All Chapters of 7 Nights With My Step Brother's Rival : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Sienna stared at the plane ticket, her heart racing.Lisbon. Three days from now. First class.And somewhere in Portugal, Dante was waiting. Or not waiting. The note hadn't exactly been warm.**If you want answers, come find me.**Not "I miss you." Not "I need to see you." Just a challenge. A test. One more game in a relationship that had started as a contract and turned into something she still couldn't name.She set the ticket on the small kitchen counter. Looked around Elena's apartment. At this safe space she'd been given. At the chance to start over without Dante Moretti complicating everything.She could stay here. Rebuild. Move on.She should stay here.But the ticket sat there like a dare she couldn't ignore.The next morning, Sienna had an appointment with her father's estate lawyer.Richard Chen's office was in Midtown. Expensive. The kind of place that charged by the minute just for breathing their air.He was younger than she expected. Maybe forty. Sharp suit. Sharper eyes

Sienna's heart stopped. "Dante has a son?""Yes."The word hung in the air like smoke. Heavy. Suffocating.Sienna stared at the little boy running through the garden. At his dark curls bouncing as he chased butterflies. At the way he laughed, pure and innocent, completely unaware that his existence had just shattered what was left of Sienna's understanding of Dante Moretti."I don't understand." Her voice came out thin. Distant. "He never mentioned a child."Catarina's expression was gentle. Sad. "He doesn't mention Leo to anyone. Only a handful of people know he exists.""Why?""Because Dante's world is dangerous. And children are leverage. If Lorenzo had known about Leo, if any of Dante's enemies had known, they would have used him as a weapon." Catarina started walking toward the garden. "Come. I'll explain everything."Sienna followed on autopilot. Her legs moved without conscious thought. Her eyes stayed locked on the little boy who was now crouching by a flower bed, examining

Sienna's room was filling with smoke.She stumbled to the door, coughing, her eyes already burning. The handle was hot under her palm. Not burning hot, but warm enough to make her hesitate.She yanked it open anyway.The hallway was worse. Smoke rolled across the ceiling in thick black waves. Orange light flickered from somewhere below, casting dancing shadows on the walls."Help!" Her voice came out hoarse. Strangled. "Someone help!"She could hear shouting. Running footsteps. Chaos erupting throughout the villa.Sienna dropped to her knees. The air was clearer closer to the floor. She crawled toward the stairs, her lungs screaming for oxygen that wasn't there.A door down the hall exploded inward. Wood splintering. Dante burst through, his face already streaked with soot."Sienna!" He spotted her and ran. Didn't slow down. Just scooped her up like she weighed nothing and turned back the way he'd come."I can walk," she choked out."Not through this."He carried her down the hallway

"How did he know?"Sienna stared at her phone like it was a snake. The text from Julian glowed on the screen, mocking her.Dante took the phone from her shaking hands. His jaw tightened as he read the message again."We need to go. Now." He grabbed her arm and steered her toward where Catarina was pulling up in the car.They drove back to the apartment in silence. Sienna couldn't stop thinking about that text. About Julian sitting in a prison cell somehow knowing she'd just gotten married. Knowing she was in Portugal. Knowing everything.The moment they were through the door, Dante was on his phone. He made three calls in rapid succession, his voice clipped and cold. When he finally hung up, his expression was murderous."Julian's been making calls," he said. "Lots of calls. From prison."Elena looked up from where she was playing with Leo. "That's not possible. He's in a maximum security facility. They monitor everything.""Not if you have the right connections." Dante pulled up som

"We're not going."Sienna stared at Dante. He was standing by the window, looking out at Lisbon's lights. The photo of Leo was still in his hand."What do you mean we're not going? The Council meeting is tonight.""They know where Leo is. Which means we need to get him first. Move him again." Dante turned to face her. "The meeting doesn't matter if my son is dead.""And if we don't show up? What then?" Sienna crossed the room to him. "They'll know you're afraid. They'll know they won. And they'll come after all of us anyway.""I can protect him.""By running? By hiding?" She grabbed his arm. "Dante, listen to yourself. You've spent fifteen years building toward this. Toward reclaiming what they took from you. And now you're going to let them scare you off?""This isn't about being scared. This is about being smart.""No. This is about being a father. I get it. I do." Sienna moved closer. "But Leo is safe with Elena. She'll move him the second she got that photo. She's not stupid. An