Chapter 4 - The Betrayal Behind the Dining Room Door
Richard had been working at the estate's legitimate properties for five years.
He had access to schedules.
Security protocols.
Guest lists.
Financial movements.
And, most dangerously, people trusted him.
Dante confronted him privately.
Richard denied everything.
Then Sofia found the proof.
A bank transfer.
Not from Marco.
From one of Richard's companies.
The money had passed through three shell corporations.
The final account belonged to Stefano.
Dante's uncle.
Richard's face changed when the evidence appeared.
"I didn't know what it was."
Dante stared.
"Don't lie."
"I'm telling you the truth."
"Then tell me who paid you."
Richard hesitated.
"Stefano."
Isabella watched from across the room.
"What did he want?"
Richard looked at her.
"You."
Her blood went cold.
"Me?"
"He needed leverage over Dante."
"What kind?"
"Emotional."
Dante stepped forward.
"You threatened my wife?"
Richard shook his head.
"I was supposed to make her afraid of you."
Silence.
"How?"
"By planting evidence that suggested Valentina was still sleeping with Dante."
Isabella closed her eyes.
The shirt.
The hallway.
The smile.
It had all been manipulated.
Not entirely.
The shirt really had belonged to Dante.
But someone had known Isabella would interpret it exactly as intended.
Valentina exhaled.
"I told you not to trust what you saw."
Isabella looked at her.
"I hated you for thirty minutes."
Valentina smiled sadly.
"I hated myself for six months."
Something between them softened.
Dante turned toward Richard.
"Where is Stefano?"
Richard shook his head.
"I don't know."
"Where is my mother?"
Richard's silence answered before he did.
Dante's face hardened.
"He has her."
The room exploded into movement.
A tracker hidden in an old vehicle gave them a location.
Dante wanted to go alone.
Isabella stopped him.
"No."
"Bella."
"We go together."
Valentina stepped forward.
"I'm coming."
Dante looked at her.
"You've done enough."
Valentina smiled.
"I know where he keeps prisoners."
Everyone stopped.
"My family used to move people through old properties in Connecticut."
Dante nodded.
They drove through the night.
The country house was dark.
Too dark.
They entered through the back.
The first room was empty.
The second contained old furniture.
The third had a locked steel door.
Behind it sat Dante's mother.
Alive.
Weak.
But conscious.
When she saw her son, she cried.
Dante fell to his knees.
"Mom."
She touched his face.
"You grew up."
He laughed through tears.
"You missed it."
"I know."
She looked at Isabella.
"You're his wife."
"Yes."
His mother smiled.
"Then he finally learned how to choose his own family."
Footsteps echoed upstairs.
Stefano appeared on the landing.
He clapped slowly.
"Beautiful."
Dante stood.
"Let her go."
Stefano smiled.
"You've always been too emotional."
"You're finished."
"No."
Stefano looked at Isabella.
"He's finished because he loves her."
He raised a gun.
Everything happened at once.
A shot cracked.
Valentina screamed.
But the bullet struck the wall.
Another shot followed.
Marco stepped out of the shadows.
He had been following them.
He pointed his gun at Stefano.
"You should have listened to me."
Stefano stared at him.
"You?"
Marco shook his head.
"I never wanted this."
Dante looked stunned.
"Then why work for him?"
"Because your father saved my life."
"By destroying it."
Marco lowered the gun.
"I stayed close to protect you."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I made a promise."
He looked at Dante's mother.
"Your father ordered me to keep you alive."
Dante stared.
The pieces finally connected.
The threatening surveillance.
The strange security breaches.
Marco's warnings.
He had never been the enemy.
He had been protecting Dante badly.
Stefano tried to escape.
Valentina blocked the stairway.
"You have nowhere to go."
Stefano laughed.
"You think this family can become respectable?"
Isabella answered.
"It doesn't have to become respectable."
Everyone looked at her.
"It just has to become honest."
May you like
Stefano stared at her.
For once, he had no answer.
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