Chapter 3 - Blood on Silk
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Dominic carried me straight past the bustling grand staircase, ignoring the whispers of the household staff who stared in shock at their ruthless boss holding a bleeding maid in his arms.
He brought me into his private wing—a place no servant was ever permitted to enter.
He gently laid me down on the plush velvet sofa inside his study. Moments later, the family physician, Dr. Mercer, rushed into the room carrying a medical kit, flanked by Carmela, who refused to leave my side.
“Hold still, child,” Dr. Mercer muttered, wiping away the dark blood. “That ring left a deep laceration. It’s going to require seven stitches.”
I squeezed Carmela’s hand as the needle pierced my skin. I didn't cry out. After growing up in foster care and working sixteen-hour shifts to survive, pain wasn't something new to me.
Dominic stood near the fireplace, watching every movement of the needle. His tuxedo jacket was off, his white sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing the dark, intricate tattoos that crept up his forearms.
“She took the hit for me, Dominic,” Carmela murmured, kissing my forehead. “Bianca was going to strike me. Skyler jumped between us.”
Dominic walked over and stood beside the sofa. He looked down at the neat row of black stitches across my cheek.
“Why did you do it, Skyler?” Dominic asked softly. “You could have been killed. Bianca’s ring missed your eye by half an inch.”
I looked up into his dark, piercing gaze.
“Mrs. Rossi treats me like a human being,” I whispered, my voice hoarse. “In a house full of people who pretend she doesn't exist, she remembers my name. I wasn't going to let anyone lay a hand on her.”
A strange, intense flash of emotion rippled across Dominic’s stoic features. He reached out and gently brushed a stray lock of hair away from my bruised forehead.
“Your duties as a maid end tonight,” Dominic declared.
I panicked, trying to sit up. “Mr. Rossi, please! Don't fire me! I need this job—”
“You’re not fired, Skyler,” Dominic interrupted, placing a warm hand on my shoulder to keep me still. “Starting tomorrow, you are my mother’s official companion and personal security charge. You will live in the main guest wing. You will wear your own clothes. And you will be paid ten times your current salary.”
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I stared at him in disbelief. “I... I can’t accept that—”
“It wasn't a request,” Dominic said, his eyes locking onto mine with fierce intensity. “You bled protecting my mother. From this moment on, anyone who touches you answers directly to me.”
