Chapter 6
The heavy mahogany doors of the grand foyer swung open violently. Marcus, a towering man with a heavily scarred face and a dark trench coat, stepped into the room, flanked by two equally intimidating enforcers. They moved with absolute, silent precision, ignoring the lavish Christmas decorations and focusing entirely on their boss.
"Will you escort my former fiancée to the holding cells in the sub-basement?" Dante asked, not turning around to look at the weeping woman.
"No! No, please!" Elena shrieked, kicking and thrashing wildly as the two enforcers reached out and grabbed her by the arms. They hauled her to her feet with effortless strength, the delicate emerald satin fabric of her evening gown tearing audibly at the seams. "I loved you, Dante! You owe me! I secured your empire!"
"Will you ensure she is gagged if she continues to scream, Marcus?" Dante inquired, casually adjusting the crisp white cuff of his shirt.
Marcus nodded grimly. "Yes, boss. Let's go, princess."
The enforcers dragged Elena backward toward the doors. Her threats devolved into hysterical, panicked sobs that echoed down the grand hallway until the heavy doors clicked shut behind them, sealing the foyer in a profound, suffocating silence once more. The engagement was violently, irreparably over.
Dante let out a long, slow breath. The rigid tension in his broad shoulders relaxed by a fraction of an inch. He turned his full attention back to the older man standing quietly beside the oversized transport trunk.
"Are you harmed, Father?" Dante asked, his deep voice softening remarkably, losing the lethal edge it had carried moments before.
"I am tired, Dante," Arthur replied, his voice a low, gravelly rasp. "And I am thirsty. But I am alive."
"I will have the private physician brought to your quarters immediately," Dante said, reaching out to gently support his father's elbow. "I should have known. I should have seen through her lies."
"She is a master manipulator, son," Arthur said, placing a weathered hand over Dante's tattooed knuckles. "She isolated me, drugged my food, and forged the medical reports from the clinic in Switzerland. She told me you had ordered it because I had become a liability. In the haze of the medication, it was hard to separate truth from the nightmare."
"She will pay for every second you spent in the dark," Dante vowed, his dark eyes burning with unshed emotion.
Dante turned his head, his dark, swept-back hair catching the light of the crystal chandeliers, and looked across the room to where Evelyn was standing. She was still keeping Nora tucked safely against her fitted black maid dress.
Evelyn was shaking. Her elegant uniform felt incredibly thin in the aftermath of the violence. She had just witnessed the destruction of a massive mafia alliance, all because she had dared to open a wooden clasp. She looked at the mafia boss, terrified of the unpredictable storm that was surely about to consume the estate.
Dante walked slowly back across the polished marble floor. He dropped to one knee, completely ignoring the crease it put in his expensive tailored trousers, bringing himself down to his daughter's eye level.
"Are you alright, Nora?" Dante asked quietly, his perceptive eyes searching her young face.
"I'm okay, Daddy," Nora answered, her lower lip trembling slightly. "But the present wasn't a toy. It was Grandpa."
"I know, sweetie," Dante murmured, pulling the little girl into a fierce, protective embrace. "And I am so glad he is back."
He stood up straight, lifting Nora effortlessly into his arms, keeping the girl tucked securely against his broad shoulders. He turned his attention back to Evelyn.
"Evelyn," Dante said, his voice a low, intimate rumble. "You took a massive risk tonight."
"I couldn't just leave him in there, sir," Evelyn whispered, her expressive eyes wide with residual fear, her hands folded tightly over her white apron. "I heard him cough. I knew something was profoundly wrong."
"Do you realize you just saved his life?" Dante asked, his gaze lingering on her beautiful, delicate features. "She intended to load that trunk onto a cargo plane tonight."
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Evelyn swallowed hard, the brutal reality of the mafia world crashing over her.
"Come," Dante said gently, gesturing toward the interior of the mansion. "We cannot stay in this room. The estate is on lockdown, and the Cross family will likely retaliate before dawn once they realize Elena is missing. We are moving to my private study."
