“Touch Him Again and You're Fired!” His Jealous Fiancée Screamed—Then the Paralyzed Billionaire Mafia Boss Made the Plus-Size Maid Untouchable

Mara remained frozen on the floor, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. She watched Rafe’s chest heave. For two years, ever since the car bomb that nearly took his life, the lower half of his body had been a dead zone. The greatest specialists in the world had declared his spinal cord irreparably damaged.

But right now, his dark eyes were locked on the steaming towels resting over his charcoal slacks with a terrifying, desperate intensity.

"Mr. Cordell?" Mara whispered, afraid to break the fragile silence. "Should I call for the doctor?"

"No," Rafe snapped instantly, his gaze snapping to her face. "You tell no one about this. Do you understand me? Not the guards, not Mrs. Crane, and definitely not Sylvia."

"I understand, sir. But... why?"

Rafe slowly reached down, his hands trembling as he touched the hot towel resting on his left thigh.

"Because," Rafe breathed out, the word carrying the weight of a miracle. "I can feel the heat."

Mara gasped softly, her hands flying to cover her mouth. "You can feel it? Are you sure?"

"It’s faint. Like a spark buried under a mile of ice," Rafe murmured, closing his eyes in concentration. "But it burns. God, it burns. They told me the nerves were completely severed. They told me it was over."

He opened his eyes, looking at Mara. He wasn't a mafia boss in that moment; he was a man who had just been handed back a piece of his stolen life.

"Listen to me very carefully, Mara," Rafe said, his voice returning to its usual commanding rumble, though laced with a new, dangerous energy. "If word gets out that I am regaining sensation, my enemies will strike before I can stand to defend myself. I need to test this. I need to work these muscles in absolute secrecy."

"You need a physical therapist," Mara said nervously.

"I cannot trust a doctor on my payroll. I can only trust someone who has no stake in my empire," Rafe said, staring at her intensely. "Someone who knows how to keep her mouth shut."