Natalie couldn’t believe Dante had said he would accompany her to see her grandmother. Did he have some kind of purpose? Somehow, she felt suspicious and worried.She kept thinking about Dante’s words even as she changed clothes. “If he wants to know where my grandmother lives, he can find out without going with me. Wouldn’t that be a waste of time?” she muttered.Dante was a busy man. He only needed to have his subordinates investigate Natalie’s grandmother’s house, and then he would find her. Why would he bother going to Los Angeles with Natalie?It was strange, but actually quite beneficial to Natalie. Maybe with Dante going with her, she could convince her grandmother of her engagement.Natalie sighed. “Let things go the way he wants,” she said with a nod.That day, she had nothing in particular to do, so she just lay around lazily scrolling through her social media. Dante was also resting, and she didn’t want to disturb him.Suddenly, the bell sounded faintly. Natalie frowned. Wh
Over the next few days, Natalie tended to Dante’s wounds more often. He was also quite enjoying her kindness. Their relationship became better as arguments became less frequent.That morning, Natalie and Dante had breakfast together. The man’s cell phone suddenly rang with an incoming call. He immediately picked it up.“What’s up?” the man asked. His brow furrowed for a few moments.“I know. I’ll go there in the afternoon,” he said again.Natalie watched him as she ate her waffle. After Dante put down his phone, he said, “I’m going to the winery this afternoon. Do you want to come with me?”The invitation was intriguing enough for Natalie. She wanted to know how big the Vittorio family’s winery was. Besides, she was tired of being in the penthouse all day.“Is your grandfather there?” she asked.“Yes. You’ll probably meet the rest of my family too,” Dante said.Natalie was honestly not ready to meet Dante’s family. But, ready or not, she had to do it. There was a mission to be done. I
The photo of Dante kissing Natalie in front of the elevator doors instantly spread in the office community. It became a hot topic of conversation among the employees. They seemed eager to follow the development of their boss’s romantic relationship.Meanwhile, Natalie had already managed to drive Camilla away. She sat on the sofa in Dante’s office as she watched him busy at his desk. When he was seriously working, he looked different. His charisma radiated even more strongly, and it was mesmerizing.Natalie had always liked mature men who had established jobs and could make a lot of money. To her, that was one of the sexiest things about a man. Hell, Dante was such a man.She took off her high heels and put her feet up on the sofa. She quietly took out her cell phone and took several pictures of Dante without his knowledge. The corners of her lips turned up.“The most red flag man,” she muttered as she stared at Dante’s picture on her phone screen.After that, she took some aesthetic-
The matter of the poisoned gelato made Alex curious about the culprit. Whoever intended to harm Natalie in the office using poison must be a courageous person.In the security control room, he had several operators play all the surveillance camera footage. A row of monitors on the wall displayed the CCTV footage in every corner of the cafeteria. They all watched as they looked for irregularities and suspicious people.Alex’s focus was on the CCTV footage of Natalie and Francesca. He noticed the waitress delivering the gelato to their table and then turned his attention to the other monitors showing the cafeteria kitchen.“Rewind a few minutes!” he ordered one of the operators.The monitor immediately showed the situation in the kitchen as a chef was serving gelato in special bowls. Alex shook his head. “Rewind again! I want to know who asked this chef to serve gelato.”The scene on the screen changed again. Alex finally saw a man in a jacket talking to the chef secretly. The man was w
All the way to the winery, Natalie was silent. She wasn’t in a good mood, but who cared? She just stared out the car window as she watched the sky turn purplish orange.Dante’s car arrived at their destination when it was already dark. Natalie got out of the car and rubbed her arms. The air in the winery area felt cooler and chillier than in the center of Manhattan.She looked around and marveled at the large building in front of her that was dominated by wood. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see the vineyard behind the winery because it was dark. Even so, she still felt the atmosphere, which felt like coming home to a hometown in the countryside.The quieter environment made Natalie feel calmer. At that moment, Dante suddenly grabbed her hand and led her into the winery. She remained silent and tried to smile as the workers smiled at her.“Are you mad at me?” Dante asked as he turned to Natalie.“No. I’m just in a bad mood,” Natalie lied.Dante put his arm around her waist and kissed her
Natalie ate while listening to Dante chat with his grandfather and uncle. She tried to observe and eavesdrop, hoping they would talk about their illegal businesses in the underworld.However, they seemed to be very wary of strangers. She didn’t hear them mention their businesses. Roberto talked more about his vineyard, while Dante spoke about his office affairs.Dante’s younger brothers were even busy on their own. Anthony was quiet and moody, while Cicero was busy with his phone and chatted with his grandfather only occasionally.Natalie hadn’t expected this situation at all. She thought it would be easier to find information by getting together with the family. But no. If she didn’t know who the Vittorio family was, she wouldn’t even suspect that they were a mafia family group.“Try this minestrone.” Dante suddenly handed her a small bowl of minestrone that was still hot.“I think I’ve overeaten,” Natalie complained in a half-whisper.“You look thinner these days. It doesn’t matter
“Cavendish, leave Dante, and I’ll give you a future.”“You must be crazy!” Natalie cursed. She struggled to break Anthony’s embrace, but the man’s right hand suddenly gripped her neck, making her feel suffocated.“You don’t love him, do you? Be honest with me,” Anthony whispered in Natalie’s ear. He stared at her beautiful face in the mirror, looking tortured.“What... what do you mean?” Natalie asked in a strangled voice. She clawed at Anthony’s left hand with her long nails, then threatened, “If Dante finds out what you did, he won’t let you go.”Anthony grinned coldly. “Are you sure you’ll let him know of our sinful deeds?”Natalie stared at Anthony’s demonic face with a furrowed brow. Her tongue felt numb. “What do you mean?”Suddenly, Anthony’s left hand touched her breast and squeezed it. Natalie wanted to scream, but the stranglehold on her neck made her stammer. She had trouble breathing and speaking.“You... you...”Anthony’s left hand touched Natalie’s body while his right h
What happened to Natalie did not escape Roberto’s ears. He was both angry and worried when he heard it. “Where is Anthony now?” he asked Marco, his confidant.“Sir, he’s injured and being treated,” Marco replied.“Cedric, go watch Anthony! Marco, you come with me to see how Dante and Cavendish are,” Roberto instructed them seriously. He was afraid something bad would happen.“Okay.”Cedric, who was Roberto’s bodyguard, immediately went to carry out his duties. Meanwhile, Marco pushed Roberto’s wheelchair towards the basement.When they arrived in the basement, Natalie was still unconscious. Dante sat on the sofa alone, daydreaming. His expression looked hard and cold. His hands were clenched into fists, and his forehead was deeply furrowed. He looked terrifying with his sharp, cold gaze.“Dante, how is Cavendish?” Roberto asked carefully.Dante turned to his grandfather. “She’s still not awake,” he replied dryly.Roberto’s wheelchair stopped near the bed. He watched Natalie for a few
“What happened to you, sis?” Kelsey let go of the hug. She cupped her hand on Natalie’s cheek and gently wiped away her tears. A complicated look filled her eyes.They had been separated since Kelsey was in middle school. Even before Natalie was imprisoned, they rarely saw each other. Even so, Kelsey used to see Natalie’s face either on the internet or in magazines. She knew her sister’s appearance wasn’t like that and shouldn’t have changed that much.Natalie shook her head and smiled. “Nothing. I just had surgery to change my identity. Call me Cavendish in the future, okay?”Kelsey didn’t say anything. She pulled Natalie’s hand towards her dorm room. She lived alone there, so she had more freedom to bring guests in.“Sis, I missed you.” Kelsey hugged Natalie after they entered the room. She burst into tears. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be a good sister,” she said through tears.“No, Kelsey.” Natalie shook her head. “You’ve suffered a lot over the years. Living alone isn’t easy, but you’ve
Natalie sat near the plane window. Her seat was only economy class, but she didn’t complain or mind. Just being able to go to London was good for her.Moments later, the plane took off. Natalie stared out the window in silence. She tried not to think about anything, including Dante. Since yesterday, she had always distracted her mind from thinking or remembering anything about him.Meanwhile, Dante was in the first-class seat. He wasn’t worried that Natalie would escape his watchful eye. They were on the same plane, after all.The trip took a while. They arrived in London at midnight. Natalie got off the plane and immediately looked for a money changer at the airport. Luckily, she had experience flying to London, so there was no confusion.She exchanged her dollar bills for British currency and then left the airport to find a place to stay. Somehow, she felt that someone was following and watching her. She quickly turned around and looked around, but no one looked suspicious.Natalie
The next day, Aland went to Dante’s penthouse without Natalie knowing. He sneaked out and pretended to be mysterious when leaving the hotel. George, who had been watching them since last night, frowned.“Where is he going?”George quietly followed Aland. He became even more curious after realizing Aland was going to Dante’s penthouse. “What’s he planning?”Aland was asked by Dante to pretend to steal. So, he acted mysteriously and carefully. He knocked on the door. It wasn’t long before Cedric opened it.“Aland, you—”“I want to see Mr. Vittorio,” Aland said.Cedric let him in and closed the door again. Then Aland went straight to Dante. It turned out that the man had already prepared the items he would take.“Here are Natalie’s passport and wallet. She has to leave tonight,” Dante said seriously.“Are you really going to just let her go? What if she runs into trouble in London?” Aland asked cautiously.Dante smiled. “You don't need to worry. I’ve already arranged everything.”Aland c
Dante lay in the coffin comfortably. The lid was not closed, so he could see Alex looking at him flatly. “Looks like you’re quite happy living in a coffin,” Alex quipped.The smile on Dante’s lips grew. He heard the sound of approaching footsteps and signaled Alex to be quiet. This time, he wanted to know how his younger brother would respond.Anthony stared at the black coffin in the living room with narrowed eyes. Roberto, who saw his arrival, immediately asked, “Why did you come here?”“Grandpa, I heard about it,” Anthony said without removing his gaze from the coffin. He hadn’t gotten close enough to it to see Dante’s face or body.“Why do you have to hide things like this? Is my brother really dead?” Anthony asked his grandfather.Roberto took a deep breath. “Anthony, how many people expected his death? If our enemies find out about it, they will immediately take advantage of the situation,” he replied seriously.“Why did you come here? You haven’t answered my question,” the old
That night, Natalie ran out of the apartment building looking like a mess. Her long hair was tangled and messy. She was only wearing pajamas, so her arms, bruised from Dante’s whipping, were visible to others.Her cheeks were red from the man’s slap, and there were even traces of his fingers. She looked down and covered it with her hands because she didn’t want others to see it.Barefoot, Natalie ran on the sidewalk. People might notice her, thinking she was crazy or homeless. However, she didn’t care. Her feelings were completely shattered, and she just wanted to escape as far as possible.Snowflakes fell onto her body, making her even colder. Her lips turned pale and blue. She hugged her body in the hope that no one would chase her.Unknown to Natalie, someone was watching and following her from afar. It was George who was always watching the apartment building. He wanted to approach her to find out if the information about Dante’s death was true.Just as he was about to approach Na
Natalie was really sick. That whole day, she just lay in bed with a weak body. Even the next day, she had trouble getting out of bed. Lizzy, who knew about her situation, became worried.“Mister, don’t you want to do something? She’s really sick, not just pretending,” Lizzy said to Dante. She hoped he would call a doctor or do something to treat Natalie.Dante was lazing around in his room. He was pretending to be dead, so he couldn’t do any work outside. When Lizzy spoke, he only glanced at her. “Just let her be sick. I won’t bother her,” he said.“Don’t you still need her existence? If she’s sick, how will she get to London?” Lizzy continued to persuade her employer.“Why do you care so much about her? You’re better off here, keeping me company,” Dante said as he patted the bed beside him. He smiled sweetly at the girl.“Sir, no kidding!” Lizzy gave Dante an annoyed look. She knew he wasn’t serious.“Alright. I’ll see her later,” Dante said indifferently.Lizzy finally stopped bothe
That night, Natalie was too tired from crying until she fell asleep sitting on the floor and leaning against the side of the bed. She woke up when someone suddenly opened the door in the morning.Lizzy came in carrying a tray of breakfast. She placed it on the table and stepped closer to Natalie.“Miss...” The girl looked at Natalie sadly. What happened last night really saddened her. She hadn’t expected Natalie and Dante’s relationship to suddenly fall apart.Natalie looked down and tried to stand up. She looked at her own horrible-looking reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy and red. Her lips were pale, and her appearance was a mess, but she didn’t care.“I want to talk to Dante,” Natalie said hoarsely. She had been crying for so long that her voice was almost gone.Lizzy sighed. “Miss, he wants you to leave America immediately.”“Leave America?” Natalie was surprised to hear that.“Mr. Vittorio wants you to go to London. He doesn’t want to see you again or have anything to
In the middle of the night, Roberto was about to fall asleep when Marco suddenly knocked on the door and entered his room. “Sir, Alex wants to see you. He has urgent news,” Marco said seriously.Dante’s grandfather frowned. He finally sat up. “In this middle of the night?”Marco nodded. Roberto sighed. “Let him in,” he said.Before Marco left the room to call Alex, Alex had already barged in. His face looked pale and worried. “Sir, I have some bad news,” he reported.“What is it?”Alex swallowed. He looked down and said, “Something happened to Dante. He’s...”Roberto looked at him sharply. “What happened to my grandson?!”“Someone badly injured him. He’s... dying,” Alex replied quietly, without daring to look at the old man.“No way!” Roberto shook his head in disbelief. Suddenly, he held his heart and looked in pain. “What... has happened?”Alex raised his gaze and panicked at Roberto’s pale face. Had he lied too much to the old man to cause a relapse of his heart disease?“Sir, calm
In the car, Alex waited uncertainly. Dante still hadn’t called him, so he was worried. Was everything okay?He held his cell phone uncertainly. After some consideration, he finally decided to call him. The phone rang for a long time, but Dante didn’t answer.“Ah, too long. I’d rather go up to the penthouse,” he muttered.Finally, Alex grabbed the gun from the dashboard and exited the car. He had to carry a weapon, just in case. After that, he hurried up to the penthouse.Arriving at the penthouse floor, Alex pressed the bell several times. Unfortunately, no one would open the door for him. He sighed and barged in with his access card.The first sight he saw surprised Alex. The penthouse was a mess. Rose petals and small crushed candles were scattered on the floor. Some glassware, such as vases, was also broken and scattered.Alex immediately went deeper and saw Dante sitting quietly at the dining table. Lizzy and Aland, who were standing in the corridor, immediately looked at Alex exp