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
“Get some rest. Don’t worry about anything. There will be people looking after you outside the room,” Roberto said after talking to Natalie for a while.“Thank you,” Natalie said sincerely. Roberto was a good old man. His demeanor was gentle, reminding her of her grandfather.Roberto smiled and left the room. Natalie took a deep breath, trying to make herself more calm and comfortable. She looked around and noticed the room.It was just like a normal bedroom. The bed was soft and comfortable, not like a hospital bed. However, there was medical equipment that confused her. Was she still at the winery? She forgot to ask Roberto.The door to the room was firmly closed. Natalie didn’t hear anyone outside. Finally, she closed her eyes again. Her body still felt weak, and she didn’t want to do anything but sleep.Meanwhile, Dante sat at his desk, pondering. His grandfather had told him not to bother Natalie. So, for the rest of the night, he didn’t see her again.He opened his locked drawer
A maid, dressed in a classic black-and-white uniform, delivered breakfast to Natalie. She smiled kindly as she said, “Miss, this is your breakfast. Do you need anything else?”Natalie nodded. She immediately asked, “Where is this place? Is it still at the winery?”The maid smiled. “Miss, this is the basement under the winery.”The answer surprised Natalie quite a bit. She didn’t expect it to be a basement at all. No wonder there were no windows in the room she was staying in.“Is anyone outside? Where’s Dante?” she asked.“Mr. Alex is on guard outside. As for Mr. Vittorio, I didn’t see him. Maybe he’s in his office.”The corner of Natalie’s eyebrow rose. “Office?”The maid nodded. “Could it be that you don’t know?”“Ah....” Natalie pretended to laugh and shook her head. “I thought he went out because he hasn’t come to see me since I woke up. Maybe he has a lot of work to do.”“Oh.” The maid just nodded before saying goodbye to leave. Natalie didn’t hold it against her. She looked down
Dante kicked her out?Natalie was so shocked that she didn’t know how to react. It was supposed to be something joyous. How long had she wanted to hear those words from Dante’s mouth?Yet, when she actually heard them, somehow she didn’t feel that happiness. Natalie knew something was wrong with her heart because she didn’t want Dante to kick her out. She didn’t want him to throw her out.It wasn’t solely because she was on a mission to investigate the Vittorio family business. But it was because only Dante wanted her. Only Dante worshipped her body like Dionysus worshipped Ariadne.He might be cruel and heartless, but there was no man in the world as devoted to her as Dante. No woman could seduce him because he was only seduced by her.No one was so possessive of her as Dante was. No one protected her so much as he protected her from his enemies.Natalie was probably out of her mind for wanting it all. She felt like she was going crazy and losing her mind. Her tears fell unstoppably,
Natalie observed Dante’s handsome face closed. The man had been sleeping for some time. His breathing seemed to rise and fall gently and regularly. Wouldn’t he be worried if she secretly searched his office?She glanced around and sighed. It was Dante’s secret office, and there were probably a lot of important secrets stored there. However, Natalie didn’t want to check it out. She was afraid Dante would wake up and get angry.A knock on the door suddenly sounded. Dante’s eyebrows furrowed. His senses were really sensitive. Natalie rubbed his chest gently, then whispered, “I’ll open it.”Dante mumbled incoherently without opening his eyes. Natalie finally stood up and went to open the door. It was Alex who came in. His face looked tense as if something urgent was going on.“What’s wrong? Dante is sleeping,” Natalie said.“Wake him up! There’s someone who wants to see him,” Alex ordered seriously.“What’s so urgent? Dante didn’t sleep last night. Let him sleep a little longer.”Alex sho
Dante drove Natalie to the penthouse and then hurried away. He said he would shower and change at the office. Natalie didn’t know if he was being honest with his words, but she didn’t question him at all.When lunchtime came, Natalie’s phone suddenly rang with an incoming call. She hesitated whether to pick it up, finally leaving it on until the call stopped.A moment later, an incoming message came from the same number. She opened it immediately and read that the person was Francesca. The secretary was awake and wanted to talk to her.Finally, Natalie called Francesca immediately. “I’m so sorry, I just came from the bathroom,” she lied. “How are you now? I’m really sorry about yesterday.”Francesca sighed and replied, “Don’t worry, Miss Smith. I’m feeling better now. I called you so you wouldn’t be worried about me.”“Is someone looking after you at the hospital?” Natalie asked.“Yes. There are Mr. Vittorio’s subordinates outside.”Natalie shook her head. “I’ll be right there,” she s
In a large mansion, an old man was smoking a wooden cigar pipe. A recent issue of a magazine was on his lap. He looked very relaxed while reading his magazine.A bodyguard suddenly came and handed the old man a cell phone. “Sir, I have a message for you.”“What is it?” The old man watched the phone screen with narrowed eyes. A video played and showed a scene of two men talking to make a deal. He recognized one of them.“What is Edric doing?” the old man asked.“Dante’s secretary is in the hospital. Yesterday she ate the gelato given to Dante’s fiancée and ended up poisoned. After some investigation, they found this footage,” the bodyguard explained.“Really? Did Camilla send Edric?” The old man named Henry frowned as he watched the videotape. “Quickly, call the girl here!”“Okay.”The bodyguard left immediately. Henry smoked his cigar pipe and waited grimly. About half an hour later, he heard a car entering the courtyard. He rushed out onto the second-floor terrace.Camilla got out of
Natalie was a little surprised that Dante had suddenly asked her to come to his office. He said Alex was picking her up and would probably arrive in a few minutes.“What’s wrong?” Francesca asked after Natalie hung up the phone from Dante.“Dante asked me to come to his office. I don’t know if it’s anything important,” Natalie replied.“Maybe he misses you.” Francesca chuckled, then smiled. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll be fine here with a bodyguard outside,” she said.“I’ll come here again tomorrow if you’re not allowed to go home yet,” Natalie said.“Thank you.”Moments later, Alex walked into the room. He didn’t immediately ask Natalie to leave, but approached Francesca and asked, “How are you now?”“I’m fine. Thank you for helping me so much,” Francesca said sincerely. Yesterday, Alex took care of all her hospital needs.“My pleasure,” Alex said. He smiled and then asked Natalie to leave.Natalie said goodbye to Francesca before walking away with Alex. On the way, she asked the man why
The next day, Dante drove Natalie and her grandmother home. Alex came with him, too.When they arrived, there were already several bodyguards standing guard at Minerva’s house. Natalie was surprised and asked Dante as soon as they got out of the car. “You arranged this?”“Your grandmother asked for it,” Dante replied casually.Minerva, who heard that, immediately coughed. How could that man take advantage of an old woman like her?“Grandma?” Natalie looked at Minerva in surprise. She never thought her grandmother would ask something like that of Dante.“You don’t mind, do you?” asked Minerva, supporting Dante’s lie. After all, the man was pretending not to know about the attack that night.Natalie shook her head slowly. The placement of bodyguards was a good thing. It wouldn’t be easy for Leon or George’s gang to get to her if there were bodyguards. It was better that she didn’t make a big deal out of it.“Thank you,” she said to Dante. She was just worried that he already knew someth
When Dante arrived at the hospital, it was midnight and past visiting hours. However, he could sneak in with Alex’s help.In front of a closed door, he stood uncertainly. Moments later, he knocked softly on the door. It didn’t take long for Minerva to open the door.“Dante?” The old lady looked surprised, not expecting to see Dante there. Hadn’t Natalie hidden their whereabouts at the hospital?Dante pressed an index finger to his lips, asking Minerva to keep quiet. He glanced into the room and saw Natalie already sleeping. “Sorry, my arrival was too sudden and intrusive,” he whispered.Minerva immediately shook her head. “Not at all. Natalie must be happy to have you here. Please come in,” she said gently.Dante did not enter immediately. Instead, he walked to a waiting chair outside the room. Minerva sensed he had something to say, so she closed the door and followed him.“What is it? Do you have something to say?” Minerva asked.The man sighed. “Natalie hid everything from me. She
Dante wasn’t very busy that day and didn’t want to overthink about Natalie, so he came to visit his grandfather’s winery in Napa Valley. It was only about an hour and a half away from where he was staying.Roberto’s winery and vineyard in Napa Valley was much bigger than the branch in New York. However, the old man was more comfortable living in New York, where he could oversee his family’s illegal business.The manager and person in charge of the winery was Javer, one of Dante’s uncles, with whom he had almost no dealings. Javer only focused on taking care of the winery and never wanted to deal with the Vittorio family’s illegal business. So Dante also rarely interacted with him.When Dante came to visit, Javer was naturally surprised. The tall man met him immediately. “Dante, what’s so magical about you coming here?” His tone was sarcastic.“Uncle, I see your vineyard is getting busy,” Dante said as he watched the planters tending to the vines.Javer snorted. “Does the sunrise from
At night, Dante sat on a bar stool, massaging his forehead. His eyes were closed. The whiskey glass before him was empty, but his mood still hadn’t improved.Alex walked over and patted him on the back. “What are you going to do after this?”“I don’t know,” Dante muttered. He looked lethargic and lackluster. His cell phone rang for the umpteenth time, but he ignored it.“Do you hate her?” Alex asked, after seeing how Dante repeatedly ignored Natalie’s phone calls. It made him wonder how he felt about her.“I don’t know.”Dante asked the bartender for another whiskey. He seemed reluctant and lazy to talk about Natalie. However, the more unwilling he was to talk about her, the more obvious his fear of facing his emotions and feelings became.Alex, who had worked with Dante for years, could certainly recognize his abnormality. Although the man didn’t say or express it, Alex knew Dante must be disappointed with Natalie.“You wouldn’t just leave her, would you?” Alex sat down next to Dante
Natalie had received many stitches on her arm. The palm of her left hand was also stitched up. She was hospitalized and didn’t regain consciousness until the morning.When she opened her eyes, the first person she saw was her grandmother. The old lady was sitting on the sofa beside the hospital bed with her eyes closed. Her face and skin looked tired.Unconsciously, Natalie’s tears fell. She cried and sobbed not because of the pain in her body, but because she remembered the horrific incident of last night. She still felt scared and shocked.Minerva, who couldn’t sleep well, heard Natalie’s sobs. Both of her eyes opened. “Oh, my dear...”She got up and approached her granddaughter. Her hand gently rubbed Natalie’s head. “Are you feeling sick? I’ll call the doctor,” she said.Natalie shook her head. She wanted to grasp her grandmother’s hand, but she couldn’t move her hand. It was excruciating. Her left palm was also bandaged, and she couldn’t hold on to anything.“Don’t move too much.
Again, it was about Dante. Natalie took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “Why do you think I know about that? He’s an acute paranoid. Do you think he’d tell me every time he traveled?”The man shoved the muzzle of his gun harder into the back of Natalie’s head. “If he were wary of you, he wouldn’t treat you like a lover,” he said coldly.Natalie clenched her hands into fists. “You must not know him. He’s good at acting.”“Where did he go?!” the man snapped slightly while pushing the gun hard out of impatience. Natalie’s head hurt from the weapon. She stifled her groan.“I don’t know,” Natalie hissed. She secretly held the scissors under her pants. If the situation was urgent, she might use it to stab the man.“You don’t seem to be taking my threats seriously.” Suddenly, the man kicked Natalie’s leg so hard that she fell to her knees. Both knees hit the floor, and it hurt a lot.Natalie’s eyes watered slightly. She gritted her teeth against the pain and anger. “Are you George and
That night, Natalie spent time with her grandmother in bed. She lay down and hugged the old woman warmly. “Grandma, what’s been going on for the past two years?”Minerva gently stroked Natalie’s head. “Nothing special. I went to London a few times when I was bored.”Before Natalie was imprisoned, she often took her grandmother out to shopping, to social gatherings, or simply to travel abroad on vacation. However, since her arrest and imprisonment, Minerva rarely went out.“Darling, can you tell me what really happened back then? I know you couldn’t have committed a crime, so who framed you so cruelly?”Natalie closed her eyes. “It wasn’t Brent,” she whispered.“Are you sure it wasn’t your ex?” Minerva asked to make sure.Natalie nodded. She had been imprisoned for premeditated murder. She was accused of hiring a hitman to kill Beverley by running her over with a car. However, Chris, Brent’s twin brother, saved Beverley, which made him hit by the car and killed.Brent Oliver investigat
An old lady wearing a cardigan and a long skirt came out of the house. Her graying hair was neatly put in a bun. She looked so elegant despite her age.The old lady walked to the fence of the house. Even her steps looked calm and graceful. Natalie, who saw the lady, immediately smiled with emotion. “My grandma hasn’t changed,” she murmured.“So gorgeous,” Dante praised. He was amazed by how graceful and gentle Natalie’s grandmother was, like a noble lady.“Grandma!” Natalie called out to her grandmother. The old lady, who initially felt a little confused, immediately smiled.Minerva Wentworth immediately asked her housemaid to open the gate. “Please, open the gate!”The housemaid opened the gate. Natalie immediately ran inside and hugged her grandmother. Her long-held longing turned into tears.“Grandma...”“Oh, my dear, you’re finally home,” Minerva whispered as she rubbed Natalie’s back. Then, gently and lovingly, she kissed her granddaughter’s head.“Grandma, I’ve missed you,” Nata
Natalie slept in Dante’s arms. The fever made her dream of something unwanted.In her dream, she saw a group of assassins chase Dante and injure him badly. However, the dream suddenly changed, showing a scene where the man slashed her body with a knife and whipped the incision until it tore.“Why did you betray me, Cavendish?!” shouted Dante angrily. He whipped and tortured her body until it bled.She screamed and cried, but Dante cried, too. He tortured her while shedding tears. His eyes were filled with pain and disappointment.“I’m sorry...” she whispered.On the bed of the private jet, Dante frowned. He looked down at Natalie’s tear-streaked face. Her expression looked so painful. It confused him.“Cavey?” He tried to wake her up. However, Natalie seemed to be lost in her dream. She kept mumbling apologies while crying.“Cavey, wake up!” Dante shook Natalie’s body until she gasped. Her eyes opened, and she immediately got up to sit. Her face was pale, and her breathing rose and fe