DANTE'S POVOutside of the panes of glass framing the hotel window, the Tokyo skyline stretched far out. Very distantly, the roar of jet engines droned softly in my ears. A thousand miles away from Chicago, the weight of home hung heavy on my chest.Jasper, Camilla. Their names echo in my head-the sound of this never-stopping drum, with every second passed a little louder than the one before. I had been telling myself this trip was necessary and would show me perspectives with distance. So far, it has done nothing but echo; the gnawing at my soul."Boss, you ready?" Alex's voice crackled through the phone I had on speaker, breaking into my spiraling thoughts. "We've got a meeting with the Japanese investors in thirty minutes."I rubbed my face, trying to come awake inside my skull. "Yeah, I'll be there.""Are you good?" This time, Alex's voice let through shades of concern, more than his originally set nonchalant tone.I hedged. Alex was more than my right-hand man, one of a handful o
CAMILLA'S POVI sat amidst the darkly illuminated atmosphere of Jasper's room as his scent refused to leave his pillow. His nightstand still had the toy aircraft, a reminder that life once moved here. I always find my solace in this room, a feeling that my son was still alive. Dante had left me to suffer alone and drown with guilt. I haven't had a sound sleep for days. With closed eyes came all his images: laughter, cries, and last moments before he finally disappeared.I pulled his blanket tighter into my grasp, clutching onto it, as if somehow this could bring him back. My eyes had burned from a lack of sleep, pounding in my head from non-stop crying, but I hadn't moved. I simply did not want to leave this room, because it is the last place that feels like him.A knock came on the door and cut through the silence of the atmosphere. I said nothing in response; maybe whoever it was would go away.The door creaked open, followed by the sound of Anthony's voice: "Camilla, it's me."
DANTE'S POV.The flight landed in Chicago right after midnight, but it felt like a couple of days had passed since I'd last slept. My head pounded with exhaustion, but not from the travel; from the weight I carried, the guilt clinging to me like a second skin. I'd left this city in a storm of my own making and was coming back, hopeful to undo the damage.I slumped back against the seat of the black SUV. Alex had arranged to wait for us at the airport. The city skyline blurred out the window, but I didn't notice. My head was too full of Camilla. I'd hurt her. When she needed me to have her back, to shield her from the hurt and let her grieve in a safe place, that was when I lashed out and pushed her away.I pressed my fingers against my temples and breathed deeply. I was scared, I realized. Afraid of facing her, of looking into her eyes and seeing the pain and hurt and knowing I'd put it there, if not all but most of it. But I couldn't run anymore, I had to make it right. "Alex," I wh
Camilla's POVI shot up from the bed as my heart tumbled faster, like it was in a mad relay to outrun my rib cage. The room spun once as my vision started blurring in a second. The ringing of my heartbeat in my ears drowned everything out as the visual of Dante pointing at us with his pistol flashed before me."Dante." My voice shook; the words were painted with terror. "It's not what you think."His eyes gleamed bright with wildness, his jaw clenched hard, and every inch of him unrelenting, a statue standing, not quite believing me."Not what I think?" he growled in a low rumble-the contained rage started to slip from him. "Then explain, Camilla. Because where I'm standing and staring, it looks pretty fucking obvious to me."Anthony groaned beside me, rubbing his head as if he had been in a deep sleep. I whipped my head around to him, the weight of the situation crushing me."Anthony, wake up!" I shoved his shoulder harder than I meant to. A few times he blinked before his eyes lande
Dante’s POVI hadn't slept a second. The hours dragged along, choking me with their dark cloud of rage and disbelief till dawn. And sitting in the corner of my room, looking at nothing, I saw all shadows upon the wall. It's just the same scene that keeps running in my head since yesterday, deeper with every breath.Camilla. Anthony.I felt like I'd just been hit with a sledgehammer. I was in mourning, lost in my sorrow, and I thought she was with me, grieving with me. But she found comfort in him. Anthony, one of my trusted men, the man I put there to protect her when I couldn't.And then they went behind my back and started an affair.A bitter laugh exploded from my lips because there was nothing funny, but rather desolate. I also felt pretty grateful that Anthony was there for Camilla when I wasn't even able to be, who gave her strength and comfort when I couldn't, but it was fake, there was a motivation behind it, and Camilla…“My god, how was I so blind?” I rubbed my palms on my f
CAMILLA'S POV The door bursts open with such force that the handle slammed against the wall. My breath caught, and I froze.He stood in the doorway, his fury brimmed to melt steel in his eyes, clenching his jaw, his fists shook beside him as if he was about to strike something, or better still, somebody."Camilla," he said my name as if it were a curse. The words fall from his lips without warmth, not semblances of the man who used to love me but cold, venomous anger.I blink, incredulous at what had just transpired. My heart pounds against my chest as I automatically rise from bed, setting space between us. "Dante, hear me out, I don't know how this happened. ""Don't play dumb with me, Camilla. I have seen everything." His voice was very low and menacing. "Tell me, since when has this been happening?"My brain froze. “I don't understand.” My throat clutched. "What are you talking about?""The affair. With Anthony," he spits, and my blood runs cold. "How long has it been happening,
CAMILLA'S POV. I could hardly believe my eyes when Dante came back into the room after some minutes and grasped me, pulling my arm with speed toward the door with so much force. He has never handled me that way before. I ended up behind him-not actually walking, but rather stumbling-with the drumming of my heartbeat in my head so hard that I wondered if he could hear the sound. My mouth goes dry; my hand twists futilely to wrestle free from his grasp as he pulls me after him, dragging me after him with no mercy. "Dante, stop! Please, I swear I didn't do anything!" I yell, my voice shaking, a million thoughts racing in my head but one thing that was clear is just how very angry he is."Enough, Camilla. You're going to see precisely what you have caused." His voice was icy; low growling coursed with shivers down my spine.I tried again to pull away, hands slipping from his grasp, but it was futile. “Dante, please," I beg again, my voice little more than a whisper now. "You're making
Dante's POVThe tension in the car was unbearable, some smothering mix of rage and frustration that seared my chest. Anthony sat quietly in the back, head bowed, but submissiveness from him was a fib I wasn't buying. Alex sat beside me, his jaw clamped shut so tightly with every passing second, I half-expected any minute to hear the cracking sound of his teeth. I insisted on driving myself, I grasped the steering wheel far tighter than the drive required and felt that this should somehow squelch the brewing storm inside.The desperate tone of Camilla still echoed in my head. Probably he is innocent; probably he'd been set up. The words sounded like a dagger plunged into my back. She did not plead for her innocence but for him. The thought lit a new wave of fury inside me.“Eyes on the road, Boss," Alex said finally after what felt like an eternity; his tone was even, but his shoulders told a different story. "We are close to the safe house."I nodded curtly, the words catching in my t
Chapter 171: A Second ChanceCamilla's PovStanding before me was the woman that I once thought was dead. She stared at me. Her steely resolve faltered to tears glistening in her eyes."What did you just call me?" shaking she whispered "Mom? Do...do you know me?"I swallowed hard, my stomach twisted up with nerves. "Yes, I know you," I said, and I could barely keep the shaking out of my voice. "I grew up seeing your picture in my parent's house. They told me you were my biological mother… but that my father, John, killed you. I—I thought you were dead.”“Who were the parents who raised you?” she questioned with a stern expression.“Your brother, Benson, and his wife, Olivia.” Carol's face crumpled, and the sight caught at my chest. She shook as she extended her hands toward me. "Camilla…my daughter. I—I had no idea.""Mom," I whispered. "You were alive, all these years.And with that, consumed with sobs, she pulled me into her arms tightly. It was as though all that noise going on a
Dante's POVThe air hung heavy in the room. Ella sat on the ground at the center of the dimly lit basement, her face a mask of defiance though bruises colored her pale skin. I was leaning casually against the table with Ella's phone in my hand, observing her."You're going to prove stubborn to the end, aren't you?" I said icily.She sneered, her swollen lip curling in defiance. "You'll get nothing from me, Dante."Alex was leaning against the doorframe, his arms folded over his chest as he regarded Ella. "We've tried every method. She's either too loyal or too scared."I clenched my fist. The image of Anthony pulling strings behind her seemed seared into my brain. "Or both," I muttered.The phone buzzed on the desk, and I sprang up, and picked it up-the flashing unknown number danced across the screen. Alex took another step closer, taut."Answer it," he said.I nodded and took it to my ear but didn't say anything. The other line was silent too. And then I just waited. The silence hun
Camilla's POV"Dante, you need to sit down for this," Alex said. His voice came out measured, and I could feel the weight of it. Even Dante's eyes seemed to fill with tension though he leaned against the pillows, he looked much better than this morning, but the body still wasn't up and working just yet.I sat on the edge of the chair beside him, watching as the flicker of every emotion crossed his face. My heart could be pounding against my chest, and I wasn't about to show evidence of it."What's wrong?" Dante asked more like jabbed.Alex gave a quick glance my way before he turned back to him. "Ella faked her pregnancy."His face contorted further, a scrunched-up mess as his gaze soured into an accusing scowl. "What?”"She bribed the doctors," I said. "Also the one that diagnosed and confirmed your condition the first time, the doctor knew about the poisoning but gave us a wrong diagnosis on purpose.” The silent seconds ticked over before Dante's hands actually fisted. "Why? What
Camilla's POV"You're positive she went inside?" I whispered, clenching the steering wheel tightly. I was staring into the entrance of the hospital, my nerves heightened.Alex's voice scratched in my earpiece, firm but wary. "Positive. She just went in. Do you want to back up?” I bit my lip, my fingers dancing on the wheel. "No. Go back home and keep an eye on Dante. It's something I need to deal with myself. Weeks of suspicious behavior on Ella's part had set warning bells ringing in my mind, and today I was going to finally confirm what my gut had been screaming at me all along.I pulled my coat tighter against the biting cold and stepped out of the car. The air was sharp, that kind of chill that burrowed deep in your bones, but I didn't notice. My attention was razor-sharp as I walked briskly across the parking lot and into the warm, sterile lobby of the hospital.Keep your head down. Act normal.The soft chime of the elevator doors slid open, releasing me onto the fourth floor,
Camilla's POV My breath caught as I watched Dante slumped against the headboard, hacking into his lungs. A bit of blood trickled from between his lips and onto his palm and down his hand, spilling onto the sheets. My heart boomed in my chest loud enough to block everything else."Dante!" I shrieked, scrambling onto the bed beside him. "What's going on?”His head swung once in a poor attempt at shaking. "I. I don't know," he spoke in low tones.I grabbed a towel, pressing it to his mouth in hopes of halting the stream of blood while my hands violently shook. "Don't speak. Just breathe. I'm going to call Alex," I said, reaching for my phone.It rang once, and then Alex answered."Camilla? What's going on?""Get here! Now!" I ordered. "Get a doctor, the one that knows what he's doing. Dante is coughing out blood!""What? Is it-""As soon as possible, Alex!" I cut him off, hooking the disconnect button.Dante's hand clutched mine weakly, his eyes searching for mine. "Camilla. I'm fine,"
Camilla's POVI stirred the coffee in my mug, my gaze darting to Dante, who sat on the bed edge, rubbing his temples. He was pale, far too pale. The composed veneer he always wore slumped in exhaustion."You don't look good," I said, placing the mug on the nightstand and sitting beside him.Dante let out a sigh and leaned back against the headboard. "I just need some sleep, Camilla. That's all.""No, it's not," I said, laying a hand on his forehead. He wasn't warm, but his skin felt clammy. "You have been pushing yourself too hard. You look sick, you are going to see the doctor.""I'm fine," he muttered, waving me off. “I don't fall sick.”"Dante, stop being stubborn," I snapped. "If you're fine, then just humor me. Let me take you to the hospital."Before he could disagree, a knock was heard at the door. I gave him a pointed glance before crossing the room and wrenching the door open.There she was, standing with her luggage in hand and looking between regret and resolutions swimming
Camilla's POVThe chill of the night leaned against my skin as I watched Dante's car and a few other cars following him disappear into the distance. Something wasn't quite right with it; it sat in my belly like a weight of bad news. The gestures had been measured, urgent-unnatural. Dante just wasn't one to go off without a scheme in his pocket, and experience told me his schemes came with danger clinging to them like an over-attached lover.I slid into my car, grasping the wheel. "What are you up to now, Dante?" I muttered under my breath.I hung back, careful to stay several car lengths behind. The road opened up before me, twisting and turning into a secluded area. My headlight was off, guided by the dim light of their tail lights.A place where they had stopped gave me the heebie-jeebies; it was dark, isolated, and quiet except for the rustling of leaves in the wind. I could feel my pulse as I drove a distance away and got out of the car.I dropped into a crouch, quiet, and made my
Dante's POVThe only noise within the study room was the whir of machinery around me, all watching and waiting for something to happen. I leaned back in my chair, peering up at the screen in front of me displaying Kate's position. She was sitting in one of the rooms, completely unaware of the bug within her phone as she ran nervous fingers through her hair."You've been watching her every day, you really think he'll call her?" Alex asked, standing behind me."He will," I said, my tone cold with certainty. "Anthony's too smart to leave without trying to tie up his loose ends. And Kate? She's the weakest link."Alex ceased pacing and faced me. "Do you trust her?"I looked at him. "Trust her? No. But guilt makes people do some pretty unpredictable things. She'll lead us to him.”The moment I'd stopped talking, her phone flared to life. My heart quickened, I sat up, gesturing for Alex to quiet. Kate reached for it gingerly and answered."Hello?" she whispered, and the word shook.There wa
Ella's POVI was seated cross-legged in the plush chair in the guest house; the only sound was that of the air conditioner humming away in the dark. I had been staring for minutes on end at the phone in my hand as if it held all the answers I needed. Anthony's name flashed across the screen, I'd been waiting to hear from him for a while now. I answered immediately. "Anthony," I said smoothly, careful that the eagerness didn't leak into my voice. "What a surprise."His voice came through sharp and urgent, and for once betrayed his façade of calm. "Ella, how are things going? Has there been any progress?"I let a small, appeasing smile slide onto my face as my eyes strayed to the window where, below me, sprawled the estate. Dante's empire was heady to look upon, and for the first time, I was inside. Well, it had taken years of planning. "It couldn't go any better," I replied, my tone airy but edgy. "I have gotten closer to Dante, and he has started trusting me again.”"And Camilla?" H