Everyone in the ballroom watched Emma defend a trembling elderly woman when the wealthy guests refused to move, but nobody expected the billionaire who approached them to kneel before her and whisper one word: “Mother.”

Emma felt dizzy as the weight of their words settled upon her. She had thought she was merely stopping a spoiled socialite from bullying a grandmother; in reality, she had walked straight into a multi-billion-dollar war zone.

“I don’t understand,” Emma confessed, looking between mother and son. “Why tell me this? I’m just a server. I don't know anything about corporate takeovers.”

“Because you are the only person who acted without an agenda,” Vincent answered, taking a seat beside his mother. His dark eyes locked onto Emma’s with an intensity that made her pulse skip. “Everyone in my orbit wants something from me: contracts, influence, money. When you stepped between my mother and Victoria, you didn't know who she was. You had nothing to gain and everything to lose.”

Isabella placed a hand over Vincent’s tense forearm. “I need someone beside me whom I can trust, Emma. My current medical staff has been compromised; Vincent dismissed two nurses this morning after finding offshore accounts wired to their names. I want you to come work here.”

“Me?” Emma stammered. “I’m not a registered nurse!”

“I have world-class physicians to handle my medical needs,” Isabella explained gently. “What I need is a companion. Someone to be my eyes and ears. Someone who will protect me from the vipers in my own home. I will pay you ten times what that catering company offers. And Vincent will ensure your brother receives top-tier medical care at Northwestern Memorial.”

Emma froze. “How do you know about Leo?”

Vincent leaned forward, his face completely serious. “I ran a background check on you the moment I got home last night, Emma. I know your brother has severe chronic asthma. I know your father passed away three years ago leaving you with his debts. And I know you haven’t missed a single rent payment despite working three jobs.”

Emma felt exposed, a hot flush of pride rising in her chest. “You had no right to dig through my life.”

“I have a right to know who is guarding my mother,” Vincent countered without apology. “And more importantly, I wanted to know how much I needed to offer to keep you here. The Sterling family will not take their destruction lying down. Victoria’s father, Arthur Sterling, has deep ties to organized crime in this city. You are in danger simply because you humiliated them. Staying here keeps you—and your brother—under my personal protection.”

Emma looked out at the churning gray waves of Lake Michigan. The danger was real. But the sincerity in Isabella’s pleading eyes was equally real.

“On one condition,” Emma said quietly, meeting Vincent’s piercing gaze head-on.

Vincent raised an eyebrow. “Name it.”

“I’m here to do a job, not to be your charity case. You treat me with respect, and you don’t keep secrets that put my family at risk.”