Isabelle's eyes widened at the man standing in front of her. She had never imagined she would see him again. He had once been her school crush, the boy she had loved quietly from a distance, Dante Romano, even though their families were enemies.
Isabelle was the only heir of Alessandro Moretti, and both their families were known as legends of the underworld. The Moretti family operated Moretti Holdings, controlling the money laundering operations, while the Romano family ran the Romano Syndicate, dealing with drugs. The Romanos were number one in the underground world, and the Morettis came second, but despite the rivalry, they depended on each other for business because the Romano operations needed Moretti channels to function smoothly.
They were enemies, yes, but when it came to business, lines blurred and deals were made. Isabelle and Dante had always been worlds apart because of that rivalry, yet it never stopped her from loving the mysterious, dangerously handsome man now standing before her. It had always been one-sided, a quiet devotion she carried alone, and she had once believed that after graduation she might finally have a chance, but he had disappeared without explanation, and no one she asked ever seemed to know where he had gone. Now here she was, bound to a chair in chains, staring up at him as he glared down at her with those terrifying dark eyes.
"You remember me," he said, and she swallowed. How could she not remember the only man she had spent years thinking about, the only man who had never given her a second glance simply because their families were enemies.
To hell with that hatred, but this was not the time to behave like some lovesick girl because her world had just been torn apart, her father was dead, Grace was gone, her family wiped out in one night, and now she was chained to a chair, helpless, kidnapped by him. Why had he done this and why had everything fallen apart in a single day?
Isabelle took a deep breath knowing she had to behave like a Moretti.
"Why have you kidnapped me?" she demanded, her brows furrowing since she had every right to be angry because none of this made sense. Sebastian had just killed her father and Grace, and now Dante had taken her, so were they working together? The thought made her stomach twist.
Dante's jaw tightened as he observed her. He could see the shift in her demeanor. Earlier she had been frantic, her emotions spilling everywhere, but now she leaned back against the chair as if trying to regain composure simply because it was not Sebastian standing before her. Did she truly believe he was incapable of worse?
"Kidnap you?" he asked, and she raised a brow because that was exactly what he had done. She remembered his men grabbing her and throwing her into the van like she was nothing more than cargo.
"I removed you," he corrected calmly.
Isabelle frowned. "From what?" she pressed. She needed answers and this vague game would not work on her. She already had to plan how she would deal with Sebastian, the snake who had betrayed her father, the man who was supposed to be her father's advisor and closest ally yet had turned against them and stolen everything that should have been hers by now.
The disbelief still burned inside her because how she had failed to see through him? But she would never forgive him and she would never rest until he paid for what he had done.
Dante looked away, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it before taking a slow drag. "Why is Sebastian after you?" he asked calmly as he flicked the lighter shut and slipped it back into his pocket.
"How would I know? That son of a bitch," she snapped, clenching her fists against the chains.
"You don't know?" he repeated, and she shot him a sharp look because how was she supposed to understand the mind of a man who had slaughtered her father and Grace just to get to her?
"You're pretty, Isabelle, but that's not enough for a man like him. He wants something else," Dante said evenly.
"Excuse me?" she blinked, anger flashing across her face. Her heart had betrayed her for a second at his first words before the insult settled in. What did he mean that was all there was to her? "Then maybe you should explain why I'm still chained to this damn chair," she said coldly.
Dante dropped the cigarette to the floor and crushed it beneath his shoe before slipping his hand into his pocket and meeting her gaze directly.
"Because Sebastian wants you," he said quietly, "and I need leverage over something he cannot afford to lose."
"Am I just some object to you people, something you all want to claim and control?" she demanded, glaring at him as her frustration rose with every passing second and she could feel her patience thinning rapidly.
"Why are you so different from before?" she asked despite herself, even though she had not intended to.
Dante walked toward her slowly, and she leaned back into the chair as though she could disappear into it, but he reached her in a few strides and gripped both sides of the chair, caging her in. "And what exactly do you think you know about me?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.
Nothing. She knew absolutely nothing about him, and perhaps that had always been what drew her in despite herself.
He tilted his head slightly as he studied her, and for a fleeting second it felt as though he was truly seeing her for the first time. "I might just hand you over to Sebastian," he said calmly.
He watched the fear slowly return to her eyes, and the shift did not escape him because only moments ago she had spoken boldly, assuming she understood him and that he would not harm her, but at the mere mention of Sebastian she faltered. Instead of fearing him, she feared another monster more, and that realization seemed to disappoint him.
"You can't do that," she said, her voice losing its edge.
"Okay," Dante replied simply, releasing the chair and stepping back, leaving her confused.
She watched as he slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone before dialing a number.
"Dante, what are you doing?" she asked, pushing uselessly against the chair even though it did not move.
He ignored her while the call rang.
"You can't do this… please don't call him," she begged, panic creeping into her voice because the thought of facing Sebastian again, of enduring whatever horrors he had planned, made her heart pound violently against her chest.
"Dante, what do you want from me?" she asked loudly, her eyes misting as desperation began to break through her pride, and that seemed to be the very reaction he had been waiting for because he finally turned to look at her.
The room fell silent just as the call connected.
"Is that you, Dante?" Sebastian's voice came through the line.
Dante kept his blank stare fixed on Isabelle, watching as she shook her head silently while tears slipped down her cheeks, and then without a word he ended the call.
Isabelle exhaled sharply the moment it disconnected, relief flooding her body, but before she could gather herself, Dante stepped forward and grabbed her face, forcing her head upward as his fingers dug into her cheeks.
"The one you should be afraid of is me," he said coldly. "No one can save you from me, understood?"
"Sebastian killed my father, and I'm certain he has taken everything by now because that was his plan from the beginning," Isabelle said, her voice trembling even as she tried to steady it, while Dante only watched her with an unreadable expression. "I have nothing left… keeping me is pointless."
He released her face and stepped back.
"As long as you live, I have something to hold against Sebastian," he said.
"Hold against him?" she repeated. "Aren't you working with him?"
"I work alone," Dante answered evenly, "and I know exactly when to get my hands on something that benefits me."
Isabelle hated the way she sounded like nothing more than a pawn between powerful men, yet she swallowed her anger because he held all the power now, and he could decide whether her life would become a living nightmare or something else entirely.
"If you want revenge for what he has done," Dante continued, "then you need someone stronger than him, and I can give you protection and everything necessary to make that happen."
Why would he offer that? Why would he help her destroy a man who was both her enemy and, supposedly, his ally?
"At what cost?" she asked carefully because she knew nothing in this world came without a price.
"You become my mistress," he replied, his voice steady, "and watch everything fall into place."
His mistress.
Isabelle stared at him in disbelief. She could not ignore the implication behind those words. It was obvious that Sebastian had done something that placed him at odds with Dante, and claiming her would be both revenge and strategy. Sebastian was their common enemy now, and perhaps there was no stronger move than aligning together to destroy him. Besides, she had lost everything and even if she were freed, where would she begin?
It left her with very little choice.