Chapter 6: The Traitor in the Tuxedo
Dante moved before the gunshot.
He slammed the man's wrist sideways.
The bullet struck the marble column.
Elena screamed.
Dante drove his shoulder into the guard, sending both of them crashing against the engagement table.
The champagne tower collapsed.
Crystal shattered across the floor.
The guard swung again.
Dante blocked him.
“Who sent you?””
The man gritted his teeth.
“You already know.””
Dante hit him once.
The guard dropped to one knee.
“Who?””
He laughed through a split lip.
“Your family.””
Dante grabbed his collar.
“My family is standing behind me.””
The man's eyes flicked toward the hallway.
“No.””
He smiled.
“Your family is everywhere.””
Dante looked.
Anthony and Victoria were gone.
“Elena!””
She crouched behind the column.
“Are you hurt?””
She shook her head.
“No.””
“Stay here.””
Dante ran toward the corridor.
Marcus followed.
“Boss, wait.””
Dante stopped.
“What?””
Marcus held up his phone.
“I found something.””
He showed Dante the security feed.
The ballroom cameras had been shut down six minutes before the shooting.
But one camera remained active.
The service hallway.
On the screen, Victoria walked quickly beside Anthony.
Dante watched.
Victoria was crying.
Anthony was saying something.
Then they disappeared through a door marked PRIVATE.
Dante looked at Marcus.
“Where does that lead?””
“Basement.””
Dante's expression hardened.
“Come on.””
They ran downstairs.
The luxurious ballroom disappeared behind them.
The basement smelled of concrete, dust, and old wine.
A single fluorescent light flickered overhead.
Dante heard voices.
Victoria's.
“You promised nobody would get hurt.””
Anthony answered.
“I promised nobody would die.””
“You lied.””
“No.””
A pause.
“Dante wasn't supposed to survive the drink.””
Dante stopped.
Marcus looked at him.
Dante's face became terrifyingly calm.
He pushed open the door.
Victoria turned.
Anthony didn't.
Dante stared at both of them.
“Say that again.””
Victoria's eyes filled with tears.
“Dante…”
“Say it.””
Anthony finally turned.
“You weren't supposed to drink it.””
Dante's gaze shifted to him.
“You knew?””
“Yes.””
“You knew she was trying to poison me?””
“I knew she was being forced.””
Victoria shook her head.
“I wasn't forced.””
Anthony looked at her.
“Then tell him.””
Victoria couldn't.
Dante stepped closer.
“Tell me.””
She whispered, “Your father threatened me.””
Dante stopped.
“My father is dead.””
“He threatened me before he died.””
“When?””
“The week before his funeral.””
Dante's eyes narrowed.
“What did he say?””
Victoria's hands trembled.
“He said if I ever told you about the accounts, he'd destroy everyone you loved.””
Anthony added, “Including Elena.””
Elena, who had followed them downstairs, froze at the doorway.
Dante turned.
“You followed us?””
She looked ashamed.
“I couldn't stay upstairs.””
Victoria looked at her.
“You shouldn't have come.””
Elena stepped into the room.
“I've been hearing things for months.””
Dante frowned.
“What things?””
Elena swallowed.
“About you.””
Anthony's expression changed.
“What did you hear?””
“That someone was using your name to move money.””
Dante stared at her.
“Who told you?””
“No one.””
Elena reached into her uniform pocket.
She pulled out a folded piece of paper.
“I found this in the laundry.””
Dante took it.
His eyes moved across the page.
Account numbers.
Dates.
Transfers.
And at the bottom—
A signature.
Dante's signature.
Except Dante had never signed it.
Marcus looked over his shoulder.
“Boss…”
Dante's voice was barely audible.
“This isn't my signature.””
Anthony stepped forward.
“It is.””
“No.””
“It was copied from the old documents.””
Dante looked at him.
“By who?””
Anthony pointed at the paper.
“Look at the authorization code.””
Dante did.
A string of numbers followed the signature.
His face changed.
“That code belongs to my father.””
Anthony nodded.
“Exactly.””
Dante looked toward Victoria.
“You said your father threatened you.””
“Yes.””
“Then why was this in our house?””
Victoria shook her head.
“I don't know.””
Anthony's eyes suddenly moved toward the basement entrance.
“Someone else is here.””
Everyone went silent.
Footsteps sounded above them.
Slow.
Measured.
Coming down the stairs.
Dante reached for his weapon.
Marcus raised his.
Elena stepped behind Victoria.
The footsteps stopped.
Then a man's voice echoed through the basement.
“Dante.””
Dante froze.
He knew that voice.
It was the same voice from the phone.
The voice that had asked whether he was still alive.
Anthony whispered:
“No.””
Dante looked at him.
“Who is it?””
Anthony's face had gone pale.
The voice came again.
“You've spent three years looking for the wrong brother.””
A shadow appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
Then a man stepped into the light.
Dante stared at his own face.
Same eyes.
Same beard.
Same scar.
Same black suit.
But the stranger smiled.
“Hello, Dante.””
Victoria began to cry.
May you like
Anthony whispered one word.
“Father.””
