Chapter 3 - The Silent Vow
Salvatore sat in the dimly lit leather interior of the SUV. He didn't look surprised to see me shivering in the rain without my uniform. His men had undoubtedly been watching.
He reached out a large, calloused hand.
"Get in," he commanded.
I didn't hesitate. I climbed into the warmth of the car, and before the door even closed, Salvatore was draping his heavy cashmere overcoat around my freezing shoulders. It smelled of cedar, rain, and danger.
"He fired you," Salvatore stated. It wasn't a question.
"I'll find another job," I signed quickly, not wanting his pity. "I'm used to starting over."
"You are not starting over," Salvatore corrected, his jaw clenching with a possessive, dark fury. "And you are never carrying a tray again. From this moment on, you work for me."
"Doing what?" I accidentally spoke aloud, before repeating it in ASL. "I don't know anything about your world."
"You know how to see me," he signed, his dark eyes burning into mine. "I need a personal interpreter for my legitimate businesses. Someone I can trust. Someone who isn't afraid to look me in the eye. I will double whatever that restaurant paid you, and I will ensure your brother receives the best medical care in the country."
It was a deal with the devil. But looking into Salvatore's eyes, I realized I had already sold my soul the moment he smiled at me in that dining room.
Over the next six months, my entire life transformed.
I was no longer the invisible, mocked waitress. I was the voice of Salvatore Marquetti. I sat beside him in glass boardrooms, translating high-stakes real estate deals and silencing arrogant executives with a single look. I lived in a sprawling wing of his heavily guarded estate. My brother was thriving in a private academy.
And Salvatore... Salvatore became the center of my universe.
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The dangerous mafia don treated me with a reverence that took my breath away. He never touched me, but his eyes followed me everywhere. He brought me coffee in the mornings. He bought me silk dresses that cost more than my car. He built an invisible fortress around me, destroying anyone who even looked at me with disrespect.
But the Chicago underworld is a fragile ecosystem. And when a king elevates a pawn to a queen, his enemies take notice.
