Chapter 3: Dinner With Enemies
Chapter 3: Dinner With Enemies
The invitation arrived the following morning.
It wasn't truly an invitation.
It was an order disguised as courtesy.
A formal dinner.
Hosted at the Rossi estate.
Attending:
Senator Edward Sterling and his wife, Victoria Sterling.
Purpose:
"To celebrate the successful union between our two distinguished families."
Dante read the card once before tossing it onto his desk.
"They couldn't even wait forty-eight hours," Luca muttered.
"They're nervous," Dante replied.
Luca frowned.
"Nervous people usually hide."
"Powerful people inspect what they think they own."
His eyes drifted toward the second floor.
"They're coming to inspect Aria."
Upstairs, Aria stood before the mirror while two maids helped her prepare.
Unlike her wedding dress, today's gown was simple.
Soft navy silk.
Long sleeves.
No diamonds except her wedding ring.
One maid gently brushed her hair.
The other carefully applied concealer along her jaw.
She paused.
"My lady..."
Aria looked up.
"The bruises are fading."
Aria gave a faint smile.
"They'll come back."
The maids exchanged worried glances but said nothing.
Aria had spoken with the certainty of someone discussing the weather.
By sunset, the Rossi mansion glowed beneath hundreds of crystal chandeliers.
A twenty-foot dining table stretched across the grand hall.
Silver candelabras reflected warm light across polished marble floors.
Rossi captains occupied one side.
Sterling advisors occupied the other.
Every smile was rehearsed.
Every handshake calculated.
Every compliment carried hidden knives.
Then the front doors opened.
Edward Sterling entered first.
Tall.
Elegant.
Perfectly tailored tuxedo.
The face of a respected senator.
The smile of a man who had never heard the word "no."
Behind him walked Victoria Sterling, graceful and composed as always.
Only one person failed to greet them.
Dante remained seated at the head of the table.
After several awkward seconds, Edward laughed.
"Dante."
"I see marriage hasn't softened your manners."
Dante calmly sipped his wine.
"I save manners for people who earn them."
Several Rossi captains lowered their eyes to hide smiles.
Edward's own smile barely flickered.
"You certainly live up to your reputation."
"So I've been told."
Edward turned toward Aria.
"There you are, sweetheart."
Aria immediately stood.
Her shoulders stiffened.
"Father."
Dante noticed.
She hadn't called him Dad.
Only Father.
Formal.
Careful.
Distant.
Edward stepped closer and kissed her forehead.
To everyone else...
It looked affectionate.
To Dante...
It looked practiced.
Aria's breathing became shallow the instant Edward touched her.
No one else noticed.
Dante did.
Dinner began.
Crystal glasses clinked.
Expensive wine flowed freely.
Conversations remained polite.
Too polite.
Edward eventually leaned back.
"I must admit," he said, smiling toward Dante, "I was concerned about giving my daughter to a man with your... profession."
Several Sterling advisors chuckled politely.
Dante cut into his steak without looking up.
"And yet you signed the marriage contract."
Edward spread his hands.
"Business requires difficult decisions."
"I agree."
Another silence.
Edward's eyes sharpened.
"I trust Aria has been fulfilling her duties as a wife."
Across the table, Aria's fork froze.
Dante answered before she could.
"My wife owes no one a performance report."
Edward laughed.
"Of course."
"I'm merely asking whether the marriage has been... properly consummated."
The room fell silent.
Even the servants stopped pouring wine.
Every Rossi soldier looked toward Dante.
Waiting.
Dante slowly placed his knife beside the plate.
"No."
Edward blinked.
"No?"
"No."
"You disappoint me."
Dante's expression never changed.
"I don't recall asking for your approval."
The temperature inside the dining room seemed to drop ten degrees.
Edward smiled again.
But his eyes had become cold.
"You'll learn that compromise is necessary in politics."
"And you'll learn," Dante replied evenly, "that my marriage isn't a political committee."
The main course arrived.
Conversation resumed.
At least on the surface.
Halfway through dinner...
Aria reached for her water glass.
At the same moment...
Edward's hand disappeared beneath the edge of the tablecloth.
His fingers clamped around her wrist.
Hard.
Aria gasped softly.
Her entire body went rigid.
She didn't pull away.
She didn't dare.
Edward continued smiling while discussing tax legislation with one of the Rossi accountants.
His grip tightened.
Hidden from everyone.
Everyone...
Except Dante.
Their eyes met across the table.
Edward knew he had been seen.
For one long moment, neither man moved.
Then Dante calmly stood.
The room immediately fell silent.
Without raising his voice...
Without showing anger...
He walked around the table.
Every step echoed across the marble floor.
He stopped beside Aria.
Then...
With complete composure...
He reached beneath the table.
His hand closed around Edward's wrist.
Not violently.
Firmly.
His fingers squeezed just enough for bones to creak.
Edward's smile vanished.
Dante slowly removed the senator's hand from his wife's wrist.
Then he looked directly into Edward's eyes.
"You forgot something."
Edward rubbed his wrist.
"What exactly?"
Dante's voice remained calm.
"She is no longer your daughter."
A pause.
"She is my wife."
The silence that followed was deafening.
Nobody breathed.
Nobody moved.
Edward forced another smile.
"I was only comforting her."
Dante glanced toward Aria.
Deep red fingerprints had already appeared on her pale skin.
He looked back at Edward.
"She didn't look comforted."
Dessert was served.
No one touched it.
The atmosphere had become unbearable.
Victoria Sterling finally attempted to lighten the mood.
"Aria always was a sensitive child."
The sentence escaped before she could stop herself.
Aria lowered her eyes.
Sensitive.
That was the word the family always used.
Never beaten.
Never terrified.
Never abused.
Only...
Sensitive.
Dante folded his napkin.
"No."
Every head turned toward him.
"She isn't sensitive."
His voice carried through the room.
"She's frightened."
Edward's jaw tightened.
"I don't appreciate accusations inside my daughter's home."
Dante corrected him immediately.
"You mean my home."
Another long silence.
Edward slowly stood.
"I believe we've stayed long enough."
"I agree."
The Sterling family prepared to leave.
At the entrance hall, Edward waited until everyone else stepped outside.
Only he, Dante, and Aria remained.
He smiled pleasantly.
"You've become protective remarkably quickly."
Dante buttoned his jacket.
"I protect what's mine."
Edward leaned closer.
"Careful."
"You know nothing about my family."
Dante's dark eyes never left his.
"I know enough."
Edward lowered his voice.
"You have no proof."
"No."
Dante agreed.
"Not yet."
Edward smiled one final time.
"Then perhaps you should stop asking questions."
Dante answered without hesitation.
"Perhaps you should stop giving me reasons to."
The senator walked away.
His smile disappeared the moment he reached his limousine.
From the second-floor window, Aria watched the convoy disappear into the Boston night.
She hadn't realized Dante had entered the room until he spoke.
"You can breathe now."
She looked at him.
"I didn't mean to embarrass you."
"You didn't."
"My father..."
"He isn't here anymore."
She looked down at the fading marks around her wrist.
"I should have hidden it better."
Dante stepped closer.
Not close enough to frighten her.
Just enough for her to hear him clearly.
"You don't ever have to hide bruises from me again."
Her throat tightened.
No one had ever said those words.
Ever.
She looked up.
"Why?"
His answer came without hesitation.
"Because every bruise tells me where to look."
Later that night...
Luca entered Dante's office carrying a tablet.
His expression was grim.
"I finished tracing Senator Sterling's financial records."
"And?"
"They don't make sense."
"Explain."
"His official income couldn't possibly support what he owns."
Luca tapped the screen.
Hidden bank accounts.
Shell corporations.
Offshore trusts.
Private security companies.
Then one particular payment caught Dante's attention.
A monthly transfer.
Recipient:
Blackridge Behavioral Institute.
Purpose:
Special Residential Care – Patient A.S.
Dante frowned.
"A.S..."
Luca swallowed.
"I already called."
"They claim no one by that name has ever been admitted."
"So why are they receiving money?"
Luca slowly met his eyes.
"Because..."
"They burned the records."
Dante's expression hardened.
"Tomorrow."
"What about tomorrow?"
"We're going to Blackridge."
Outside, lightning split the sky above Boston.
Neither man noticed the black SUV parked across the street from the Rossi estate.
Inside sat an unknown man watching the mansion through binoculars.
He picked up his phone.
"They're asking questions," he said quietly.
A distorted voice answered from the other end.
"Then eliminate the problem."
The call ended.
The man opened a metal case beside him.
Inside...
May you like
Lay a suppressed sniper rifle.
End of Chapter 3
