Chapter 4 - The Unseen Threat
Two weeks passed, and the bond between the trio deepened into something quiet, powerful, and undeniable.
Dante began having his meals served in the small dining room near the garden instead of the grand, lonely banquet hall. More often than not, he insisted that Rosa and Sophia join him. At first, Rosa resisted, terrified of crossing the boundaries of her station, but Dante was relentless in his quiet, commanding way.
He ordered special meals prepared for Sophia, bought a high chair that sat right beside his seat, and spent dinner listening to Rosa talk about her dreams of one day opening her own small bakery.
For the first time in her life, Rosa felt seen. Dante didn't care about her waistline, her simple background, or her lack of high-society manners. He looked at her lush, full curves with an intense, quiet hunger that made her skin flush warmly beneath her uniform, and he listened to her thoughts as if they were precious gems.
In turn, Rosa brought life back into Dante’s dead world. She brought him warm coffee when he worked late in his study, sitting quietly on the couch until he finished his papers, offering a warm smile that slowly eroded the lingering nightmares of his past.
However, in the shadows outside the Falcone gates, trouble was brewing.
Marina Vance could not accept her humiliation. Driven by greed and revenge, she reached out to Marco Rossi—the head of a rival crime syndicate in Chicago who had been looking for a crack in Dante Falcone’s armor for years.
In a secluded VIP lounge downtown, Marina sat across from Marco, a scarred man with cold, greedy eyes.
“He’s weak, Marco,” Marina whispered, sipping her martini. “The great Dante Falcone has lost his mind over a fat maid and her illegitimate child. He’s distracted. He doesn't even inspect the shipping docks on Thursdays anymore because he’s home having tea parties.”
Marco grinned, leaning back in his leather chair. “A maid? Dante Falcone, lowered by a kitchen servant? How embarrassing.”
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“Use it,” Marina urged, her voice poisonously sweet. “If you hit his estate now, he won't be ready. Kill the maid, take the child, and force him to surrender his territory in the North District. I just want my sister’s estate back under my control.”
Marco clicked his tongue. “If what you say is true, this maid is his new weakness. And a man who protects a soft target is very easy to bleed.”
