Chapter 3 - The Stunned Silence
Maya FREEZES.
Her enormous watery hazel eyes widened in sheer shock. The quiet, fragile sound of the little girl’s voice shattered the heavy tension at the table like a hammer hitting glass.
Around them, the atmosphere violently shifted.
Tony Martinelli, the distinguished 63-year-old restaurant owner with silver hair and gentle eyes, stops near the kitchen doorway. He adjusted his elegant espresso-brown velvet vest, his weathered features locking onto the corner booth in complete astonishment.
Marco turns sharply across the restaurant. The manager's neatly styled dark hair whipped around, the color instantly draining from his sharp jaw as he stared at the little girl and the waitress.
Dante becomes completely still.
The terrifying mafia billionaire stopped breathing. He stared at his daughter, his rugged, perfectly groomed stubble tight with overwhelming emotion. Sophia has spoken for the first time in days. Since her mother was violently taken, the city’s top child psychologists couldn't get a single sound out of her. Yet, this exhausted, beautiful waitress had done it with a single sentence.
Maya looks toward Dante, realizing the restaurant is watching. The wealthy guests in the burgundy leather booths had stopped their murmuring. The soft rain glistening against the floor-to-ceiling windows seemed to be the only sound left in the world.
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Maya’s heart hammered against her ribs. She gripped her serving tray tightly, terrified that she had somehow overstepped her boundaries and offended the most dangerous man in Manhattan.
👉 Dante was a man to be feared, and his next move was going to completely paralyze the poor waitress.
