controlled billions of dollars and thousands of armed men, Gabriel looked entirely struck dumb.
“Gabriel?” Emma asked nervously, smoothing her hands over the velvet skirt. “Is it too much? I know I’m not as slender as the high-society women who usually attend these things—”
Gabriel crossed the room in three long strides, taking her waist in his large hands and pulling her flush against his chest.
“You are the most breathtaking creature I have ever seen in my life,” Gabriel growled softly against her lips, his dark eyes burning with intense passion. “Don't ever compare yourself to those hollow statues, Emma. You are real. You are warm. You are mine.”
He leaned down and kissed her—a deep, possessive, intoxicating kiss that made Emma’s knees melt, her fingers twisting into the lapels of his tuxedo as she kissed him back with all the pent-up longing in her heart.
When they pulled apart, both of them breathing heavily, Gabriel took her hand, resting it over his forearm. “Let’s go show the world who rules this city.”
The ballroom of the Plaza Hotel was a glittering sea of chandeliers, champagne towers, and elite society figures.
As Gabriel and Emma descended the grand marble staircase hand-in-hand, a quiet hush swept over the ballroom. Photographers' flashes exploded like starlight, catching the commanding mob boss standing beside the stunning, voluptuous woman on his arm.
Rival bosses murmured in hushed tones. Women in diamond chokers lowered their champagne glasses, staring with envy at the emerald gown that fit Emma like a glove.
However, near the VIP bar stood a cluster of high-society women led by Victoria DeLuca—the daughter of Don Salvatore DeLuca, Gabriel’s primary rival in the harbor logistics network. Victoria had spent three years attempting to arrange a marriage with Gabriel to consolidate their families' power.
Victoria sneered as Emma walked past, intentionally speaking loudly enough for the surrounding tables to hear.
“Look at what Gabriel dragged in,” Victoria scoffed, taking a sip of her martini. “I heard she was the maid who scrubbed his daughter's toilets last month. I guess Gabriel’s taste in women has degraded to whatever fits in a heavy-duty laundry bag.”
A few surrounding socialites chuckled behind their gloved hands.
Emma felt a sharp pang of familiar shame cut through her chest. Her hand tightened on Gabriel’s arm.
Gabriel turned his head slowly toward Victoria DeLuca. The temperature in the immediate vicinity seemed to plunge by twenty degrees.
Before Gabriel could speak, a commotion broke out near the center of the dance floor.
Six-year-old Lily and Leo, who had been brought to the gala for the opening charitable presentation, were sitting at a private family table near the stage.
Victoria’s younger brother, Julian DeLuca—a cruel, arrogant twenty-something mob heir who was heavily intoxicated—stumbled past the table, accidentally knocking over a heavy glass bucket of ice and champagne.
The heavy metal bucket smashed directly onto the floor, sending jagged glass and ice flying toward Lily’s legs!
Lily let out a terrified scream, falling backward off her chair, her fragile right leg pinned under the heavy metallic ice bucket as cold champagne soaked her dress!
“Hey! Watch where you're going, you little cripple!” Julian shouted stupidly, kicking the metal bucket away with his polished shoe. “Keep your broken legs out of the walking path!”
The ballroom went dead silent.
Every single conversation, every glass of champagne, every orchestra instrument abruptly stopped.
Julian didn't realize what he had just done. He turned back toward the bar—
CRASH!
A heavy glass champagne tower was shattered into dust as Gabriel moved across the ballroom floor like a strike of lighting!
He didn't draw a gun. He didn't say a word.
Gabriel grabbed Julian DeLuca by his silk tie and pulled him off his feet, driving him body-first through a three-thousand-dollar mahogany banquet table!
Wood shattered! China smashed to pieces!
Julian shrieked in agony as Gabriel hauled him up by his collar, pinning him against the grand marble pillar in the center of the ballroom. Gabriel’s right hand clamped around Julian’s jaw, his fingers pressing so hard into the bone that Julian’s teeth began to crack!
“Gabriel! Stop!” Don Salvatore DeLuca screamed, rushing forward with four armed bodyguards pulling out silenced pistols. “He’s my son! You can’t do this!”
Fifty Moretti soldiers disguised as waiters and guests drew suppressed automatic weapons simultaneously throughout the ballroom!
Fifty red laser dots instantly painted Don Salvatore’s chest and forehead!
Gabriel didn't even look at Salvatore. His dark eyes were fixed entirely on the terrified face of the young man he held pinned against the stone.
“Your son,” Gabriel’s voice echoed through the massive ballroom, heavy with absolute, apocalyptic fury, “just laid a foot on my daughter. And he called her a cripple.”
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Julian sobbed, blood running from his mouth. “I was drunk! I didn't see her!”
Emma rushed past the armed men, ignoring the drawn guns, and dropped to her knees beside Lily. She gently lifted the little girl into her arms, checking her right leg for cuts.
“It’s okay, baby,” Emma whispered, shielding Lily’s eyes against her emerald dress. “I’ve got you. You’re safe.”
Lily looked up through her tears, clinging tightly to Emma’s neck. “Emma... my leg hurts... but I didn't cry because I was weak! I remembered what you taught me!”
Emma’s heart swelled with intense pride and fierce protectiveness. She stood up, holding Lily securely on her hip, and looked straight across the room at Don Salvatore DeLuca.
“Your son isn't just cruel, Don DeLuca,” Emma declared, her voice carrying a terrifying authority that stunned every elite guest in the room. “He is a coward who attacks children because he knows he will never be half the man Gabriel Moretti is.”
Don Salvatore stared at the former maid holding his rival's child, utterly shocked by her fierce, regal bravery.
Gabriel looked over at Emma. Seeing her standing tall, holding his daughter like a warrior queen, a dark, beautiful realization struck his soul.
He looked back at Julian DeLuca.
With a single, effortless twist, Gabriel dislocated Julian’s shoulder, sending the young man screaming to the floor in agony.
“Salvatore,” Gabriel commanded coldly, wiping his hands with a white silk handkerchief. “You have two hours to surrender all shipping rights at Pier 42 to the Moretti empire. If your family is still in New York by midnight... I will eradicate the DeLuca name from the Eastern seaboard.”
Salvatore looked at the fifty red laser dots burning into his chest, then looked at his crying, broken son. “We... we will leave, Gabriel. Just let us walk out.”
“Get out,” Gabriel spat.
As the disgraced DeLuca family scrambled out of the ballroom under heavy security escort, Gabriel walked back over to Emma.
He didn't look at the crowd. He didn't look at the press.
He reached out, taking Lily from Emma’s arms and handing her to his lead bodyguard, Marco. “Take the children back to the estate.”
Once the children were escorted out, Gabriel turned to Emma.
In front of three hundred elite guests, in front of the world’s press, the feared mafia king sank down onto one knee on the marble floor before the voluptuous former maid.
The ballroom gasped.
Gabriel pulled a velvet box from his pocket, snapping it open to reveal a magnificent thirty-carat canary yellow diamond ring that sparkled like the sun.
“Gabriel...” Emma gasped, her hands covering her mouth, fresh tears overflowing her eyes.
“Emma Brooks,” Gabriel spoke, his voice filled with a deep, emotional resonance that echoed across the quiet hall. “You saved my daughter when the world gave up on her. You gave warmth to a house that had known only blood and shadows. You showed me what true strength looks like.”
He reached up, taking her soft hand in his.
“I don't want a maid. I don't want an employee. I want a queen. Marry me. Rule this city by my side, and let me protect you for the rest of my life.”
Emma looked down at the powerful man kneeling at her feet, offering her his heart, his empire, and his eternal devotion.
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“Yes,” Emma sobbed happily, a radiant smile breaking across her face. “Yes, Gabriel! A thousand times yes!”
Gabriel rose to his feet, slipping the massive diamond onto her finger, and pulled her into a passionate kiss as the entire ballroom erupted into thunderous, overwhelming applause!
