Chapter 7 - The Aftermath in the Ruins
The heavy doors slid shut, sealing off Celeste’s frantic shrieks as she was dragged away into the concrete depths of the building.
Silence rushed back into the vast, gleaming dining room, heavy and suffocating.
Valentina let out a long, shuddering breath, her knees buckling slightly. I dropped my canvas bag, kicked off my shoes, and rushed across the remaining patches of unbroken floor to slide my arm around the elderly woman’s waist, helping her gently into a nearby velvet armchair.
“Thank you, my child,” Valentina whispered, patting my hand with her cold, fragile fingers. “You saved my life.”
“You saved mine,” I choked out, tears finally spilling over my eyelashes.
Dante stood motionless near the center of the room. He hadn't moved an inch since Celeste had been dragged away. His hands were shoved deep into the pockets of his dark trousers, his broad shoulders tense beneath his fitted shirt.
He looked down at the floor, staring at the glittering field of broken crystal, then slowly raised his dark eyes to meet mine.
There was no mask left. No billionaire detachment, no underworld armor. Just raw, naked exhaustion, and a depth of emotion that terrified me more than any gun ever could.
“Serena,” he said softly, his voice barely audible over the hum of the ventilation system.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, wiping my cheek with the back of my hand, completely unaware that a small shard of glass had nicked my skin, leaving a streak of crimson beneath my fingernails. “I shouldn't have snooped. I should have just kept my head down and cleaned your floors like I was hired to do.”
Dante didn't answer right away. He took two slow, measured steps forward, ignoring the crunch of glass beneath his leather shoes until he was standing right in front of me.
“You were never just cleaning floors, Serena,” he said, his voice thick with an intensity that made my breath catch in my throat.
May you like
He reached out, his warm, steady fingers gently taking my wrist, lifting my hand to examine the small cut and the blood beneath my fingernails. His touch was agonizingly tender, completely at odds with the brutal reputation he carried across the city.
“You walked into a house full of wolves,” Dante murmured, his thumb brushing lightly across my knuckles, “and you were the only one with the courage to stay when everyone else walked away.”
