Chapter 27 – Dante Surfaces
Dante’s Pov
The world had turned to ash the moment I got the call.
Renata was dead and my twins were gone.
All that blood. All that screaming. And Lorenzo… that bastard beat her until there was nothing left.
Her face was unrecognizable, and my children never even had a chance to breathe.
I smashed the glass in my hand against the wall of my office, blood dripping from my palm. The pain didn’t touch me. The ache in my chest was deeper, darker.
“She was pregnant, Lorenzo,” I muttered to myself, pacing the room like a beast in a cage. “You killed my own blood.”
But this wasn’t just about Lorenzo. It wasn’t just about Renata. This was about all of them. The Calderons. The Morettis. Sophia.
Especially Sophia.
f that bitch had died in that explosion like she was supposed to, none of this would have happened.
She wouldn’t have exposed Renata. She wouldn’t have pushed Lorenzo over the edge. She wouldn’t have stolen the company.
t was her fault. All of it!
lit a cigarette and took a long drag, staring out at the city skyline.
t was time.
They didn’t even see it coming.
One call to a man I owned in Sophia’s security detail was all it took. I’d saved his family once. He
>wed me.
‘Deliver her,” I told him. “Alive. Untouched.”
When I walked into the dark room where she was tied to a chair, Sophia was unconscious-her head slumped to the side, long black hair falling like a curtain around her face.
She was dressed in soft silk, her skin pale in the dim light.
stared at her for a long time.
She didn’t look dangerous. She looked like a fallen angel.
But I knew better.
walked up to her and slapped her lightly on the cheek. “Wake up, pretty girl.”
She stirred with a groan, blinking through the fog. The moment she saw me, her eyes sharpened.
“You,” she whispered.
“That’s right, sweetheart,” I said, crouching in front of her. “Miss me?”
8:55 pm
Her face hardened. “Where am I?”
“My home,” I said, spreading my arms dramatically. “What’s left of it. After you and your boyfriend Mateo ruined my life.”
Her lips curled in disgust. “You ruined your own life the day you joined forces with Renata.”
I slapped her hard this time.
Her face snapped to the side.
“You don’t get to say her name!” I snarled. “You don’t get to act like the victim. She was mine. My twins were mine. And now they’re in the ground. Because of you.”
Her voice was hoarse. “She tried to drug and rape me, Dante. She framed me. She lied. She murdered my daughter. She got what was coming.”
I grabbed her by the chin and forced her to look at me.
“You should’ve died in that explosion, Sophia. You were supposed to. That was the plan. A clean ending. But no, you crawled out of the fire and came back for revenge.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You’re damn right I did.”
“You made me lose everything.”
“Good,” she hissed.
I pulled back and paced the room, laughing bitterly. “You really don’t get it, do you? You think this is over? That your little fairytale with Mateo ends with a wedding and a baby? I’m going to end your story with fire.”
She didn’t flinch. “Do your worst.”
“Oh, I plan to,” I said, turning back to her. “But not before you watch me burn everything you love Slowly.”
Sophia’s face changed for the first time. There was fear there now. Not for herself, but for the people she loved.
“I’ll kill Mateo,” I whispered, walking up to her. “Then your father. Then your grandfather. I’ll rip the Calderons from the inside and when I’m done, I’ll come back for you.”
Her breath caught in her throat.
I leaned in close. “You want to know what true suffering is, Sophia? It’s watching everything you care about die. That’s the only way this ends.”
But before I could move back, she spat in my face.
I froze then wiped it slowly.
“You’re brave,” I said. “But stupid.”
She smiled faintly. “You’re scared.”
I blinked. “What?”
“You talk too much,” she said, still tied to the chair. “Because deep down, you know this ends with you six feet under.”
I laughed again, louder this time. “You think Mateo’s coming for you? He doesn’t even know where you are.”
“He’ll find me.”
“We’ll see.”
I turned to walk away but froze when my phone rang.
Blocked number.
I answered.
“Dante,” a voice said. “They know. Get out. Mateo’s tracking your location.”
I cursed, turning back to Sophia. Her face lit up with victory.
“I told you,” she whispered. “He’s coming.”
I pulled out my gun and aimed it at her.
She didn’t even blink.
I clenched my jaw, lowered the weapon, and snarled, “Next time, he won’t make it in tim
I stormed out, locking the door behind me.
Let Mateo come. I’ll be waiting.
And this time, someone would die and it wouldn’t be me.
8:55 pm
