Chapter 6 - The Night the Maid VanishedZo received one message.
Bring the Black Book.
He knew exactly what it meant.
The Black Book contained names.
Money.
Secrets.
The final evidence.
Whoever had Tessa wanted it.
Zo refused to negotiate.
He tracked her location.
An abandoned warehouse.
Lena was with Anna.
The others stayed behind.
Zo went inside alone.
Tessa was tied to a chair.
She was bleeding.
But alive.
A man stood behind her.
“You care about her.”
Zo looked at him.
“Yes.”
The man laughed.
“You're supposed to be ruthless.”
“I am.”
“Then why are you afraid?”
“I'm not.”
He was.
But not for himself.
The man demanded the book.
Zo handed over a fake.
The gunman opened it.
Realized.
Then—
Gunfire.
Federal agents stormed in.
The man was arrested.
Tessa collapsed.
Zo caught her.
“I told you I'd protect you.”
She whispered:
“You also told me I had to eat dinner.”
He almost laughed.
“That's more important.”
She smiled.
Then fainted.
At the hospital, Zo sat beside her.
Lena was asleep.
Anna sat nearby.
Luca paced.
For the first time, the family waited together.
The doctor eventually came.
“She'll be okay.”
Zo closed his eyes.
Relief.
Pure relief.
Tessa woke the next morning.
Zo was beside her.
“Did you stay?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I didn't want to leave.”
She looked at him.
“You've changed.”
“So have you.”
She smiled.
“I'm still a maid.”
“No.”
“What am I?”
Zo looked at her.
“Family.”
She started crying.
Not from pain.
From relief.
Months passed.
Lena improved.
The foundation grew.
Anna took over the legal side.
Luca handled music therapy programs for children.
Tessa returned to school.
Zo rebuilt the legitimate Rossi businesses.
He closed the criminal operations.
The old family empire collapsed.
And for the first time, he didn't care.
There was still one unresolved question.
Tessa.
Their relationship had changed.
They spent more time together.
They talked.
They laughed.
They trusted.
One evening, Zo found her in the kitchen.
“You're skipping dinner again.”
She smiled.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you're here.”
He stopped.
“What?”
She picked up a fork.
“I thought the dinner rule only mattered when you were watching.”
He laughed.
“I always watch.”
“I know.”
He stepped closer.
“You should be careful saying things like that.”
“Why?”
“Because I might think you like me.”
She smiled.
“I do.”
Silence.
Then he kissed her.
Slow.
Careful.
May you like
Nothing like the man people feared.
Everything like the man she'd found underneath.
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