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Chapter 8
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The Lord's Plaything Chapter 11
The wedding was small.Dante wanted a spectacle—"Every family in the city needs to see"—but I refused."No. This is ours. Not theirs."We compromised on the Velasco estate's private chapel. Twenty guests. No press. No photographs.Marco stood as Dante's best man. I walked myself down the aisle.When I reached the altar, Dante leaned close. "No father to give you away?""I gave myself away years ago. You just finally caught up."The ceremony was short. The kiss was not.Afterward, at the reception, Marco made a toast."To Serafina and Dante. Proof that even the most stubborn people can figure it out eventually, as long as they're equally terrifying."Everyone laughed. I threw a bread roll at his head.Later, on the balcony overlooking the estate's gardens, Dante wrapped his arms around me from behind."So. What now?""Now we go on a honeymoon. Somewhere without cell service.""Tempting. But I meant long-term."I turned in his arms. "Long-term? We build something new. A family that doesn
The Lord's Plaything Chapter 10
I called Marco immediately."Where's Dante?""He's in a meeting. What's wrong?""Russo is alive. He's working with the Agosti family. They're planning something."Silence. Then: "How do you know this?""Emilio Agosti called me. He's not in a coma. He's been conscious the whole time.""Jesus Christ." I heard Marco start moving, shouts in the background. "Where are you?""The cottage. On the cliffs.""Stay there. Lock the doors. I'm sending a team.""Marco—where's Dante's meeting?"A hesitation."Marco!""He's at the old warehouse on Eleventh and Pier. Where we found you after the attack. He's been using it as a neutral meeting ground for the new business negotiations."The warehouse. Where Russo's men had beaten me bloody.Where Russo knew every entrance, every blind spot."It's a trap," I said. "The meeting is a trap.""I'm already calling him.""Call faster."I grabbed my keys and ran for the car.-The drive back to the city took three hours. I made it in two.The warehouse district
The Lord's Plaything Chapter 9
I spent the next three weeks in a small coastal town four hours from the city.No bodyguards. No credit cards. No Dante.It was terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure.I rented a cottage on the cliffs. I taught myself to cook. I walked on the beach every morning and thought about my mother—not the way she died, but the way she lived. The way she laughed. The way she used to dance in the kitchen when she thought no one was watching.I'd forgotten those things, buried under years of anger and grief.My father called once. I let it go to voicemail.Serafina, the Agosti family is demanding an explanation. You signed a contract. There are legal consequences—I blocked his number.Chiara and Elena had gone silent. Marco told me they'd fled to Europe after Dante cut them off. I didn't feel triumph. Just exhaustion.And through it all—Dante.He didn't call. He didn't track me down. He didn't send enforcers to drag me back.He just waited.Marco kept me updated. The Velasco family had und
The Lord's Plaything Chapter 8
I packed my bags that night.Dante found me in the guest room, folding clothes into my suitcase."Running away again?""No. Leaving. There's a difference."He leaned against the doorframe. "Russo's been dealt with. He won't be a problem anymore.""Good.""The Romanian situation is resolved. Elena's brother is being sent to South America. Elena herself has been informed that her connection to the family is terminated."I kept folding. "Congratulations. You're free of the Abate debt.""Yes."There was a long pause."Sera." His voice was odd. "Look at me."I looked.Dante's face was pale. His gray eyes were wide, almost lost. He looked nothing like the dangerous underboss I'd first met."I screwed up," he said. "With you. With everything. I thought I was keeping you safe. I thought I was playing a long game. But all I did was push you away.""Yes.""If I asked you to stay—really asked, no games, no power plays—would you?"I put down the shirt I was folding."Ask me, then.""Stay." The wor
The Lord's Plaything Chapter 7
I called Marco from the car."Where are you?""Running errands for the boss. Why?""The men who attacked me. They said they were sent by Chiara. They told me Elena was working with the Romanians. Did you find them?"A pause. "We found them. Two of them, anyway. They were dead before we got there.""Dead?""Professional job. Two bullets each, back of the head. Someone didn't want them talking."My grip tightened on the phone. "Marco, who stands to gain if I believe Elena is a traitor?""What do you mean?""If I believe Elena betrayed Dante to the Romanians, I take that information to him. He investigates. He finds out about her brother's debts, maybe other things. It destroys his guilt. It destroys her leverage over him.""And removes her from the picture," Marco said slowly. "Leaving the path clear for you.""Exactly. But I didn't do it. Chiara didn't do it—I just confronted her, she had no idea what I was talking about. So who does that leave?"Marco was silent for a long moment.Then
The Lord's Plaything Chapter 6
I was discharged three days later.Dante wanted me to stay at his penthouse while I recovered. I didn't argue. My own apartment was empty, my accounts frozen, my father's house a hostile nation.So I let Dante play nurse. He was terrible at it."You're supposed to rest," he said, finding me in his study at two in the morning."I was bored.""You were snooping.""Same thing."I'd found his files on the Abate family. Neatly organized, meticulously documented. Every loan, every payment, every favor called in over six years. The total made my eyes water."This is millions," I said."Dozens of millions." He took the folder from my hands. "Like I said. Almost paid.""What happens when it is? Does Elena just. disappear?""Her brother gets a one-way ticket somewhere far away. Her mother gets a final settlement. And Elena gets told, in no uncertain terms, that any future requests will be denied.""She won't take it well.""No. She won't."I studied his face. "You're really going to do it.""If
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