Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Dante
It had been too long since I'd been back to the manor. Nothing good ever came from these visits.
Alfredo said Salvador had something important to announce. Part of me hoped—stupidly—it might actually be good news. Maybe then our shattered excuse for a father-son relationship could salvage a few pieces.
Curious, I pushed open the door to Salvador's room. The light was dim. Whoever lived here wasn't in a good place.
"Dante."
Salvador sat in his wheelchair, his aged voice carrying that familiar authority.
I strode in and stopped in front of him. "Father."
He'd gotten old. I looked down at him from my full height. Hard to believe this withered man in a wheelchair was once the legendary Don who could decide someone's fate with a single word.
He'd built the Moretti family into an empire. But I'd never agreed with his methods. Brutal. Bloodthirsty. Control-obsessed. Anyone who didn't fall in line disappeared—partners, subordinates, even... family.
"Dante." Salvador's face darkened, displeasure flickering across it. "It's been a long time since we've seen each other."
"I apologize, Father." My voice came out steadier than I expected. "Too much going on. No time to visit."
"That doesn't matter anymore." He waved it off. "Everything you've done has been for the family. I approve of your methods, so I don't interfere with how you run things."
He couldn't hold back a coughing fit. Alfredo handed him tea. He drank and took forever to recover.
"But your marriage affects the Moretti family's future. I've already made the decision for you."
More bad news.
My gut sank.
Salvador looked up at me, his gaze like an aging but still-sharp hawk. "I assume you've already met Elena."
"This past year, I've gotten to know Elena.
And her family." Salvador continued. "She's capable.
Obedient. Most importantly, she doesn't belong to any faction—no background, no backing.
She won't conspire with other families to threaten the Moretti family's future.
She's not some pawn planted by those old bastards.
So she's perfect to become the new lady of the Moretti family. "
He paused. "I've decided. She'll be your wife."
Absurd.
His tone was so casual, like he was saying "we're having steak for dinner."
"You don't need to worry about the wedding. Keep doing what you're doing. Alfredo will arrange the date. Just show up on time."
I stood there, listening to him decide my life in that tone—just like when I was sixteen and he decided which college I'd attend, just like when I was twenty-two and he decided which operation I'd run.
No. This was worse than all of those.
I'd never heard a better joke in my life.
This was my marriage. The woman who'd spend the most time with me in my life. And I didn't get to choose.
"You've decided?"
I heard my voice go cold. All those years of biting my tongue, maneuvering, planning every step—all that obedience I'd faked in front of him shattered completely in that moment.
"Father, I'm not that old Dante anymore. I won't obey your orders. Not anymore."
I drew in a deep breath. "Women who marry into the Moretti family never get a happy ending. My mother, Isabella, was proof of that. Have you forgotten?"
Salvador never loved my mother. Isabella lived like a caged bird at his side until she swallowed those sleeping pills. By the time they found her, it was too late. I was eight years old.
"Dante!"
Salvador exploded, his furious voice carrying undeniable authority.
My mother's death became a permanent scar on Moretti Manor. Salvador forbade anyone from discussing it. But now I couldn't contain the grief and rage anymore. "First Isabella, now Elena. To you, they're just tools to consolidate power!"
I tightened my fists, struggling to contain my emotions. "Me included—we were all just pieces on your chessboard. Your eyes are fixed only on power. You never see the pain and struggles of the people around you!"
"Dante, shut your mouth!"
Salvador couldn't catch his breath. Alfredo helped steady him. I watched Salvador's aged face flush red from lack of oxygen. I'd never defied him like this. His eyes showed a viciousness I'd never seen before.
"Everything I've done has been for the family!" Salvador roared like a lion. "We must be strong. In the face of eternal power, family, love—those are just games for children!"
Finally. His real thoughts.
I closed my eyes in despair. When I opened them again, I'd never been more clear-headed. "Yes... you sacrificed my mother. Sacrificed my childhood. You got the family's prosperity in return. But all of it came from sacrificing others."
"You think you're the Don of the Moretti family, the captain steering this ship. But you always forget one thing—" I paused. "You were Isabella's husband. You are my father."
Salvador's rage seemed to calm at my words. Something flickered in his expression. He looked away, uncomfortable.
I took a deep breath. "I can't escape being controlled by you because I belong to the Moretti family. But Elena is just an innocent maid. You shouldn't drag her into this."
Salvador listened, then seized on something like he'd found a major opening. "Innocent maid?"
My heart dropped.
"Seems you don't know yet." Salvador smiled triumphantly. "Won't be long before she agrees. Lady of the Moretti family—such a tempting position. I doubt any woman could refuse."
"Impossible!" I shot him down immediately. "Unless you used some method to force her!"
"Dante, you're too naive."
Salvador looked at me, his gaze even more determined. "You still don't understand how seductive power is. From a lowly maid to the lady of this empire—anyone would be tempted. Besides, you don't really know Elena. She's my choice precisely because she has qualities I value."
Value?
What value did Salvador see in Elena?
I thought back to that small woman ironing my clothes. She was meticulous, careful—different from all the other maids at the manor trying to climb up to me. Could her behavior and words have all been an act?
Salvador seemed to read the doubt in my eyes. He laughed coldly. "Dante, someday you'll realize every decision I've made for you has been the right one. Including your choice of wife."
His words reignited my fury. But then I remembered—I controlled the Moretti family now. After all these years, I was strong enough to stand against him. Salvador could only maintain his position with support from those few old bastards in the family.
Clarity hit me suddenly. Salvador's control was just his fantasy. I could stop that fantasy from becoming reality.
"Father, don't forget—I'm the Don of the family now." My voice was cold as a blade. "No matter what you say, my wife will be my decision. Mine alone."
The rebellion and provocation in those words was too much. Salvador's face changed instantly.
He suddenly grabbed the teacup from the table and hurled it at my head. His aim was still vicious, but he wasn't a whole man anymore. The cup flew past my ear and shattered against the wall, exploding into powder.
I didn't dodge. Didn't move.
I just looked at him. Like watching a stranger finally show his true face.
"Dante, you know what happens to those who defy me." Salvador's eyes held a warning.
I didn't care about the threat in his words. Actually, I was tired of fighting. Just wanted this meeting over.
"Father, take care of your health. Stop worrying about my business."
I turned and pulled open the door, walked out. Salvador's furious curses followed me. I ignored them.
Marco was waiting in the hallway. He'd been with me for years, could read my expression and guess the atmosphere in that room.
"Back to Manhattan."
Anger simmered in my voice.
The ride was silent.
Back at the apartment, Marco placed an old photograph in front of me, reporting on something. "The latest group we sent to Mexico still hasn't found any trace of her."
The photo looked worn, but the woman in it smiled so gently, her eyes curved like crescents.
Valentina.
The first woman I'd truly loved. I met her when I was twenty-three, back when I was still Salvador's worthless kid who didn't dare fight back when beaten or cursed.
After every brutal training session when I was covered in injuries, she'd sneak me medicine, crying while she applied the alcohol, tears streaming down her face.
She used to tell me, "Dante, you're going to be someone extraordinary."
She was so certain. That certainty gave me strength in the years that followed.
But Salvador found out about her. He'd never even met her—just heard I had a girlfriend and had her taken away. After that, I couldn't find any trace of her no matter how hard I looked. Took years just to learn she'd been seen in Mexico.
"I expected as much." I lit a cigar, took a hard drag. "Seems Salvador's still controlling her. Keep sending people to Mexico. Turn the whole damn country upside down if you have to. Find her."
Marco nodded. "Understood."
"One more thing." I exhaled smoke, my gaze sharpening.
"Take Carlo. Tonight, investigate those old bastards' underground casinos.
The company dividends aren't enough for their appetites—the casino money is their real income source.
I want you to shut it down. Don't stop until we've kicked every last one of them out. "
"We're moving up the timeline?" Marco looked uncertain. "We don't have enough evidence yet. If we go poking around now, we might tip them off."
"Can't worry about that." I cursed. My chest felt tight again. "Salvador wants to arrange a wife for me. Some maid from the manor named Elena. While you're checking the casinos, look into her background too. I'm curious what's so special about her."
Marco looked shocked. I guessed even he was stunned by Salvador's move.
"Don't worry. They won't succeed."
After Marco left, the apartment fell silent. Valentina's photograph sat on the table, her bright smile calming me down.
Salvador's voice still echoed in my head. "Won't be long before she agrees."
The words circled like a curse. The Elena I'd seen with my own eyes and the Elena in Salvador's description were too different. I couldn't make sense of it.
What was this woman thinking?
But Salvador had stated one fact. The Moretti family was now the most prestigious family in all of New York, with power and wealth beyond most people's reach. If Elena became the lady of this family, she'd transform from a pitiful maid into the most powerful woman in New York.
I narrowed my eyes. Such massive temptation was hard to resist. With such appealing conditions driving her, spending some effort planning our first meeting, calculating every word she said to me—it all made sense.
The more I thought about it, the deeper my suspicion of Elena grew.
Either way, next time we met, I had to figure out what she really wanted.