Chapter 4 - Secrets in the Study
By the end of the week, the confinement was driving me insane. While the Moretti estate was luxurious, the golden cage was suffocating. I needed to move, to breathe, to feel like I had control over my own life again.
Late Thursday night, unable to sleep, I wandered down to Dante’s private study on the ground floor. The heavy oak door was cracked open, spilling a sliver of golden light across the Persian rug.
Pushing the door open, I stepped inside to browse the towering bookshelves, hoping to find something—anything—to distract my mind. As my fingers brushed against a row of leather-bound ledgers, a hidden panel behind the shelf clicked open, revealing a wall safe and a stack of open files.
I shouldn't have looked. Curiosity is a dangerous trait, especially in a house like this. But right there on top of the stack was a photograph of my own apartment building, annotated with red surveillance markers.
“Looking for something, Elena?”
I spun around with a gasp. Dante stood in the doorway, his shirtsleeves rolled up to his forearms, holding a glass of ice water. He didn't look angry; he looked tired, the hard edges of his face softened by the shadows of the lamplight.
“Why is my apartment building in your security files?” I demanded, holding up the photograph.
Dante walked slowly into the room, closing the door behind him. “Because the night of the gala wasn't the first time someone tried to get to me through you.”
I stared at him, my breath catching in my throat. “What are you talking about?”
“Victor Vance knew you and I crossed paths at the diner where you worked months ago,” Dante explained, his voice dangerously quiet. “He watched him, watched us. The chandelier wasn't a random hit. It was a calculated trap to test my security—and you walked right into the middle of it.”
“So I’m bait?” I whispered, feeling a cold wave of betrayal wash over me.
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“No,” Dante stepped closer, his dark eyes locking onto mine with fierce intensity. “You’re the only person who mattered enough to make me realize how vulnerable I’ve become. I didn't put you in my files to watch you, Elena. I put you there to keep you alive.”
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