The Mafia Boss and the Maid — Part 2
The Mafia Boss and the Maid — Part 2
Linda pushed the cleaning cart down the hallway, completely unaware that the man watching her from the shadows had spent the entire night changing her son’s fate.
She looked exhausted.
Her shoulders were hunched.
Her eyes were swollen from crying.
But she kept working.
One room at a time.
One floor at a time.
As if nothing had happened.
Dominic watched her for nearly a minute.
Then he stepped out of the shadows.
“Linda.”
She stopped immediately.
Her hands tightened around the cart.
“Yes, Mr. Gallow?”
“Come to my office.”
Her face went pale.
For one terrible second, Dominic saw fear flash across her eyes.
She thought she had done something wrong.
“Yes, sir.”
She followed him upstairs.
Dominic walked behind his desk and sat down.
Linda remained standing.
Her fingers nervously twisted the edge of her uniform.
“You left early yesterday.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You asked for an advance.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Linda looked down.
“I already told you. It was personal.”
Dominic leaned back.
“I know.”
She looked up.
Something in his voice had changed.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
Linda froze.
Dominic opened a drawer.
He pulled out an envelope.
Linda stared at it.
“What is that?”
“Your new salary.”
She blinked.
“New?”
“Starting today, you get triple what you were making.”
Her mouth fell open.
“Mr. Gallow, I…”
“You’re also taking paid leave.”
“I can’t.”
“You can.”
“But the house needs—”
“The house can survive without you.”
She stared at him, confused.
Dominic pushed the envelope across the desk.
“There’s something else.”
Linda didn’t touch it.
“What?”
“Your son.”
The color drained from her face.
Dominic watched her carefully.
“Kio.”
Linda’s lips trembled.
“How do you know his name?”
“I know everything that happens under my roof.”
Her expression changed instantly.
Fear.
She took a step backward.
“You followed me.”
It wasn’t a question.
Dominic didn’t deny it.
“Yes.”
“You followed me to the hospital.”
“Yes.”
Linda stared at him.
“Why?”
“I thought you were betraying me.”
Her eyes filled with disbelief.
“Me?”
“I was wrong.”
Silence filled the room.
Linda looked away.
Then she whispered, “You had no right.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
She was right.
No one spoke to him that way.
No one dared.
But Dominic didn’t punish her.
Instead, he lowered his eyes.
“I know.”
Linda looked back at him.
The admission seemed to shock her more than anything else.
Dominic Gallow did not apologize.
Not to politicians.
Not to rivals.
Not even to the men who worked for him.
But now he said quietly:
“I’m sorry.”
Linda’s eyes filled with tears.
“What did you do?”
Dominic didn’t answer immediately.
He simply said, “Go to the hospital.”
Her breathing stopped.
“Why?”
“Go see your son.”
“Mr. Gallow…”
“Just go.”
Linda turned and hurried from the room.
Dominic watched the door close.
Then he picked up his phone.
“Arthur.”
His accountant answered immediately.
“Yes, boss.”
“I want everything handled.”
“Everything?”
“Every medical bill. Every treatment. Every medication. Transportation. Private nursing if necessary.”
Arthur was silent.
“Boss… how far do you want this to go?”
Dominic looked toward the closed door.
“Until the boy is healthy.”
“And if the treatment fails?”
Dominic’s expression hardened.
“Then we find another treatment.”
Arthur understood.
“Yes, boss.”
“And Arthur?”
“Yes?”
“No one tells Linda where the money came from.”
There was a pause.
“Understood.”
Dominic ended the call.
He thought the matter was finished.
It wasn’t.
Because three hours later, his security chief entered the office.
“Boss, we have a problem.”
Dominic looked up.
“What kind?”
“Moretti.”
That single name changed the atmosphere.
The Moretti family had been Dominic’s biggest rival for years.
“What did they do?”
“They’ve been asking questions.”
“About what?”
The security chief hesitated.
“The hospital.”
Dominic slowly stood.
“Explain.”
“They know someone made a major donation to St. Jude’s. They’re trying to find out who.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
“We don’t know.”
“Find out.”
“Already working on it.”
The security chief placed a folder on the desk.
“There’s more.”
Dominic opened it.
Inside were photographs.
Linda.
Leaving the hospital.
Linda.
Entering the subway.
Linda.
Standing outside Dominic’s estate.
And one photograph that made his blood run cold.
Kio.
Taken through the hospital window.
Dominic stared at the picture.
Someone had been watching Linda.
Someone had known about the boy.
And suddenly Dominic understood.
The hospital hadn’t been a coincidence.
Neither had Linda’s strange behavior.
Someone had discovered her weakness.
Someone had been waiting.
His phone rang.
Unknown number.
Dominic answered.
“Who is this?”
A distorted voice replied.
“You should’ve left the maid alone.”
Dominic said nothing.
“You made a mistake, Gallow.”
“What mistake?”
“You cared.”
The call ended.
Dominic stared at the phone.
For years, enemies had threatened to kill him.
They had threatened his men.
His businesses.
His family.
None of it had frightened him.
But now someone had found the one thing Dominic couldn’t afford to lose.
He picked up the photograph of Kio.
His expression became terrifyingly calm.
“Find them.”
The security chief nodded.
“Alive?”
Dominic looked at the picture again.
“Yes.”
He paused.
“At first.”
Meanwhile, across the city, Linda walked into St. Jude’s.
She rushed toward the pediatric ward.
When she reached Room 412, she stopped.
The door was open.
A doctor stood beside Kio’s bed.
Linda’s heart pounded.
“Doctor?”
The man turned.
“Linda.”
“What’s wrong?”
The doctor smiled.
“Nothing is wrong.”
Linda stared at him.
“Then why are you here?”
“I came to give you some good news.”
She looked at Kio.
He was sleeping peacefully.
“The trial?”
The doctor nodded.
“He’s been accepted.”
Linda covered her mouth.
“What?”
“The funding issue has been resolved.”
She couldn’t speak.
“The hospital received a private donation this morning. Your son’s treatment is fully covered.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“But how?”
“We don’t know.”
Linda slowly walked to the bed.
Kio opened his eyes.
“Linda?”
She smiled through her tears.
“Hey, tough guy.”
“Why are you crying?”
She laughed softly.
“Because you’re going to get better.”
Kio smiled.
“Like Captain Galaxy?”
“Exactly like Captain Galaxy.”
She kissed his forehead.
Then she looked toward the window.
For reasons she couldn’t explain, she thought of Dominic.
The cold man who had frightened her from the moment she entered his house.
The man she had believed incapable of kindness.
She whispered:
“Thank you.”
But Dominic wasn’t there to hear it.
He was across town, standing in an abandoned warehouse.
A man was tied to a chair in front of him.
One of Moretti’s informants.
Dominic placed the photograph of Kio on the table.
“You watched the hospital.”
The man swallowed.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Dominic smiled.
It wasn’t a warm smile.
“That’s unfortunate.”
He leaned closer.
“Because I already know everything.”
The man’s face went white.
Dominic picked up his phone.
“Call me when you remember.”
He turned toward the door.
Then stopped.
“One more thing.”
The man looked up.
“If anyone goes near that boy…”
Dominic’s voice dropped to a whisper.
“They won’t get a second warning.”
He walked out.
Outside, rain began falling again.
Dominic stood beneath the gray sky and looked toward the distant hospital.
He had spent his entire life believing love was a weakness.
Now he understood something far more dangerous.
Love didn’t make a man weak.
It gave him something worth destroying the world to protect.
And somewhere inside St. Jude’s County General, a little boy named Kio had just become the most protected child in the city.
But the Moretti family wasn’t finished.
Not even close.
