Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
ZOE
“ A re you Dante or Virgilio?"
Cesare steps closer to me, his expression intense. "Zoe, listen to me carefully. No matter what I say or do in front of my father, just trust me. Okay?"
“What are you going to do?”
He doesn't answer me and just reaches into his pocket and presses something small and cold into my hand. "Take this. He wanted you to have it," he whispers urgently.
Before I can respond, the door bursts open with a violent crash. Benedetto strides in with a malevolent glare, his eyes flashing with anger as he sees Cesare standing there. My breath catches, the tension is suffocating.
"Dante," Benedetto spits out with disdain and bitterness. "I should have known you'd come crawling back."
Ettore is Virgilio.
Dante stands his ground, his shoulders squared as he locks eyes with Benedetto. "It's been ten years, Benedetto. Did you think I'd stay hidden forever?"
Benedetto's eyes narrow into slits. "You should have stayed gone," he snarls. "You're a fool to come back here."
Dante takes a deep breath and steps closer to Benedetto, his voice steady despite the underlying tension that vibrates through every word. "I'm here to offer myself in exchange for Zoe's freedom."
Everything seems to make sense.
Benedetto's eyes gleam with a mix of triumph and calculation. "You'd sacrifice yourself for her? How touching. But there are conditions if you want me to let her go. You will begin training to take your rightful place as my successor. And to prove your loyalty, you will kill Virgilio."
My heart sinks at the terms. I look at Dante, my eyes pleading, begging for some miracle.
Dante's face hardens, his eyes never leaving Benedetto's. "I accept," he says, his voice cold and resolute.
“No!” The word escapes my lips before I can stop it. “You can’t?—”
“Zoe,” Dante cuts me off sharply, his voice firm and ruthless.
“What is wrong with you?” I shake my head, disbelief surging through me. “You’re going to kill your own brother!”
Benedetto laughs, a harsh, grating sound that makes my skin crawl. “Oh, this is rich! The damsel in distress pleading for her knight in tarnished armor.”
I shoot Benedetto with a glare that could cut glass. “This isn’t a game!”
“I know, my dear” Benedetto retorts with a cruel smirk. “To us? It’s life."
Benedetto signals his men, and they move towards me with cold efficiency, untying the ropes that bind me. "Take her away," Benedetto orders, his voice icy and final. "Make sure she doesn't come back."
"Don't do this, Dante!" I struggle against the guards' iron grips, my eyes locked on Dante’s face. "There has to be another way!"
Dante doesn't respond, his expression icy and detached. He doesn't even look at me as I struggle with the guards dragging me.
"Enough of this sentimental nonsense," Benedetto snaps impatiently. "Get her the fuck out of here!"
The guards start pulling me towards the door, and I feel panic rising in my chest. "Dante!" I scream, desperately trying to break free from their grip.
The last thing I see before I'm forced out of the warehouse is Dante, standing tall and resolute with an unwavering gaze. Who was that?
Outside, the cold air slaps me awake, clearing the fog in my mind just enough for me to look down at my hand. It's a USB drive. My breath catches in my throat as soon as I recognize the cartoon keychain attached to it. I remember this.
"Wait," I murmur to myself, trying to make sense of it all. The guards don't seem to notice my whisper as they shove me towards a waiting car. "Stop pushing," I snap at them, attempting to buy some time to process everything.
One of them glares at me but loosens his grip slightly. "Just get in," he grunts.
I clamber into the backseat, and the car door slams shut behind me. I can hear the engine roar to life as we pull away from the warehouse.
I turn the drive over in my hand. The cartoon figure stares back at me. It brings back a flood of memories and a pang of longing for simpler times.
I clutch the USB tightly. I can’t believe he kept it all this time.