Chapter 5 - The Abusive Ex
The grand hall felt incredibly cold. Sophie stepped closer to her mother, gently patting Lucia’s shoulder with her small hand.
"It was Marcus, wasn't it?" Dante asked quietly.
Lucia let out a muffled sob, confirming his suspicion. Marcus was Lucia’s ex-boyfriend. He was also a low-level enforcer for a rival syndicate across town. He was a petty, violent thug who had been stalking Lucia for months, demanding she give him her paychecks to fund his gambling addiction.
"He ambushed me outside the estate gates this morning when I dropped Sophie off at the staff daycare," Lucia wept, entirely abandoning her professional composure. "He said if I didn't get him ten thousand dollars by tonight, he was going to take Sophie and sell her to cover his debts. That's why my hands were shaking. That's why I dropped the cup."
The house manager in the background gasped, deeply horrified.
Dante didn't gasp. His natural micro-expressions shifted into absolute, unadulterated malice.
He had yelled at this woman for ruining a vest, completely unaware that she was living in a waking nightmare, terrified that her child was going to be stolen and sold by a monster.
Dante looked down at Sophie, who was still holding her stuffed rabbit, watching him carefully.
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"You're right," Dante said softly to the four-year-old girl. "I did two wrong things."
👉 What is the mafia boss about to do to make things right for the mother and child?
