Chapter 5 - The Arrogant Ultimatum
The color completely drained from Isabella’s face. She looked at the weeping housekeeper, finally realizing why Dante treated the woman with such quiet, unspoken respect.
But Isabella was the daughter of a powerful senator. She had been raised to believe she was entirely untouchable, a necessary political alliance for Dante’s expanding empire. Instead of apologizing, her shock quickly morphed back into arrogant fury.
"So what?" Isabella snapped, her fake smile dropping completely. "She's a widow. That doesn't give her the right to let her brat run wild in my house! I am your fiancée, Dante! My father's political connections are the only reason the feds haven't raided your warehouses!"
Anna gasped quietly, pulling the battered suitcase closer to her chest, terrified that Isabella was going to force Dante to choose between his empire and his promise.
"I won't let my child be raised in a house where she's treated like a stray dog," Anna whispered, her voice shaking but laced with a mother's fierce protective instinct. She looked up at Dante. "Please, just let us leave quietly. We'll disappear."
"You aren't going anywhere, Anna," Dante commanded, not taking his eyes off his fiancée.
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"Yes, they are!" Isabella shrieked, her voice echoing shrilly through the marble foyer. "It's them or me, Dante! If you don't throw this trash out onto the street right now, I'm calling my father, and your political protection is gone!"
👉 Isabella thought she held the ultimate trump card, but Anna was about to reveal why she was really packing her bags.
