Chapter 4 - The Debt Derek Never Told Her About
Derek confessed inside Dante's private office.
Two years earlier, he had lost his job.
Then he began gambling.
Then borrowing.
Then lying.
The debt grew.
When the Valenti organization offered him money, he accepted.
They wanted information about Dante.
Derek gave them small things at first.
Addresses.
Schedules.
Business meetings.
Nothing he believed could cause real harm.
Then they asked about Emma.
Derek told them Dante had once loved her.
That was when everything changed.
They realized Emma could be used.
Derek claimed he had never known about Sophia.
Emma stared at him.
“You knew Dante might be her father.”
“I wasn't sure.”
“You lied to me.”
“I was afraid.”
“You let me believe he abandoned us.”
Derek lowered his head.
“I thought if you hated him, they couldn't use you to get close to him.”
Emma's voice broke.
“You became the person I needed because you knew I had nowhere else to go.”
Derek said nothing.
Dante stood near the window.
“Where is their leader?”
Derek hesitated.
“Victor Valenti.”
Dante's eyes hardened.
Victor had disappeared years earlier.
Everyone believed he had left the country.
Derek shook his head.
“He's back.”
“And what does he want?”
Derek looked toward Sophia's photograph on Dante's desk.
“Your daughter.”
Emma stepped closer.
“Why?”
“Because she's your weakness.”
Dante corrected him.
“No.”
He looked at Emma.
“She is not my weakness.”
His voice became colder.
“She is the reason I will destroy anyone who touches her.”
Then Derek's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A man's voice said only:
“Tell Dante the mother is next.”
The call ended.
Emma went pale.
May you like
Because the voice had used her mother's maiden name.
A name only a handful of people knew.
