Chapter 2 - The Glass Was PlantedI stopped breathing.
Dante's words hung inside the SUV like a death sentence.
“That glass wasn't falling.”
“What does that mean?”
He did not answer.
His men were already moving.
One opened the door.
Another pulled Matteo away from the windows.
The third checked beneath the seats.
I stared at Dante.
“What does that mean?”
He finally looked at me.
“It means someone wanted my son dead.”
My stomach twisted.
“And you think I was part of it?”
His eyes hardened.
“If I thought that, you wouldn't still be sitting here.”
The answer should have reassured me.
It didn't.
Because there was something worse hiding behind it.
He trusted me.
Or at least he wanted to.
And somehow, that frightened me more.
The SUV drove away from Aurelios.
Not toward the hospital.
Toward a private medical clinic hidden behind a black iron gate.
I had never seen anything like it.
There were no signs.
No waiting room.
No receptionist.
Two armed men stood outside.
Dante carried Matteo.
I was escorted inside.
A doctor in a white coat appeared less than thirty seconds later.
He looked at Dante.
Then at me.
“She's the civilian?”
Dante's face darkened.
“She has a name.”
The doctor glanced at me.
“Your name?”
I told him.
He nodded.
“Let's get those fragments out.”
The examination was brutal.
Not because the doctor was careless.
Because every piece of glass felt like fire.
I bit down on my lip until I tasted blood.
Dante stood on the other side of the room.
He never looked away.
When the final shard came free, I nearly collapsed from relief.
The doctor cleaned the wound and stitched several deep cuts.
“You're lucky.”
I laughed weakly.
“I'm starting to disagree.”
“You should have lost far more blood.”
Dante's gaze remained fixed on my bandages.
“Can she leave?”
“Not tonight.”
“She can stay here.”
I sat up.
“No.”
Both men looked at me.
“I have an apartment.”
Dante frowned.
“Not anymore.”
“What?”
He stepped closer.
“Your address is compromised.”
My face went cold.
“You don't even know where I live.”
“I know.”
“How?”
He didn't answer.
The door opened.
One of his men entered.
“Boss.”
Dante turned.
“We found cameras.”
“Where?”
“Restaurant. Kitchen. Hallway. Parking lot.”
My stomach dropped.
“And?”
The man looked at me.
“We found a recording of her.”
Dante's eyes changed.
“Show me.”
The man placed a tablet on the table.
The video showed Aurelios.
Employees moving.
Customers arriving.
Then me.
Walking through the kitchen.
Carrying the crystal pitcher.
I watched myself pause near the corner booth.
Then something appeared on the screen.
A man.
Black baseball cap.
Dark jacket.
He stood near the service corridor.
I had never seen him before.
But Dante reacted instantly.
“Pause.”
The image froze.
He leaned closer.
“That scar.”
His voice was almost a whisper.
“You know him?”
Dante stared at the screen.
“Yes.”
“Who is he?”
“My brother.”
Silence.
I looked at him.
“Your brother?”
“Luca.”
Dante stepped away from the tablet.
His face had gone completely empty.
“What happened to him?”
“He died seven years ago.”
A chill traveled through me.
“But that's him.”
“I know.”
The room seemed to shrink.
Dante grabbed the tablet.
“Who else has seen this?”
“Only us.”
“Good.”
He handed it back.
“Erase the footage.”
The man hesitated.
“Boss?”
“Everything.”
“But—”
“Everything.”
The man nodded.
As he left, I looked at Dante.
“You think your dead brother tried to kill your son?”
“No.”
“Then who was it?”
Dante's eyes found mine.
“That is what I'm going to find out.”
He stepped closer.
“And until I do, you stay here.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I have a life.”
“You had one.”
My heart tightened.
“I can protect myself.”
“You jumped in front of falling glass.”
“To save a child.”
“And now that child thinks you're family.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
Dante's expression softened for only a fraction of a second.
“He hasn't let go of your hand for twenty minutes.”
I looked down.
Matteo had somehow wandered into the room.
His small fingers were wrapped around mine.
“I like her,” he whispered.
Dante closed his eyes.
“Matteo.”
“She saved me.”
“I know.”
“Can she stay?”
Dante looked at me.
Then at his son.
Then back at me.
His answer was quiet.
“Yes.”
That night, I slept in a room surrounded by armed men.
But sleep never came easily.
At 3:17 a.m., I woke to the sound of footsteps.
The door opened.
Dante stood there.
He looked exhausted.
“Sorry.”
“For what?”
“Someone broke into your apartment.”
My blood froze.
“What?”
“They were waiting for you.”
I couldn't speak.
He stepped inside and closed the door.
“They found your address.”
“Who?”
His jaw tightened.
“We don't know.”
Then he placed something on the table.
A photograph.
My photograph.
Taken outside Aurelios.
On the back, written in black ink, were six words.
SHE WAS NEVER THE TARGET.
I looked up.
Dante was already staring at me.
“What does that mean?”
His expression was terrifying.
“It means someone didn't put you in danger by accident.”
He reached for my hand.
May you like
His fingers closed around mine.
“They put you in the path of the glass because they needed me to see you.”
