Chapter 1 - THE HOUSE THAT BROKE EVERYONE
Maeve Carter arrived at Falcone House knowing one terrifying fact: no nanny, maid, valet, or housekeeper had ever lasted longer than forty-eight hours.
Some left crying.
Some left barefoot.
One abandoned a two-thousand-dollar suitcase rather than spend another night beneath the gray stone roof overlooking the Rhode Island coast.
Maeve stayed because desperation had made fear a luxury she could no longer afford.
At twenty-four, she had twelve dollars in her checking account, an eviction notice waiting at home, and a younger sister named Chloe whose medical bills seemed to multiply faster than Maeve could earn money.
Forty-two dollars an hour sounded worth almost anything.
Almost.
Inside Falcone House, she met Roman, Declan, and Gabriel Falcone—identical triplets with very different reputations.
Roman controlled the family business with cold precision.
Declan handled problems with his fists and his temper.
Gabriel smiled like nothing in the world could frighten him.
Instead of submitting to their intimidation, Maeve pushed back.
When Declan deliberately dirtied a wall she had just cleaned, she handed him the rag.
When he left nine-hundred-dollar boots on her freshly washed floor, she put them outside beneath a gutter.
When Gabriel tried to unsettle her with jokes, she ignored him.
And when Roman ordered Declan to clean the wall himself, something changed.
For the first time, the Falcone brothers had found an employee who did not tremble around them.
But twenty-four hours after Maeve arrived, Gabriel stopped treating the situation like a game.
He appeared in her doorway and quietly said a number.
“Twelve thousand six hundred and seventeen dollars.”
It was the exact amount Maeve owed.
Before she could demand an explanation, Roman entered carrying a thick folder.
May you like
Her name was printed across the front.
And when he dropped it onto her bed, Maeve realized the Falcone brothers knew much more about her life than any employer had a right to know.
