Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Dante
I pocketed the letter and left the room. Right behind me, Alfredo led his men inside and shut the door.
The hallway stretched long. The Egyptian handwoven carpet swallowed most of my footsteps. But I had no time for grief. Salvador's news was too critical. I had more pressing matters to handle.
Lucia waited for me in the first-floor parlor. When she saw me, her hands twisted together. She looked nervous.
"Where did Elena go?" My voice came out cold. "She's been gone for days, and you're the one who helped her hide it from everyone at the manor!"
Lucia flinched at the authority in my tone. She'd lived at the manor for decades, someone like a mother to me. But she'd chosen the opposite side. She'd helped Elena leave me.
"She... didn't tell me." Lucia dropped her head, unable to meet my eyes.
"How long has she been gone?" I pressed my hand to my forehead. A needle-sharp pain stabbed there, so intense I could barely breathe.
The thought of Elena pregnant and alone somewhere—somewhere I didn't even know was safe—terrified me. How had she endured all of this?
Salvador's threats. My coldness and cruelty. Valentina driving wedges between us. We hadn't been married long, yet she'd suffered so much humiliation. And still she'd kept her promise to give the Moretti family an heir.
Lucia stammered. I couldn't control myself anymore. "I asked you—when the hell did she leave?"
Every servant around us turned to look. Lucia's voice came out soft. "Three days ago."
Three days. A full three days.
I'd spent those days in meetings, making deals, tracking Javier's movements. Too busy to even visit the manor once. Too busy to care whether she was okay there.
Lucia pulled something from her pocket—the ring I'd put on Elena's finger. The diamond caught the light, sharp and cold, stabbing into my eyes.
"She told me to give this back to you."
Lucia opened her palm, holding out the ring. "Elena looked so anxious when she left. She said the manor wasn't safe, but I don't know what happened to her."
I took the ring. My fingers trembled slightly.
"I asked if she'd told you any of this. She just shook her head. She looked so disappointed." Lucia met my eyes, grief-stricken. "Dante, what happened between you two?"
Elena hadn't told me anything. Because she'd already tried. And I hadn't given her the answer she needed.
The last time we'd seen each other, days ago, she'd asked if I would protect her if Valentina hurt her. I'd thought it was strange, thought she was being paranoid. Now it seemed much worse.
"Check the recent security footage. Find out what Elena went through at the manor." Lucia nodded and rushed off to review the surveillance.
I collapsed onto the sofa, strength drained. An endless wave of regret for Elena crashed over me.
She was a good girl. She'd never chosen to hurt me. I was the one who'd bullied her, provoked her, blamed her for everything Salvador had done.
A dull ache seized my chest. I'd never felt pain like this before.
Soon Lucia returned with exported video files. "This is from a few days ago—Elena almost fell on the stairs. I found evidence someone deliberately poured oil there. They wanted her to slip."
I glanced at Marco. He quickly dragged the culprit before me—an unfamiliar maid.
She dropped to her knees, trembling, too guilty to even look up.
"Talk." I lit a cigar and pressed my shoe onto her hand, grinding down hard. "Who sent you? I'm only asking once."
She screamed. Bones cracked audibly. Her arm shook violently.
"It was Valentina!" The maid sobbed. "She paid me a lot of money to find chances to hurt Elena at the manor... preferably make her lose the baby!"
Perfect. Valentina.
She'd become a monster. That was my child. My wife. And she'd hired someone to hurt them.
In the footage, Elena looked so hurt when she fell. She'd started fearing everything around her. The manor that should have been her home had become a prison full of danger.
No wonder she left.
I tilted my chin up, not bothering with another glance. "Marco, clean this up."
They carried her out. I took long drags on my cigar, trying to numb my nerves with nicotine.
Marco approached. "Dante, what about Valentina? I've already assigned extra men to watch her."
I wanted to flay her alive. My voice turned cold even to my own ears. "Lock her up. Use any means necessary. Make her tell us where Javier is and why he came to New York."
"Don, if we lock her up now..." Marco hesitated. "Javier's cautious. If he notices something's wrong, he'll go underground."
He was right.
But thinking about Valentina using such filthy methods to hurt Elena made me want her to suffer. Still, reason won over impulse. Let her live a few more days. Eventually I'd repay Elena's suffering tenfold.
"Watch her closely. Figure out her communication channels, her meeting times, who she's contacted at the company. Once we trace Javier's location, lock her down immediately."
Marco nodded. "Understood."
I finished the entire cigar. The crystal chandelier light cast down from above, stretching my shadow long and twisted across the floor.
Now to find Elena.
I went to the security room myself, carefully reviewing footage from three days ago. Soon I spotted Elena leaving the manor. She wore plain clothes, carried a worn backpack, and got into a car.
But the car sat in a surveillance blind spot. The camera only caught the edge of a dark gray sedan—part of the hood, half the windshield. No license plate visible.
I called Marco in and had him photograph the screen. "Find out who owns this car. The manor cameras only show this much. Check the street cameras outside. We have to find the owner."
Another thought struck me. "Elena's mother lives in Queens. Check the surveillance there too. If none of these places work, do a grid search. Turn all of New York upside down if you have to, but find her!"
Marco nodded seriously and left the manor immediately.
I knew I had other things to handle. I shouldn't wallow in emotion. But my limbs felt drained of strength. I sat on the sofa, head hanging, the ring Elena had discarded in my palm.
I felt like she'd discarded me too.
Not until evening did Marco finally trace the car to someone from the Lombardi Family. Hearing this, I immediately guessed who'd helped Elena escape.
I drove like a madman to the Lombardi manor. Luca was walking with his mother. I charged straight at him and punched him, sending him stumbling back several steps.
Luca's mother immediately blocked me. "Dante, have you lost your mind? What are you doing?"
"Mrs. Lombardi." I loosened my collar, my tie. My eyes burned red with rage. I looked at this frail woman. "This is between Luca and me. He stole my wife. Even killing him would be too good for him!"
Luca pulled his mother aside. Blood trickled from his mouth, but he still glared at me. "Your wife? You can't even protect Elena! Some Don you are. The way you treat your wife is shameful!"
I stared him down. "You're dead."
I pulled out a gun and pressed the barrel against Luca's forehead. "Tell me where she went."
Luca showed no fear. "I won't tell you. Elena looked devastated when she left. Proves you're a terrible husband. I didn't kidnap her. I just gave her the freedom to choose."
I couldn't listen to this bullshit. He kept rambling about how heartbroken Elena looked. I'd had enough. I aimed the gun at Mrs. Lombardi instead.
Luca stopped talking immediately, eyes wide. "Dante, are you insane!"
My finger tightened on the trigger. The safety was off. Half an inch more pressure and the bullet would pierce through Mrs. Lombardi's skull, shatter the window behind her.
"Last time. Where is she?"
Mrs. Lombardi went pale. But Luca still tried to stay silent, maintain his ridiculous defiance.
He was betting I wouldn't shoot.
I smiled coldly and squeezed the trigger. The bullet punched through the window. Glass shards sprayed everywhere. Mrs. Lombardi screamed and dropped down, covering her ears. Luca threw himself over his mother without thinking.
He turned back and finally saw the chilling coldness in my eyes.
I pulled back the safety again. Luca immediately raised both hands. "She's in Puerto Vallarta!"
"My friend helped her find a shop on a little street called Corona. She's planning to open a clothing store to support herself." Luca stood in front of his trembling mother, looking ready to cry. "That's all I know."
Got my answer. I holstered the gun and turned to leave.
"Dante," Luca called after me. "You can use your threats and your power to find her. But whether she'll come back to you—that won't depend on any of that."
I stopped walking.
"A woman carrying your child still wanted to fly to a foreign country to escape you. She can't survive by your side!" Luca's voice rang loud, trampling my dignity beneath those words.
"If you really love her, you shouldn't force her. Let her choose for herself."
I walked across the broken glass to the door. Marco had found me too. He looked panicked. "Dante, Rizzo's causing trouble again. They're waiting for you in the—"
"I don't give a damn about any of that."
My voice came out hoarse, unrecognizable. "I'm going to Mexico. Handle everything here yourself."
My wife was in a strange, distant country. I needed to bring her home.