Chapter 4 - The Hidden Bruise
Lucia flinched violently when Dante looked at her. She quickly turned her head away, her long hair falling forward to cover the side of her face.
"Lucia," Dante said, his voice entirely lacking its previous anger, replaced by a cold, calculating observation. "Look at me."
"I'm fine, sir," Lucia whispered frantically, keeping her head down. "I just tripped on the rug. The coffee was too hot. I'll pay for the dry cleaning, I promise."
"Look at me," Dante repeated, the authority in his tone absolute.
Slowly, trembling with fear, Lucia raised her head. She brushed her hair back behind her ear.
Dante’s jaw tightened. Just beneath Lucia's cheekbone, barely concealed by a thick layer of cheap foundation, was a massive, dark purple bruise. It was fresh. It was violent. And it clearly hadn't come from tripping over a rug in the mansion.
Dante stood back up, his towering frame casting a long shadow. He was a ruthless criminal, but he had a strict, unbreakable code. He did not tolerate women or children being abused, especially not women who worked under his roof.
"Who did that to you?" Dante demanded, his voice dropping into a register of terrifying, deadly calm.
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Lucia burst into tears, covering her bruised face with her hands. "Please, sir. Don't get involved. He... he knows where my daughter sleeps."
👉 Who is the monster terrorizing the maid, and why is he so dangerous?
