Chapter 1

Elena's POV

Dante Romano's gaze faltered slightly as he looked at the die on my desk. He recognized it immediately, having personally ordered its creation years ago.

He had placed a weighted core in it, meticulously engineered to ensure that regardless of how it was thrown, it would always land on the exact same side—one.

He raised his hand to rub his temples, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Please quit playing around, Elena. You ought to know how troublesome this case is. If the Romano Famiglia loses its business in Vallenzia, the entire Famiglia's foundation will be shaken.

"Sofia is ultimately family to you, regardless of whether you wish to acknowledge it. There's no point in holding onto old grudges from four years ago."

I flipped through the documents in my hands, keeping my head lowered. "You all have never considered me part of the Famiglia, though."

In that instant, a brief silence settled over the office.

Dante subsequently reached out to pick up the die and cast it once, and sure enough, it landed on one.

He shook his head in resignation and asked, "Is the money not enough? You should name the price, then. Do you want a million or perhaps ten million dollars? Do you perhaps want to join the core ranks of the Romano Famiglia?"

He then lowered his tone, taking on a more enticing quality. "Your Mamma's medical expenses must be quite a strain on you, wouldn't you say?"

I briefly stopped typing on the keyboard after hearing that.

Dante immediately caught this subtle slip, a flash of smugness appearing in his eyes as he continued, "I'll cover all of your Mamma's subsequent medical expenses. You'll get top specialists and a private nursing home, with full funding with no cap. You only need to step forward and help me win this lawsuit, Elena."

I pressed the Enter key, closed the dossier, and lifted my eyes to cast a brief glance at him. I had nearly forgotten what kind of person he truly was after not having seen him for four years. Dante never asked for anything. He simply took what he wanted.

I stated flatly, "You've made a mistake—Mamma passed away four years ago."

Dante's expression instantly shifted. "T-That's impossible…"

I rose to my feet and headed for the door without turning around. "If my memory serves me right, Mamma passed away on the day you and Sofia held your wedding."

I stepped out of my office, and Lucia Bianchi, my assistant, hurried over to walk alongside me.

She then lowered her voice and said, "Dante controls the majority of the trade routes in eastern Vallenzia. He is also intricately connected to the senator in Ravenport. He won't let the matter drop if we turn him down, and he manages to survive this investigation, Elena."

I smiled faintly and said, "Dante won't survive this. He's not facing a mere contract dispute case—it's a case involving the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act."

Lucia furrowed her brow slightly, still feeling skeptical. "He has already assembled a team of elite legal counsel, though."

I offered no immediate response. I finally spoke once I settled into the car, saying, "I'll be joining the prosecution team against the Romano Famiglia."

I then rolled up my car window, isolating the clamor of the crowd outside.

I closed my eyes and recalled the case files for Dante's case—a decade-long smuggling operation at Grayford Port and money laundering conducted through shell companies across three continents, with over 300 families impacted.

There were more than 300 million dollars involved, and if treated discreetly, the entire case would be presented as nothing more than an ordinary business dispute. Dante only had to pay a minor settlement for the case to be settled, if that were the case.

However, the objective of my law firm was to advocate for justice.

It was already nighttime when our meeting in the office concluded, and the air outside was bitingly cold. I returned to the entrance of my apartment building, where a black Rolls-Royce stood parked by the roadside.

Dante leaned against the car, holding a cigar. Sofia Conti was standing next to him, holding a young girl in a princess dress. That young girl, Bianca Romano, was giggling as she called Dante "Papa".