“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
“Young lady, please follow me.” An auctioneer said to Natalie after the whole auction was over. She gritted her teeth and then wordlessly walked after him.The man escorted Natalie out of the auction house. A black SUV was waiting for her outside the exit. “Miss Smith, please.”Natalie tried to look calm. She opened the car door. The man in the hat, who had bought her for an outrageous price, sat in the passenger seat. He stared straight ahead.“Get in!” he ordered without turning around.The passenger seats were not separated, so Natalie sat right next to the man. She closed the door, and the car drove off. Not a word was said between them, and the longer it went on, the more uneasy Natalie felt.Questions raged in her head. She silently glanced at the man next to her. Her action was somehow immediately noticed by the man. She immediately turned her face out the window.Dante raised the corners of his lips. “If you want to know something, why don’t you ask, Ms. Smith?” His voice soun
Natalie gasped. A woman wearing the uniform of the head housemaid stood behind her, looking alert and probing. She was about 40 years old.“I...” Natalie felt scared and confused. She glanced downstairs and then quickly shook her head. “Can you-““Of course!” The head maid interrupted loudly and gave her a sharp look. She grabbed Natalie’s hand and dragged her downstairs. “Sir, someone’s looking for you!”Dante sat in a large, classic armchair made of velvet. Alex stood beside him, while in front of him, a subordinate was beating Tomas mercilessly. The man with the surname Vittorio looked like a king watching over them with a cold heart.“Miss Smith, please help me!” shouted Tomas, whose body was already battered. Seeing Natalie was like seeing an angel to him. He tried to crawl towards her, but Brent’s subordinates immediately kicked him to the ground.“Why are you doing this?” Natalie asked Dante cautiously. She was still a little taken aback by the head maid, who pulled her to face