Chapter 6
The silence in the grand dining hall was absolute, a heavy, oppressive weight that smothered the bright, airy elegance of the room. The cascading crystal chandeliers continued to bathe the ivory-paneled walls in a soft elegant warmth, but the atmosphere had turned as cold as a morgue.
Aurelia Vance was completely isolated, standing alone opposite the unified front of the Winslow patriarch and the brave housemaid protecting her child.
"Dante, please, you have to understand," Aurelia stammered, her American accent trembling uncontrollably as she gripped the edge of the polished walnut table. She took a stumbling step backward, her high heels catching on the marble floor. "She was a mistake! A mistake from a past relationship! I was trying to protect our future! I didn't want the syndicate to think less of me for bringing a bastard child into your home!"
"Do you believe the syndicate judges a woman for her past, or for the monstrous nature of her present?" Dante asked, his deep voice carrying a terrifying, unyielding authority.
"I was going to send her away to a boarding school!" Aurelia cried, tears of panic and frustration finally spilling over her fair cheeks, ruining her pristine makeup. "I just needed her out of sight for the dinner! She was crying! I was going to let her out!"
"Does a mother who loves her child require a lock and key to ensure her silence?" Dante inquired, his broad shoulders remaining squarely positioned between Aurelia and the little girl.
"You don't understand!" Aurelia shrieked, her voice pitching up, entirely shattering the elegant, polished illusion she had cultivated. She looked around the table at the dozens of powerful guests, desperately seeking a single ally. "I did this for you, Dante! For us!"
"Is there a place for 'us' when you have demonstrated a heart entirely devoid of humanity?" Dante asked smoothly.
He didn't wait for her pathetic, scrambling answer. He slowly turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the silent, paralyzed guests.
"Is this engagement dinner concluded?" Dante asked the room at large.
The question was rhetorical, a lethal command disguised as an inquiry. The guests immediately understood. Chairs scraped softly against the polished marble floors as the most powerful men and women in the American mafia stood up in unison. They didn't speak. They didn't offer their goodbyes or polite pleasantries. They simply turned and began a swift, silent exodus from the luminous dining hall, eager to escape the blast radius of the Boss's impending wrath.
Within ninety seconds, the massive, opulent room was entirely empty of guests. The only people remaining in the dining hall were Dante, Fiona, Ruby, Aurelia, and a dozen heavily armed, white American security guards standing quietly in the shadows near the marble columns.
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"What are you going to do?" Aurelia whispered, genuine, unadulterated fear finally bleeding into her eyes.
"Will my men escort you to the lower levels, or will you walk there yourself?" Dante asked softly, gesturing with a heavily tattooed hand toward the armed guards.
