Chapter 1

The birds singing announced the beginning of a new morning, the sun was streaming through the

curtains of the window of the room that Rebeca had assigned her, the television announced that it

was 7 am, it was time to get up to send her son to school.

Dante was only 5 years old, he was just starting kindergarten, and would definitely not miss a

single day of his classes no matter how tired or stressed she was, Caterina had married very young

to Henry Pines, her great love from high school, and, without wasting much time, they had started

their little family with great enthusiasm at first, however, the high school girl's dream had faded

too soon.

Henry was neither a great husband nor the best father, he never lasted in any job and always had

the silliest excuses to justify it, she, in great stumbles, had finished her college studies when Dante

was just a baby, and had rushed to get a job, she was an artist, a painter, and there wasn't much

work for an art graduate.

Still, she had managed to become a teacher of it at a private school where she was paid enough to

live more or less well, but money was always in short supply because of the wastefulness her

mediocre husband used to do. Bad investments, money lost in drunkenness or in a bachelor life

that the man should no longer be given from the moment he became a father, getting only drive

her crazy by the many debts that were accumulating, debts that she always made an effort to pay,

and yet, of no use when her brand-new husband eloped with his older sister, Agatha, taking with

him that last and huge loan she had requested, losing forever the apartment she had acquired

with much sacrifice in the mortgage made by him.

Also, somehow emptying the accounts in her name, leaving her and her son in absolute ruin, 6

months had passed since then and Caterina still couldn't get up, Henry and Agatha had

disappeared without a trace of their whereabouts, and everyone had deliberately turned their

backs on her for something that wasn't even her fault, everyone questioned her, were you taking

good care of him? Were you giving him enough sex? You must have done something wrong for

him to do that to you, every damn word that came from the lips of those who were supposed to

be family and friends blamed her for what Henry had done of his own free will, making her

suffering even more unbearable.

“Mommy, Aunt Becca said she would take me to school, can you sleep a little longer, I know you

are sleepy, she said so”.

The tender and childish voice of her son, brought her out of those negative thoughts, Dante only

had her, and for him, she could not give up, her son, was all she had in the world, and for him, she

was able to endure anything, even that man with an intimidating presence who had told her a lot

of nonsense the night before at the bar Rebeca ran.

“That’s very good my little prince, come, we have to give you breakfast and change your clothes,

thank aunt Becca for taking you” Caterina answered her little son.

“Yes, they will take me by car!” shouted the little boy excitedly, not knowing how much joy he was

giving his mother with that alone.

“He’s an amazing boy, I'm glad you finally accepted my offer, that Henry is a son of a bitch” said

Rebecca sincerely.

Caterina looked at her friend, Rebecca Wilson, she was the most popular girl in high school, the

most beautiful and she had a thousand reasons to be, her skin was brown, gorgeous, as if kissed

by the sun, her eyes were an incredible green, almost like emeralds, her hair was thick, silky and

black, the color of ebony, her body was lush, and she was still so beautiful even after the recent

maternity she had gone through, she was, without a doubt, a real beauty of 1. 80 who always had

something accurate and openly sincere to say.

“It’s his loss, I... I really feel very grateful that you took us in, without you we probably would have

ended up sleeping on a park bench, I hope your husband doesn't mind this” Caterina said to

Rebeca with sincerity.

Rebeca looked at her old friend, Caterina was indeed a beautiful girl, of that much more innocent

type of beauty, without being extravagant, her eyes blue like sea water, were beautiful, very

sincere, her skin was white, almost as white as porcelain, although she was tanned from

constantly walking under the sun to the school where she worked, her body, although less

proportionate than hers, had perfect curves and a prominent bust, although, she never showed

those attributes to anyone, she had always been too demure, and, besides being beautiful, she

had an incredible talent.

She painted, she played the violin, she had everything to succeed on her own, she had everything

to succeed on her own, however, her early marriage to that shameless man who had eloped with

her sister, had dulled much of that glow that had always characterized her, and, although she

knew that the pretty girl was not suitable to work in a bar even if the place was first class, she had

nothing better to offer her, she would make money out of it, at least enough to lift herself out of

the mire Enrique had left her in, they were friends, the best, Caterina always looked out for her

every moment her drug addiction was about to destroy her life. ... that's why she never left her

alone, never.

“He agrees with me, we are glad to have you here, you are welcome as long as you need to stay”

Becca answered sincerely.

“Come on, rest, I know you didn't finish your shift very well last night, the Visconti are usually

capricious, especially Hades, he's incredibly handsome and no doubt, he would give you an

amazing night of sex, but I understand he's not your type” said the beautiful brunette between

laughs.

“No, I struggled a lot to get him off my back, he wouldn't leave me alone until I agreed to tell him

my last name, although, of course, I gave him a fake one” Caterina replied to that animated

comment from her best friend.

Becca's face had become serious.

“ You shouldn't have done that, Hades, no doubt, and due to the great interest he showed in you,

he will investigate further, when he discovers that you lied to him, he will be furious, the Visconti

are not people to make fun of, they are powerful, leaders of mafias that you don't even know,

elite, millionaires by birth and dangerous par excellence, I hope that how much he liked you, will

minimize his anger, for your sake I hope so “ said Rebecca seriously.

Caterina felt surprised at that, she had no idea that that annoying and rude man was really

someone so important, perhaps, it had not been a good idea to lie to him.

“If I see him tonight, I will apologize, I had no idea he was someone so dangerous and important”

Caterina answered with a hint of concern.

The afternoon had arrived, and with it, their painting classes were over, the children were running

from one side to the other without stopping in search of their parents who were coming to pick

them up from school. She, too, was in too much of a hurry to catch up with Dante leaving hers, but

Becca had instructed the driver serving her to pick up her son as well.

It was the first time in months that she could walk somewhat leisurely without rushing. The walk

to her friend's luxurious home wasn't too long really, in half an hour on foot she could get there,

she needed to think, get her thoughts in order, and, when she arrived, grab that hideous,

shameless uniform, and then pray to God that handsome mobster didn't show up at the bar that

night, she honestly didn't know what to say to him about the lie she had told him.

Walking distractedly, she didn't notice the handsome man watching her raptly, crossing to catch

up with her from across the street.

“Caterina, is you Caterina De Santis?”

That manly voice brought her out of her thoughts, looking towards the man who called her, the

girl's eyes lit up, elegance only characteristic of her old friend from the art faculty, expensive fancy

suits, black hair like night and beautiful sapphire blue eyes, manly and too handsome, older than

her by 5 years, her superior, Zeus Visconti.

“Zeus, it's been a long time since I've seen you, what a coincidence to meet you” said Caterina

with a beautiful smile.

That young woman looked as beautiful as he remembered her from two years ago when he had

met her, he, an art teacher by mere taste, had fallen in love with her, however, great was his

disappointment when he found out that she was married.

“It’s true, what a nice coincidence, tell me how are your husband and son?” asked the handsome

and elegant man with great interest.

Caterina's countenance darkened for a moment.

“Oh, well, Dante is wonderful, he's grown up a lot since that day you met him at the university, as

for Enrique.... Well, I guess you didn't hear, we've been separated for several months now, I'm still

working hard, everything is going well” answered the young woman with annoyance.

Zeus' eyes shone with complacency, of course he had known, but his business had kept him quite

entertained and he hadn't had time to return until that day, this, was an opportunity he had been

waiting for a long time, one he would by no means let slip away.

“It’s a pity, I hope that someday you can accept an invitation to have a coffee and chat more

pleasantly, this is my number, for now I must go, my younger brother is waiting for me, I haven't

seen him for years” said Zeus pointing to his number on a piece of paper that looked more like a

torn check.

“Thanks, I'll call you” replied Caterina saying goodbye to her old friend and mentor.

Looking at that number and the name written on it, she realized a detail she had not noticed the

night before, Visconti, that last name was the same, they both had it, that meant they were

brothers, Zeus, her kind mentor was the brother of Hades, the mobster of the bar who smelled of

danger, feeling really surprised, many questions were going through the girl's mind, many that, no

doubt, had unimaginable answers.

A reunion, unexpected for her, but anticipated by him, the paths were beginning to form without

anyone being able to avoid it.