Natalie stood up from the floor on weak legs. Her appearance was a mess, but she didn’t care at all. Her heart was already too messed up and shaken. All she wanted was to close her eyes and hope everything that happened was just a dream.The door to the hotel room suddenly opened. “Miss Smith, it’s time to go home,” Alex said, expressionless.Natalie looked down. She walked out with unsteady steps. Alex took her hand and pulled her along. They didn’t exit through the main lobby because Natalie’s appearance was too conspicuous.Moments later, they arrived in the basement. Alex led Natalie to the car. Dante was already waiting for them inside with a driver who kept a straight face. They just kept quiet and ignored her when she got in.Alex closed the car door for Natalie. Her vision accidentally caught Jayde and a man in black dragging Bryan roughly out of the elevator. The two of Dante’s underlings looked heartless as they loaded Bryan’s body into another car.What were they going to d
Natalie woke up earlier than usual. It was still dark. She got out of bed and winced at the pain in her thighs. The whip wound remained bruised despite Cora’s compresses and ointments.Her brow furrowed, but then she took a deep breath. She was more relaxed, and her mind was clearer after a few hours of sleep.“I’ve had worse than this. Two lashes are nothing,” she muttered without emotion.Her two feet stepped into the narrow bathroom. Moments later, she came out looking much fresher. Her face was plain without makeup.She opened the window and breathed in the cool morning air. It was late summer, approaching fall. Her hard times might be coming soon.At that moment, a car suddenly rolled into the courtyard of the mansion. As usual, Natalie liked to keep an eye on the situation down there. Something immediately intrigued her when she saw a luxuriously dressed young woman get out of the car. It was the first time a woman had come to the mansion during her stay there.The stranger clos
“I guess Alex’s warning last night was just a wind-up for you,” Dante said expressionlessly. His cold, piercing gaze seemed to pierce Natalie’s back to her solar plexus.Natalie was silent, not reacting.Laura, on the other hand, turned around. She asked, “What warning?”Dante ignored his little sister’s question. He walked over to Natalie and stopped behind her. His right hand held her tense shoulder. He leaned down, whispering in her left ear, “Don’t take advantage of others, or the punishment for them will be more cruel than you deserve.”“She’s your little sister,” Natalie muttered expressionlessly. She remained staring straight ahead, not turning her head toward the man at all.“You think I can’t be cruel to my sister?” The corners of Dante’s lips curled up. He smiled crookedly. “I don’t mind eliminating a stupid girl like her. I didn’t like her to begin with.”Natalie tensed up even more at that. She immediately turned her head to stare at Dante’s face, which was so close to her
Natalie’s whole body was tense. Her heart was beating erratically. Dante was on top of her. He silenced her mouth with the palm of his left hand while his right hand opened the nightstand drawer to retrieve a gun.Shots from outside came raining down on the bed. It was so quick and short, as if they just wanted to kill the owner of the bed, and that was it. There was no sound whatsoever.Dante’s expression was cold. His gaze was watchful. The door to the room suddenly opened. He immediately raised his gun.“It’s me!” Alex shouted in the doorway while raising both hands. Natalie, who saw him coming, felt a little relieved. At least she had survived the shooting incident.“Are you guys okay? Is anyone hurt?” Alex asked anxiously.Dante lowered his gun. He closed his eyes as he looked down deeply. “Who are they?” he asked coldly.“Not sure yet. Our men are chasing them,” Alex replied.“Who are they?” Dante asked again, that time looked at Natalie, who was still pale-faced. He gripped her
Dante rushed out of his office and went to his grandfather’s winery on the edge of town. On the way, he called Jayde.“Stop looking for those people. Jayde, go back and help Alex investigate who Alfonso Verga’s henchmen are hiding in our mansion,” Dante ordered Jayde.“So, Don Verga was the one acting up this morning?” Jayde asked.Dante leaned his back casually. The corners of his lips lifted. “Yes, but I think I can take advantage of him. Just do your job. I'll take care of the rest.”“Okay.”“Don’t forget to keep a good eye on Natalie. I wonder if she has any dealings with the Verga family,” Dante added.Jayde immediately replied, “Understood.”Dante finally hung up the phone. He thought back to the text message Alfonso had sent. Why did the old man say he should be careful with the women around him?His suspicions were, of course, on Natalie. Perhaps Alfonso had arranged for Natalie to be by his side. That wasn’t impossible. However, Dante wasn’t so sure. After all, he’d met Natal
After Cicero left, the door was closed again. The room became silent. Roberto chuckled casually as he shook his head. “You’re quite tolerant of them,” he commented to Dante. He knew all too well how his grandchildren fought each other for power and influence in the underworld. It wasn’t just Dante’s younger siblings. His other grandchildren were the same way. They were family, but really, their relationship was more like competing royalty.Roberto sighed. “Your father’s inheritance was not small, but you didn’t take any of it. And even after all that, Anthony still doesn’t like you.”“I did that not because I wanted them to like me. Who cares how they pay me back?” Dante picked up the empty glass and poured himself some wine.“That’s good,” Roberto said softly. He was a man with five children. In the past, he had tried to be fair to them. However, divisions and disputes within the family persisted. One of his children had even died because of it. Dante had to be more careful than him
Natalie fell asleep with her hands still tied. The door to her room suddenly opened, startling her. She expected it to be Dante coming to untie her, but it turned out to be Cora.Cora entered and began to organize Natalie’s few belongings. It was the stuff that Dante had provided during Natalie’s stay.“What are you doing?” Natalie got up and asked in surprise.“Mr. Vittorio wants to move you tonight,” replied Cora, without looking at Natalie.“Move? Do you know where?” Natalie continued to probe.“No.”Natalie didn’t know if that was good or bad news. Inwardly, she wondered, Where would Dante move her to? What if the next place was worse than this mansion?“Can you untie it?” Natalie asked as she stood up from the bed. “Just let me.” Another voice suddenly sounded from the direction of the door. It was Laura, walking in with a pair of scissors. Cora immediately blocked her.“Miss, you shouldn’t do this, or Mr. Vittorio will be angry!” Cora said in a slightly bluff tone.“Nevermind.
In a dark prison cell, a large, fierce-looking female inmate threw a bucket and a mop into a corner of the floor. She pushed another female inmate into the wall.“From now on, you’ll be the one doing this disgusting work. Aren’t you so arrogant and consider yourself still a famous model? Rubbish!”Natalie Hale, the woman who had just been violently pushed, unconsciously clenched her fists. The look in her eyes became cold. “You’re no better than me.”A loud slapping sound rang out immediately. “You still dare to answer me, huh?!”The anger and hatred in Natalie’s heart grew even more intense. She held her red cheeks with a trembling body. Before she could return the slap, someone suddenly came over.“You two, stop fighting! Miss Hale, come with me!” a warden ordered.Natalie closed her eyes, trying to compose herself. She glanced coldly at her enemy before finally stepping up to follow the warden. Moments later, she was in front of an unfamiliar and mysterious man dressed in black.Sh