Chapter 7 - A Kiss Before the Storm
Dante’s father, Alessandro Moretti, had officially died seven years earlier.
Heart attack.
Private burial.
Closed casket.
Anna knew this because the Moretti family history had been impossible to avoid once she began working inside the estate.
But Sofia claimed the funeral had been staged.
She had learned the truth from Luca.
Alessandro discovered that federal investigators were closing in on several illegal operations associated with older Moretti businesses. He disappeared, leaving Vittorio to manage the legitimate holdings.
Luca later discovered something worse.
His father had continued controlling money through shell companies.
The foundation was one of them.
Dante listened without moving.
“You’re saying my father arranged Luca’s death?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then what are you saying?”
“That Luca believed Alessandro was alive.”
The words devastated him.
Anna watched the man she had come to know confront an impossible possibility.
His father had abandoned him.
His brother had died investigating him.
And Dante had spent six years blaming himself.
Later that night, Anna found him alone on the terrace.
“Do you want company?”
Dante nodded.
She sat beside him.
“My father visited me every day in the hospital,” he said.
Anna frowned.
“You said he died seven years ago.”
“He did. The accident happened six years ago.”
Understanding struck.
“He was already supposedly dead.”
“Yes.”
Dante laughed bitterly.
“I was heavily medicated. Everyone told me I was hallucinating.”
Anna’s skin chilled.
“What did he say?”
Dante looked across the lake.
“He said, ‘You should have stayed out of it.’”
Anna reached for his hand.
This time she did not wait.
Dante held on.
The next morning, Marco received confirmation.
A facial recognition search located Alessandro Moretti entering a private clinic in Switzerland eighteen months earlier.
Alive.
The dead man had returned.
And the gala shooting had triggered his first mistake.
The shooter’s escape vehicle traced to a company controlled by Vincent.
Police arrested Vincent.
He denied ordering the shooting.
He admitted laundering money.
He admitted helping manipulate Dante’s medical records.
But he insisted he had done it under threat.
“From Alessandro?” Dante asked during a recorded confrontation.
Vincent looked toward the camera.
Then whispered:
“Yes.”
Dante’s face revealed nothing.
“Why?”
“He promised me control of the family.”
“And you believed him?”
Vincent laughed bitterly.
“I believed you were finished.”
The words hung between them.
“Because of the wheelchair?”
Vincent looked away.
“Yes.”
Dante nodded slowly.
“Then you never knew me.”
Vincent’s confession cleared Anna publicly.
Her suspension was lifted.
But she did not celebrate.
Because Alessandro remained free.
And he knew Dante was searching.
That night, Dante found Anna on the balcony.
“You can leave now.”
She turned.
“What?”
“Your name is cleared.”
“Yes.”
“You can return to the hospital.”
“Yes.”
“You should.”
Anna studied him.
“Do you want me to?”
“No.”
“Then why are you telling me to leave?”
“Because wanting you here and believing you’re safe here are different things.”
Anna walked toward him.
“You don’t get to decide what risks I’m allowed to take.”
Dante smiled sadly.
“You really have learned.”
“Unfortunately.”
He looked at her.
“What do you want?”
Anna answered without hesitation.
“You.”
The word silenced him.
“Not your money. Not this house. Not your name. Not the man you were before the accident.”
She touched his face.
“You.”
Dante closed his eyes.
When he opened them, years of defenses seemed thinner.
“I don’t know how to do this anymore.”
“Neither do I.”
“I can’t give you the life—”
Anna put one finger against his lips.
“Do not finish that sentence.”
He stared.
“If you tell me what kind of life I need because you use a wheelchair, I will personally roll you into the lake.”
Dante laughed.
A real laugh.
Then pulled her into his arms.
Their second kiss carried everything the first had restrained.
Fear.
Relief.
Need.
And a promise neither spoke.
Across the lake, a camera lens watched them.
The photograph reached Alessandro Moretti ten minutes later.
He studied Anna’s face.
May you like
Then issued a single order.
“Take her.”
