Natalie woke up earlier than usual. It was still dark. She got out of bed and winced at the pain in her thighs. The whip wound remained bruised despite Cora’s compresses and ointments.Her brow furrowed, but then she took a deep breath. She was more relaxed, and her mind was clearer after a few hours of sleep.“I’ve had worse than this. Two lashes are nothing,” she muttered without emotion.Her two feet stepped into the narrow bathroom. Moments later, she came out looking much fresher. Her face was plain without makeup.She opened the window and breathed in the cool morning air. It was late summer, approaching fall. Her hard times might be coming soon.At that moment, a car suddenly rolled into the courtyard of the mansion. As usual, Natalie liked to keep an eye on the situation down there. Something immediately intrigued her when she saw a luxuriously dressed young woman get out of the car. It was the first time a woman had come to the mansion during her stay there.The stranger clos
“I guess Alex’s warning last night was just a wind-up for you,” Dante said expressionlessly. His cold, piercing gaze seemed to pierce Natalie’s back to her solar plexus.Natalie was silent, not reacting.Laura, on the other hand, turned around. She asked, “What warning?”Dante ignored his little sister’s question. He walked over to Natalie and stopped behind her. His right hand held her tense shoulder. He leaned down, whispering in her left ear, “Don’t take advantage of others, or the punishment for them will be more cruel than you deserve.”“She’s your little sister,” Natalie muttered expressionlessly. She remained staring straight ahead, not turning her head toward the man at all.“You think I can’t be cruel to my sister?” The corners of Dante’s lips curled up. He smiled crookedly. “I don’t mind eliminating a stupid girl like her. I didn’t like her to begin with.”Natalie tensed up even more at that. She immediately turned her head to stare at Dante’s face, which was so close to her
Natalie’s whole body was tense. Her heart was beating erratically. Dante was on top of her. He silenced her mouth with the palm of his left hand while his right hand opened the nightstand drawer to retrieve a gun.Shots from outside came raining down on the bed. It was so quick and short, as if they just wanted to kill the owner of the bed, and that was it. There was no sound whatsoever.Dante’s expression was cold. His gaze was watchful. The door to the room suddenly opened. He immediately raised his gun.“It’s me!” Alex shouted in the doorway while raising both hands. Natalie, who saw him coming, felt a little relieved. At least she had survived the shooting incident.“Are you guys okay? Is anyone hurt?” Alex asked anxiously.Dante lowered his gun. He closed his eyes as he looked down deeply. “Who are they?” he asked coldly.“Not sure yet. Our men are chasing them,” Alex replied.“Who are they?” Dante asked again, that time looked at Natalie, who was still pale-faced. He gripped her
Dante rushed out of his office and went to his grandfather’s winery on the edge of town. On the way, he called Jayde.“Stop looking for those people. Jayde, go back and help Alex investigate who Alfonso Verga’s henchmen are hiding in our mansion,” Dante ordered Jayde.“So, Don Verga was the one acting up this morning?” Jayde asked.Dante leaned his back casually. The corners of his lips lifted. “Yes, but I think I can take advantage of him. Just do your job. I'll take care of the rest.”“Okay.”“Don’t forget to keep a good eye on Natalie. I wonder if she has any dealings with the Verga family,” Dante added.Jayde immediately replied, “Understood.”Dante finally hung up the phone. He thought back to the text message Alfonso had sent. Why did the old man say he should be careful with the women around him?His suspicions were, of course, on Natalie. Perhaps Alfonso had arranged for Natalie to be by his side. That wasn’t impossible. However, Dante wasn’t so sure. After all, he’d met Natal
After Cicero left, the door was closed again. The room became silent. Roberto chuckled casually as he shook his head. “You’re quite tolerant of them,” he commented to Dante. He knew all too well how his grandchildren fought each other for power and influence in the underworld. It wasn’t just Dante’s younger siblings. His other grandchildren were the same way. They were family, but really, their relationship was more like competing royalty.Roberto sighed. “Your father’s inheritance was not small, but you didn’t take any of it. And even after all that, Anthony still doesn’t like you.”“I did that not because I wanted them to like me. Who cares how they pay me back?” Dante picked up the empty glass and poured himself some wine.“That’s good,” Roberto said softly. He was a man with five children. In the past, he had tried to be fair to them. However, divisions and disputes within the family persisted. One of his children had even died because of it. Dante had to be more careful than him
Natalie fell asleep with her hands still tied. The door to her room suddenly opened, startling her. She expected it to be Dante coming to untie her, but it turned out to be Cora.Cora entered and began to organize Natalie’s few belongings. It was the stuff that Dante had provided during Natalie’s stay.“What are you doing?” Natalie got up and asked in surprise.“Mr. Vittorio wants to move you tonight,” replied Cora, without looking at Natalie.“Move? Do you know where?” Natalie continued to probe.“No.”Natalie didn’t know if that was good or bad news. Inwardly, she wondered, Where would Dante move her to? What if the next place was worse than this mansion?“Can you untie it?” Natalie asked as she stood up from the bed. “Just let me.” Another voice suddenly sounded from the direction of the door. It was Laura, walking in with a pair of scissors. Cora immediately blocked her.“Miss, you shouldn’t do this, or Mr. Vittorio will be angry!” Cora said in a slightly bluff tone.“Nevermind.
“Where are you taking me?” Natalie asked immediately when Dante pulled her out of the mansion. He didn’t reply to her question.“Get in!” he ordered as he opened the car door. His expression was unreadable. Either he was in a good or bad mood.Natalie didn’t want to invite trouble. So she got into the car. Her luggage was already in the trunk. Then Dante got in and sat in the driver’s seat.There was no driver at that time. It was just the two of them. Dante drove the car, while Natalie was just silent with uncertain feelings. Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. Wouldn’t that be a good opportunity to escape?Natalie bit her lip as she looked down to hold back a smile. Dante glanced at her and secretly smirked. ‘What idea is she thinking of?’After quite some time, the car they were in finally entered the Manhattan area. Natalie kept quiet until they finally arrived at the basement of a luxury apartment building.Her forehead immediately creased deeply. She turned to Dante with a sus
“You’re... joking.” Natalie’s voice sounded a little shaky. She lay tense under Dante’s body. There had been several times the man had shown a desire for her body. However, she always managed to avoid him. What if she couldn’t avoid him anymore?The man smiled. His back was to the light, making his smile look grim and gray. She was not sure if he was smiling or smirking.“You’re afraid to fuck, aren’t you?” whispered Dante. His eyes flashed with malicious intent, like a beast ready to pounce on its prey. “What if we try it? Maybe you’ll like it.”Natalie swallowed. Her tongue felt tongue-tied. “Can you just ignore me? If you want to arrest me or detain me, do it. You can lock me up, but please don’t touch me.”She said it earnestly. Natalie was already too broken in the past and didn’t want to be even more broken in the future. She had to save her body before another man played with it.Dante seemed to tilt his head, as if considering. Then he shook his head. “How could I waste a woma
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
Dante gripped Natalie’s knife-wielding hand. The woman looked at him coldly and hostilely. “I can’t fail, Dante,” she hissed.Natalie’s left hand squeezed Dante’s cock until he closed his eyes and winced. She took the opportunity to remove her hand from his grip and then tried to stab him again.Dante quickly swatted her hand away until the knife slipped from her grasp and fell to the floor. Natalie gritted her teeth and quickly turned back, intending to go down to retrieve the knife.Of course, Dante didn’t let her. He grabbed her by the waist and slammed her onto the bed. She immediately punched him in the chest with full force and made him wince, but he maintained his position.Natalie raised her knee, about to kick him. He immediately blocked her knee with his knee. He gripped both her hands and looked at her coldly.“If you want to fight me, you should at least learn to hold a knife well, Natalie. Your fighting skills are so bad!” taunted Dante.Natalie moved her face forward and