Chapter 4 - The Bruised Wrist
"Mr. Moretti! I am so sorry!" Elena cried hysterically, scrambling to her feet and pulling Sophie away from him. "She wandered off! It won't happen again, I swear to God! Please don't fire me!"
"I'm not going to fire you, Elena," Dante said smoothly.
He took a slow step closer to her. As Elena reached out to pull Sophie behind her legs, the sleeve of her oversized white catering shirt slipped up.
Dante stopped breathing.
Wrapped around Elena’s pale, thin wrist were deep, dark purple bruises. They were clearly in the shape of a massive, violent handprint. Someone had grabbed her and twisted her arm with enough force to nearly snap the bone.
Dante’s piercing eyes locked onto the injury. "Who did that to you?"
Elena instantly yanked her sleeve down, hiding her arm, her entire body shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. "I... I fell, sir. Carrying a heavy box."
"Don't lie to me," Dante commanded quietly, the danger in his voice making the entire kitchen staff hold their breath. "Sophie already told me about the debt. And she told me about the man with the snake tattoo."
Elena burst into tears, covering her mouth to muffle her sobs. "He's going to kill me, Mr. Moretti. I borrowed five thousand dollars last year to pay for Sophie's asthma medication when my insurance dropped me. I paid it back, I swear I did! But Victor said the interest tripled. He says I owe him fifty thousand dollars by tomorrow, or he's taking me to work in one of his clubs."
The kitchen was dead silent.
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Victor was running an illegal, predatory extortion ring out of Dante’s own house, trapping Dante’s loyal employees in impossible debts and forcing them into modern slavery.
👉 How will Dante flush the traitor out into the open?
