Chapter 13 The East Gate Treachery
The gala felt like a fever dream Lisa couldn’t wake up from. The flashing lights, the cloying scent of expensive perfume, and the practiced, porcelain smiles of the Mafia wives were a suffocating blur. Every time Silvio pulled her closer or whispered a possessive remark in her ear, her heart fractured. She felt like a traitor to a man who had finally started to treat her like more than a mere debt to be collected.
As the clock ticked toward 1:00 AM, the weight of the key in her pocket felt like a burning coal against her hip.
"I need some air, Silvio," she whispered, leaning into his warmth. She hated how effortlessly the lie slipped past her lips now. "The smoke and the noise... I feel dizzy."
Silvio’s hand tightened on her waist instantly. He looked at her with genuine concern, his iron guard dropping for a split second. "I’ll come with you."
"No," she said, placing a steadying hand on his chest. "You need to finish talking to Don Marcello. If you leave now, it looks like you’re avoiding his terms. I’ll just go to the balcony for five minutes. I promise."
Silvio studied her face, his dark eyes searching for a crack in her mask. Lisa channeled every ounce of her genuine fear into a look of sheer exhaustion. Finally, he nodded. "Five minutes, Lisa. If you aren't back, I’m sending the guards to find you."
She slipped away before he could reconsider. She didn't head for the balcony. Instead, she navigated the service hallways, her red velvet dress heavy and loud against her legs. She slipped past frantic caterers and dozing guards until she reached the heavy, vine-covered stone of the East Gate.
The key fit perfectly. The lock turned with a smooth, oiled click a sound that chilled her, proving this wasn't an abandoned ruin, but a back door kept ready for a purpose.
She stepped out into the biting night air. The woods surrounding the estate were thick, swallowing the moonlight.
"Dante?" she whispered into the dark.
"I knew you’d come," a voice answered from the shadows.
Dante stepped into the pale light. He looked nothing like the man she remembered from her father’s house. His eyes had turned brittle, and the charming smile she once thought was beautiful now resembled a predator’s bared teeth.
"Let’s go, Lisa. The car is a mile down the road. Once we’re clear of Silvio’s territory, he can’t touch you."
"Why are you doing this, Dante?" Lisa asked, her hand moving instinctively to her stomach. "Is it for the baby, or is it just to hurt him?"
Dante laughed, a cold, hollow sound that echoed through the trees. "Does it matter? He’s a monster. He’s keeping you in a cage."
"He’s keeping me safe!" Lisa snapped, surprised by the sudden venom in her own voice. "You’re the one who ran away. You’re the one who left me to drown in my father’s debt."
Dante’s expression darkened. He stepped closer, his fingers bruising her arm. "Don’t get sentimental, Lisa. He’s a Moretti. He’ll tire of you the moment that kid is born. Now, move."
Lisa tried to recoil, but his grip was like iron. "No. I’m not going with you. I came here to tell you to stay away. I’m telling Silvio the truth. Everything."
Dante froze. His eyes flickered with a dangerous, unstable light. "You think I’ll let you do that? If I can’t have the heir to the Moretti name, then Silvio certainly can't."
He reached into his jacket, but before he could draw, the woods erupted in blinding light.
High-powered searchlights flooded the clearing. Lisa screamed as she was yanked back, but it wasn't Dante who seized her. A massive, warm hand gripped her shoulder and pulled her behind a wall of solid muscle.
Silvio.
He stood there, his tuxedo jacket discarded, his white shirt sleeves rolled up for a fight. He wasn't alone; a dozen guards had already ghosted out of the trees, surrounding the clearing.
"Hello, brother," Silvio said. His voice was so calm it was terrifying. It was the sound of a man who had already decided exactly how someone was going to die.
"Silvio, wait!" Lisa cried, clutching his arm.
Silvio didn't look at her. He kept his eyes locked on Dante.
“Did you really think I didn’t know about the key, Dante? I let her come. I wanted to see if she would choose the man who abandoned her, or if she was just the bait for the trap I’ve been waiting to set for years.”
His voice was calm, almost bored, but the words cut deeper than any blade. The clearing seemed to shrink around them, the air thick with unspoken threats. Silvio’s fingers tapped once against his side, a quiet, deliberate sound that echoed like a countdown. Dante stiffened, jaw tightening, but he said nothing. Silence stretched, heavy and suffocating, as Silvio finally allowed a slow, knowing smile to curve his lips.
Dante backed away, his hands raised in a mock gesture of peace. "She came to me, Silvio. She chose me."
"She came to tell you to leave," Silvio corrected, his voice dropping to a low, lethal growl. He turned slightly, looking at Lisa. His eyes were a turbulent mixture of heartbreak and dark triumph. "She didn't know I was watching. She defended me."
He turned back to Dante, his hand moving to the gun tucked at his waist. "But you... you tried to take what is mine. Again."
"Silvio, don't!" Lisa begged, throwing her arms around his waist. She could feel the vibration of his tectonic rage through his chest. "If you kill him like this, it never ends. Please."
Silvio looked down at her. For a heartbeat, the monster and the man fought for control of his features. He leaned down, his lips brushing her forehead, his voice a ragged whisper. "He has to pay, Lisa. Nobody touches you and lives."
But as he raised his gun, a third party made their move. A sniper’s red dot appeared on Silvio’s chest not from Silvio’s men, and not from Dante’s.
"Don't move, Don Moretti," a voice boomed from the treeline.
Lisa realized with a jolt of horror that her biological father’s men had followed her too. They weren't here for a rescue. They were here to finish what they started at the library.
In the chaos, Dante dove for the brush. Silvio shoved Lisa to the ground, shielding her with his body as the first shot rang out.