Chapter 14 - The One Person Dante Couldn’t Afford to Lose
The address led Sophia to an abandoned theater on Chicago’s West Side.
Once beautiful.
Now empty.
Dust covered velvet seats.
A single light burned onstage.
Vincent Rizzo stood beneath it.
Sophia stopped.
“You're supposed to be in custody.”
Rizzo smiled.
“Connections.”
“Where is my mother?”
“Safe.”
“Show me.”
He lifted his phone.
Live video.
Her mother asleep at home.
No one inside.
Sophia's anger rose.
“You lied.”
“I persuaded.”
“You threatened.”
“Semantics.”
Sophia remained near the aisle.
“What do you want?”
“The video.”
“You know we copied it.”
“I need the original.”
“Why?”
“Because copies can be challenged.”
Sophia almost smiled.
“You're scared.”
Rizzo's expression changed.
Good.
“My father scared you for twenty years.”
“Your father was a fool.”
“My father was an accountant who beat a crime boss with paperwork.”
Rizzo stepped forward.
“You inherited his mouth.”
“I hope so.”
He demanded the storage card.
Sophia had brought it.
Or what looked like it.
The real card remained with Luca.
Sophia held up a duplicate.
Rizzo smiled.
Then another voice came from the balcony.
“You should have checked whether she came alone.”
Dante.
Sophia closed her eyes.
Relief hit so hard her legs weakened.
Dante descended the aisle.
Luca and security appeared behind him.
Rizzo's smile vanished.
“You tracked her.”
“No.”
Dante looked at Sophia.
“I know her.”
Sophia blinked.
Dante continued.
“She leaves her phone when she doesn’t want to be followed.”
“That doesn't explain—”
“She took a foundation vehicle.”
Sophia winced.
“I forgot the GPS.”
“You forgot several things.”
Even now, she almost smiled.
Police entered through side doors.
Rizzo was surrounded.
No dramatic shootout.
No blood.
No glorious criminal revenge.
Just evidence.
Witnesses.
Handcuffs.
Consequences.
Rizzo looked at Dante with disgust.
“This is what you've become?”
Dante glanced toward Sophia.
“Yes.”
Rizzo laughed.
“Your father would be ashamed.”
Dante's answer was calm.
“I think he spent his last years trying to become the man you're insulting.”
Rizzo was taken away.
When the theater emptied, Dante remained.
Sophia approached slowly.
“You're angry.”
“Yes.”
“Very?”
“Yes.”
“I had to protect my mother.”
“No.”
The sharpness surprised her.
“You wanted to protect your mother.”
“Same thing.”
“No.”
Dante stepped closer.
“You chose alone because you were afraid involving me would make things worse.”
Sophia looked away.
“That is exactly what I've done my entire life.”
She understood.
He had seen himself in her mistake.
“I’m sorry.”
Dante's anger broke.
He pulled her close.
For a while, neither spoke.
Then Sophia whispered, “You said you knew me.”
“I do.”
“After one week?”
“After six months.”
She leaned back.
“What?”
“I noticed you before the poster.”
“How long before?”
“The first month.”
Sophia stared.
“You never spoke to me.”
“I wasn't good at this.”
“You're still not.”
“I know.”
“When did you first notice me?”
Dante thought.
“You argued with a donor.”
Sophia laughed.
“I did not.”
“You told him his money didn't allow him to humiliate the catering staff.”
“He deserved it.”
“That was when.”
The idea that Dante had been watching her quietly for months changed everything.
“You liked me?”
“Yes.”
“And you did nothing?”
“I told you. I wasn't good at this.”
Sophia smiled.
“So the poster saved your romantic life.”
“I will destroy that poster.”
“No.”
Dante raised an eyebrow.
“I’m keeping it.”
“Absolutely not.”
“It's part of our history.”
“It is evidence.”
Sophia laughed.
He kissed her.
This time without fear.
When they returned to the estate, dawn was beginning.
For the first time, Rizzo's network was collapsing.
Damian was in custody.
Evidence had been turned over.
Elena agreed to testify.
The foundation was damaged but alive.
Sophia should have felt relieved.
Instead, she felt something else.
Exhaustion.
For weeks, her life had belonged to danger, gossip, security and secrets.
She looked at Dante sleeping beside her on the guest-house couch.
She loved him.
That was not the problem.
The problem was that she no longer knew where his world ended and hers began.
And the next morning, Sophia made a decision that would hurt them both.
May you like
She packed her suitcase.
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