Chapter 24 Who dares startle her.
Dante's POV.
By midday, I was certain something was wrong.
Not because she failed at work, she didn’t.
Every report was accurate. Every schedule aligned. On the surface she was doing exactly as expected.
But she seemed off today.
She stared at the screen for moments too long. She waited before answering questions she already knew the answer to.
Left meetings twice to take calls she didn’t return from immediately.
She’d come back quiet and emotional.
I noticed because I always did and people didn’t move around without a reason. Especially not when they’ve been fighting harder to stay steady.
I didn’t ask her. Asking would make her feel awkward. She would be scared and she was already carrying too much of it.
Instead I just observed.
She missed a line item during a meeting with the finance team, even if they didn’t notice, I did without hesitation.
Her pen stilled in her hand for half a second before she corrected herself.
When the room cleared, she stayed behind to organize files she didn’t need to touch, getting busy was how she killed her worries.
“Get some rest at noon,” I told her.
She looked up, surprised. “I’m fine.”
“I know,” I said. “You still have to.”
She hesitated at first, then nodded and packed up her things. As she walked out, her phone vibrated. She looked at the screen then put it away without answering.
The moment the door closed, I called for Matteo.
He came in quietly, tablet in hand, already anticipating the reason.
“Check out what’s happening in the Bennettis,” I said.
“Yes,” he replied.
I didn’t care how he’d handle it. That was his job.
He placed the tablet on the desk and spoke evenly. “Her father is in a private negotiation. He’s leveraging a marriage proposal.”
I leaned back slightly. “For isla?”
“No. For her sister, Josie Bennetti.”
The room went still. “To whom?”
“A distant cousin. Romano bloodline, but not direct. He wants access and protection.”
I felt irritation stir slowly inside of me.
“When?” I asked.
“Soon,” Matteo said. “They’re already discussing terms.”
Terms. As if the girl was a contract.
I tapped my finger once against the desk. “Who else knows?”
“Lucia,” he said after a pause. “And your brother.”
That earned my full attention. “Explain.”
“Damian intervened quietly. He tried to delay the arrangement. He said it was protecting his wife’s family.”
Of course he did.
Always stepping in just late enough to complicate things.
“And Lucia?”
“She’s been talking,” Matteo said. “Not directly. She’s suggesting Isla’s position here is personal. That she’s still entangled with her husband.”
I closed my eyes briefly. Lucia never wasted a move. If she was spreading rumors now, it means she sensed something.
And that meant she sensed an opportunity.
“Enough,” I said. Matteo waited.
“No more observation,” I said. “We act.”
“Yes, sir.”
I stood and walked to the window, the city lights flashing below the building.
Isla was born in chaos she didn’t deserve. And people kept trying to drag her back into it under the excuse of tradition.
Behind me, Matteo spoke again. “Damian may escalate.”
“I know,” I replied.
“He believes he still has a claim.”
“He’s wrong.”
That evening, I convened to the board.
I requested an emergency meeting with the board members.
Isla sat beside me, tablet open, posture straight. She looked pale but focused.
I didn’t look at her. The board quarterly adjustments, expansion risk, normal arguments, and normal pressure.
Then, midway through, I shifted the conversation.
“We will be restructuring equality allocation,” I said calmly. “To stabilize the rumors going around.”
A few heads lifted.
I continued. “Key personnel will receive minor shares. And it takes immediate effect.”
And there it was.
Murmurs, interest and calculations already forming.
I nodded toward the document in front of them. “You’ll see the names listed.”
Isla stiffened beside me.
One board member glanced at her, then at me. “Is this appropriate?”
“Yes,” I replied.
Another cleared his throat. “Given the rumors…”
I cut him off without raising my voice. “Rumors mean nothing here.”
Silence. “Isla Bennetti will hold a stake,” I continued. “It would be effective starting today.”
The room froze. No one argued. They all understood what it meant.
Isla was no longer an assistant who could be dismissed, questioned, or humiliated without consequences.
Any attack on her was now an attack on the company’s reputation.
When the meeting ended, the room emptied quickly.
Isla remained seated. She didn’t look at me immediately.
“You didn’t tell me,” she said finally.
“I didn’t need to,” I replied.
She turned then, confusion written openly all over her face.
“Why?”
“Because someone tried to corner you,” I said. “And I don’t tolerate that.”
Her hands tightened in her tablet. “This changes things.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “That was the point.”
She hesitated. “What do you expect from me now?”
I met her eyes fully. “The same standard as before. Nothing else.”
Her throat bobbed. She nodded slowly, but not entirely convinced.
“I should go,” I said.
“You should,” I agreed.
After she left, I made another call. Lucia answered on the second ring.
“Congratulations,” she said quietly. “You’ve made things very clear.”
“That was for the board,” I replied. “Not you.”
She laughed. “You’re overreaching.”
“No,” I said calmly. “You are.”
Silence stretched. “You’re using her,” Lucia said finally.
“I’m protecting her,” I corrected. “Stay away from Isla Bennetti.”
“And if I don’t?”
“You’ll lose everything you think you’re holding onto,” I replied. “Quietly.”
Her breath caught. “I won’t warn you again.”
The line went dead.
Later that night, I reviewed another report.
Damian contacted Isla’s father again and tried to negotiate from a different angle.
He still believed his involvement would be welcomed.
He didn’t just understand the damage he was doing.
I closed the file and made my decision.
The next move won’t be a discussion, it would be removal.
Isla didn’t know how deep the danger ran yet.
And when she does, she would realize something important.
I had already chosen a side. And I wasn’t stepping back.