Chapter 8

After the performance, the organizers insisted I stay for the dinner. I tried to refuse, but they were persistent.

I found a quiet corner, hoping to eat quickly and leave, but I could feel a pair of eyes burning into me.

I didn't have to look to know who it was.

"Dante, you're acting weird tonight."

Ava's voice, sharp with annoyance, carried from a nearby table. I glanced over. She had her arm looped possessively through Dante's.

"It's nothing," Dante replied, his voice flat.

"Really?" she snapped. "Then why have you been staring at your ex-wife ever since she got on stage? What's so special about her scraping on a damn violin?"

"Ava, watch your mouth," Dante warned.

"Did I say something wrong?" Her voice grew shrill. "Don't tell me you still have feelings for her. Dante, don't you forget, she's the one who filed for divorce! She was never worthy of being a Moretti!"

I'd heard enough. I stood up to leave.

Just then, a man in a black suit hurried to Dante's side and whispered something in his ear.

I saw Dante's face darken instantly.

"When did this happen?" he demanded.

"Three hours ago," the man replied. "The Castellano family is saying we leaked the trade route. They lost five million in product."

"Do we know who leaked it?"

"We're investigating, but… less than ten people in the organization knew that route."

A mole.

There was a traitor in the Moretti family.

"We're leaving," Dante said in a low voice.

But as he turned to go, Ava grabbed his arm.

"Dante, wait." She shot me a venomous look. "I think you should know—I saw Elara meeting with a strange man a few days ago. Maybe…"

She let the sentence hang, but her insinuation was clear.

I looked at her coldly. "You'd better have proof, or I'll sue you for slander."

Dante frowned. He knew I would never jeopardize the family business. "Ava, that's enough."

Her eyes filled with a jealous fire, then brimmed with tears. "Dante, I'm not lying."

"I have proof."

She pulled out her phone and played a video.

On the screen, a woman who looked exactly like me was laughing with a known underboss from a rival family.

But I knew, with sickening certainty, that it wasn't me.

Ava pressed her advantage. "This was right after you burned her mother's things. Maybe she just snapped. Wanted revenge..."

I saw Dante's expression shift.

He was wavering.

"That's enough, Ava," I said, my voice low but firm. "I swear on my family's name, I am not a traitor."

Ava smirked. "Then where were you yesterday afternoon?"

"At home," I said, meeting her gaze. "Is there a problem?"

"Can anyone prove that?"

I fell silent. Roberto had been out for groceries. I was alone.

"See?" Ava said triumphantly to Dante. "She doesn't even have an alibi."

"Ava, you're insane," I said, trembling with rage. "I don't know anything about a trade route. Why would I do this?"

"For revenge," Ava said, as if it were obvious. "You hate that Dante chose me, so you decided to destroy him."

"I…"

"Enough."

Dante finally spoke, his voice dangerously low.

I thought he would defend me, that he would shut down Ava's insane accusations.

But he looked at me with cold, hard suspicion.

"Marco," he said to his man. "Take her back."

I froze. "What?"

"Take her back to the estate," Dante said, not looking at me. "Lock her in the Penance Room."

The Penance Room.

I'd heard of it. It was a converted cold-storage unit in the basement, kept at freezing temperatures, where the Morettis interrogated traitors.

"Dante, are you crazy?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "You actually believe her?"

"The families are watching," he finally said, his eyes meeting mine. "Until you're cleared, you're a liability."

He tried to soften his tone. "Just until we clear this up. You'll be fine."

His words were meant to be reassuring, but a chill ran down my spine.

He might not believe I was guilty, but he wasn't going to protect me.

If it were Ava, would he be this ruthless?

The question echoed in my mind as two guards grabbed my arms.

"Dante," I said, not struggling. I looked him dead in the eye. "You will regret this."

He had already turned away, giving me nothing but his cold, unforgiving back.

Ava followed him, glancing over her shoulder at me with a victorious smirk.

She'd won. With a few lies, she had turned me from a victim into a criminal.

The car pulled through the gates of the estate. This place, once my home, was now my prison.

The Penance Room was in the deepest part of the basement. When the heavy iron door slammed shut behind me, a bone-deep cold instantly enveloped me.

Within ten minutes, my teeth were chattering.

My body, still weak from the miscarriage, couldn't handle this. A healthy person might endure it, but for me, it was torture.

Just as the time he promised was approaching, I heard a man's voice outside the door.

"The Don said half an hour is too short. Add another hour."

The guard on duty hesitated. "An hour? Isn't that too long?"

"It's the Don's order! You just follow it!"

"…Yes, sir."

I listened, numb.

I didn't know if it was truly Dante's order or another one of Ava's schemes.

Either way, the truth was the same. Dante had abandoned me. Again.