Alessia POV:
The words hung in the air, heavy and absolute as a final judgment.
Dante's face was a mask of disbelief. "Your daughter?" he sneered, his arrogance overriding the sudden, primal alarm in the room. "Don't be ridiculous. Her father is a deadbeat accountant from Queens."
My father ignored him, his gaze fixed on me. He walked into the room, his footsteps echoing in the stunned silence. The lone man, his ever-present advisor, Silvio, followed a step behind, his eyes scanning every threat with cold, professional detachment.
My father stopped a few feet away, his eyes finally leaving mine to sweep over Dante with pure, unadulterated contempt. "You have no idea who you've been sleeping with, do you, boy?"
Elara, recovering from the shock, let out a shrill, mocking laugh. "Oh, please. Look at him. Just some old man and his assistant. Did you call them for help, Alessia? How pathetic."
The guests began to murmur, their initial shock turning to amusement. They saw what Dante saw: two men against a room full of soldiers. They didn't understand that the lion doesn't need a pack to be king.
My father walked right up to me. He gently took my arm, his touch firm but warm, pulling me away from Enzo's reach and behind the shelter of his body. He pushed a stray strand of hair from my face, his thumb brushing my stinging cheek with an almost unbearable tenderness. "Are you alright, little girl?" he murmured, his voice for my ears only.
"I am now," I whispered back, a profound sense of safety washing over me for the first time in years.
Silvio stepped forward. His face was a mask of cold fury. "You dare to speak to the patriarch of the Moretti dynasty that way?" he spat, his voice sharp enough to cut glass. "You dare to lay hands on his only child?"
Enzo chuckled from the crowd, emboldened by the numbers. "Moretti who? Never heard of him. This is Rinaldi territory. You two need to learn some respect before you're escorted out."
My father didn't even look at him. He kept his eyes on Dante. "I gave you a chance, boy. I let you build your little enterprise on the scraps I didn't want. I let you play king in your little sandbox. But you broke the one rule that matters. You touched my family."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Dante said, though a flicker of uncertainty had entered his eyes. "Now get out of my party before I have you thrown out."
"Your party?" Elara shrieked, stepping forward, her face twisted with rage now that her target had been shielded. "This is MY party! And this woman ruined it!" She pointed a trembling finger at me. "She needs to be taught a lesson. A real one."
She turned to Dante, her voice becoming a seductive purr. "Make her do it, Dante. Make her apologize. Then finish what you started. Make her admit to this entire room what a fraud she is. Let everyone see the 'Golden Goose' for what she really is."
The room buzzed with sick anticipation, the tension returning. Men were smiling, their eyes devouring the unfolding drama.
Dante looked from Elara's pleading, venomous face to me, hidden behind my father. There was no hesitation. His choice had been made long ago. He nodded slowly to his men. "Silence her."
