Chapter 8 - The Blood Ransom
Lorenzo Valente stood perfectly perfectly tailored in a pristine white trench coat.
He was flanked by eight mercenaries armed with tactical assault rifles.
"Uncle Lorenzo," Dante said, his voice dripping with pure venom.
"You really should have stayed exiled in Sicily."
Lorenzo chuckled, a dry, raspy sound that echoed terribly in the wet tunnel.
"I came back for my rightful property, Dante."
Lorenzo pointed his silver walking cane directly at Elena's trembling figure.
"Her father owed me a massive debt, and he foolishly used her music career as a front to wash my dirty cash."
"When the cartel found out, I had to completely silence him to protect the Valente family name."
Elena felt sick to her stomach as the horrifying truth finally clicked into place.
The man who had orchestrated her father's brutal murder was Dante's own flesh and blood.
"She doesn't have the ledger," Dante lied smoothly, stepping protectively in front of her again.
"She doesn't need the physical ledger, nephew," Lorenzo smiled wickedly.
"The girl has a photographic memory for numbers, which makes her an extreme liability to my freedom."
Lorenzo casually pulled a heavy, gold-plated revolver from his coat pocket.
He pointed the weapon straight at Dante's chest.
"Walk away right now, Dante, and you get to keep your shipping empire and your miserable little life."
"If you choose to protect the girl, I will absolutely slaughter both of you down here in the dark."
Elena grabbed Dante's muscular arm, tears streaming freely down her face.
"Please, just let me go with him," she begged quietly.
"I will not let you throw away everything you built because of me."
Dante slowly turned his head to look down at her terrified face.
He gently reached out and wiped a single tear from her pale cheek with his thumb.
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"I built my empire precisely so I would never have to take orders from men like him ever again," Dante whispered.
Dante violently kicked a heavy steel pipe on the floor, sending it crashing into a nearby electrical breaker box.
