Amelia's heart pounded in her chest, the sound of her breathing drowning out everything else in the dim, oppressive silence of the mansion. They had reached the security room, but the unease never left her. The sight of Luca standing before the monitors, his once-loyal face now twisted into something dark and taunting, left her shaken. She hadn't anticipated this hadn't imagined that someone so close to Dante could betray him.
Luca's words echoed in her mind, each syllable cutting deeper than the last. Your enemies aren't just on the outside.
Amelia turned to Dante, but his expression had already hardened into something unreadable, his face a mask of cold fury. He was slipping back into his world one that she didn't fully understand, one where there were no easy answers.
"Dante," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the thundering beats of her heart. She reached for him, her hand trembling as she placed it on his arm.
He didn't flinch, but the ice in his eyes softened, just a fraction. "Stay close," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "And don't trust anyone."
Her breath hitched in her throat. His words were a warning, but they were also a command. And as much as she wanted to argue, to fight for a place by his side, she knew that in this world, trust was a currency she didn't have the privilege to spend freely.
Before she could respond, the distant sound of footsteps interrupted them, muffled by the thick walls of the mansion. Amelia tensed, her hand gripping his sleeve tighter. Dante's sharp gaze flicked to the hallway, his posture shifting, all business now.
"They're inside," he muttered under his breath.
She didn't have time to question who they were. Dante's eyes narrowed, calculating, cold.
"You stay here," he said, pushing her back toward the corner of the security room.
"No," Amelia shot back, her voice steady despite the growing dread in her chest. "I'm not staying behind again. Not this time."
Dante turned to face her, his jaw clenched, frustration flickering across his face. "You don't understand, Amelia. I'm not going to risk. "
"I understand more than you think," she interrupted, her voice hardening. "I've been in the dark too long. You don't get to shut me out anymore, Dante."
For a long moment, they locked eyes, neither one willing to back down. But then, Dante sighed, his shoulders slumping in resignation. His hand reached out, brushing her cheek for just a moment before his fingers tightened into a fist. "Fine," he muttered. "But stay behind me."
Amelia nodded, her heart racing. She wasn't going to be the helpless woman anymore. Not while Dante was fighting for everything, even if it meant facing his demons. They moved quickly, silently, through the corridors, the tension in the air thick enough to cut with a knife.
When they reached the main hallway, the faint sound of hushed voices and the shuffle of boots grew louder. Dante's grip on his gun tightened as he motioned for Amelia to stay low. She obeyed without question, her body instinctively reacting to the danger. Her heart was hammering, but her mind was clear, focused.
Suddenly, a shadow darted across the hallway ahead, and Dante's instincts kicked in. He lunged forward, his body in perfect sync with his weapon as he rounded the corner, gun raised.
"Enzo!" Dante barked, lowering his weapon as he recognized the figure standing before them.
Enzo, the elusive ally who had always been a step ahead of their enemies, raised his hands in a mock surrender, his face split with a grin. "Nice to see you, Dante. Miss me?"
Amelia's pulse quickened. She'd heard Dante mention Enzo before
always in passing, always shrouded in mystery. But now, standing before them, she felt a deep unease. The man was calm, too calm for the situation.
"Where is Luca?" Dante demanded, his voice hard, his eyes scanning the shadows.
Enzo's grin faded, his eyes glinting with something darker. "Gone. Luca's not your problem anymore. But there's someone else you should be worried about."
Amelia's stomach churned. There was something off about Enzo's words, the way his eyes flickered toward her before quickly shifting back to Dante. She stepped forward, her voice low but sharp.
"What do you mean? Who else is in this?"
Enzo turned his gaze to her, studying her for a moment before shrugging. "It's not what you think. You're in deeper than you realize, Amelia. And Dante's not the only one who's been keeping secrets."
Dante tensed beside her, his body coiled like a spring. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Enzo's eyes gleamed. "You've got enemies on all sides. And Amelia? She's in more danger than either of you understand. There's more at play here, Dante. More than just Liliana and your family. The truth is, she's the key."
Amelia's mind raced, the pieces not fitting together. "What does that mean?"
Enzo smiled again, that same wicked, knowing grin. "It means your world just got a lot more complicated. And if you're not careful, you won't even see the end coming."
Before either Dante or Amelia could respond, a loud crash echoed from somewhere deeper in the mansion, followed by the unmistakable sound of gunfire. Enzo's grin faltered slightly, his eyes shifting to Dante.
"Time to go, I think," he said, his voice suddenly serious.
Dante nodded, his eyes locking with Amelia's. "Stay close, and don't get in my way. This is my fight, not yours."
But Amelia wasn't listening. Not anymore. The pieces were falling into place, and she wasn't going to let herself be sidelined again.
She stepped forward, her gaze steely. "I'm not running away from this anymore, Dante. Not when it's all on the line."
Dante hesitated, his eyes dark and conflicted, but then he gave a curt nod, acknowledging the change between them.
"Let's finish this," he said.
And together, they stepped into the unknown, side by side.
***********************************
******FEW WEEKS LATER*****
The dim glow of the desk lamp illuminated Dante's face as he stared at the pile of documents in front of him. His fingers hovered over the papers, but his mind was elsewhere somewhere deep in the shadows of his empire, haunted by the betrayal, the lies, and the woman who had once been the center of his world. Amelia.
The silence of the mansion was suffocating, the air heavy with unspoken words. Dante's jaw tightened as he thought back to the night of the battle. Enzo had saved him, pulling him out of the crossfire. But that was the only thing Enzo could do save him physically. The emotional scars were deeper, the betrayal running too deep. And now, Dante was broken in ways that no one, not even Enzo, could heal.
Amelia. Her pregnancy was a constant reminder of the fragile thread that held their shattered relationship together. Dante didn't know how to look at her anymore. Every time he saw her, he saw the lie. Her father's betrayal weighed on him, but it was more than that. It was the trust he had given her, only for it to be shattered. The more he thought about it, the harder it was to breathe.
He had kept her in the dark about his world—about the true horrors of the Mafia. He had shielded her from it, even though he knew it would never be enough. But now that she was pregnant, he couldn't keep pretending. He couldn't keep living in a world where nothing was real, where trust was a commodity to be traded.
His thoughts were interrupted by the soft sound of the door creaking open. Amelia stood there, framed in the doorway, her hand on her stomach as though trying to protect the life growing inside of her. But Dante knew better. She was trying to protect herself from him.
"Dante," she said quietly, her voice trembling with uncertainty. "Can we talk?"
He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked at her, his eyes cold and distant. The woman he had once loved, the woman who had stolen his heart, was now nothing more than a ghost in his world.
Amelia stepped into the room, her gaze hesitant as she moved closer to him. She reached for his hand, but Dante recoiled instinctively, the pain in his chest flaring up at the contact. He wasn't ready for this. He wasn't ready to open himself up again.
"Please, don't pull away from me," she whispered. "I'm sorry, Dante. I know I can't undo the past, but I need you to know I never wanted any of this. I never wanted to hurt you."
Dante let out a bitter laugh, the sound harsh in the silence. "You've already hurt me, Amelia. And not just me. You've hurt everything we built. Everything I trusted you with."
Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at him. "I didn't know, Dante. I swear to you, I didn't know about my father's involvement with Liliana. I didn't know what was happening behind my back."
The words were hollow to him now, a part of his soul dead to the idea of trust. How could he believe her after everything? After the lies, the deceit? The baby growing inside her only complicated everything further.
"Don't you get it, Amelia?" Dante's voice was low, a dangerous calm. "This isn't just about your father or Liliana. This is about us. This is about what you've done to me."
"I never meant to hurt you, Dante. You have to believe me. You've been so focused on your world, on the Mafia, that you couldn't see the lies that were right in front of us. You were blinded by your need for control."
"Control?" Dante repeated, the word tasting bitter on his tongue. He stood up, pacing in front of her. "You think I'm just some man who craves control? You think I wanted this? You think I wanted my life to fall apart because of your father? I never asked for any of this. I didn't ask for you to be pregnant, and I certainly didn't ask for you to betray me."
Amelia flinched as if his words physically struck her. Her voice was barely a whisper when she spoke again. "I never betrayed you, Dante. I loved you. I still do. But I can't do this alone. I need you."
The words hung in the air like a weight, suffocating them both. Dante stopped pacing, his eyes dark with frustration. "I don't know how to trust you anymore, Amelia. I don't know how to trust anyone anymore."
He turned away from her, walking to the window. The view of the city below, the glowing lights, reminded him of everything he had lost. Enzo had warned him about the dangers of getting too close, but he hadn't listened. He had been blind to the lies, blind to the fact that his own world was crumbling.
Amelia stood there, trembling, feeling the weight of his rejection. She placed her hand on her stomach, the life inside of her a constant reminder of the bond they once shared—a bond that was now fractured beyond repair.
"Dante, please," she whispered. "I need you. You're not alone in this. I'm here. I want to fight for us. For our family."
But Dante didn't turn around. "You don't get it, Amelia. I can't fight for something I don't believe in anymore."
He paused for a moment, then added in a voice so low it was almost a whisper. "I need to be alone. I need to figure things out."
Amelia's heart shattered as she stood there, helpless. The man she loved had drifted too far from her, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't reach him.
The silence in the room was deafening as Amelia took a step back, her heart aching with the weight of the truth. She had lost him...