The words had left Victoria speechless; she'd never imagined Dante would think of her as such a lady.

Five years ago he'd disappeared without even a word.

"That's what you think?" She asked him.

"Is it not?"Dante asked again. He'd already assumed the worst as he sat up.

"Go to bed." He got up and walked into his room as the door clicked shut with a bang.

The two of them had succeeded in creating another misunderstanding for themselves.

She got into the kitchen and made a bowl of cereal for herself while the silence of the house stuck with her.

Why did he show up after all these years?

She wanted to call her best friend when she realized her phone was missing.

Making a mental note to get a new phone the next morning, she wondered if Kelvin had looked for her and what her stepmom would say by now.

Not realizing when she fell asleep curled in one corner of the big bed.

The morning light filtered directly on her, making Victoria stir, and her heavy eyelids slid open.

A soft knock on the door reminded her she was still caged in this mansion.

"You should come eat breakfast," Dante said, standing at the door, his hair messy and eye bags like he hadn't slept a wink all night.

Her eyes couldn't help but roam his body and his chest, too, the scars and the wound from last night.

"I'm not hungry," she whispered."Don't make me," he frowned at her. "Be down in five minutes unless you want me to carry you down myself."He strode out, not letting her refuse.

She bit her lip in frustration. Why her? Just when she'd forgotten about him, he'd show up again.

After all these years, she couldn't lie about the fact she missed him, but she wasn't the same high school girl who had fallen for a college guy under the cold night they planned their future together.

She looked at herself in the mirror, hair messy and mascara drawn. She turned on the cold water, washing her face and grabbing a toothbrush from the shelf.

Walking down the step, Madam Agnes had already set up the table. On a normal day, these were all her favorite dishes. She wondered if Dante still remembered or if it was just a coincidence.

"Sit," Dante said, pulling out a chair beside him.

She hated him.

This calmness made her heart thump in unexpected ways.

Madam Agnes hovered nearby, watching them both with quiet curiosity.

After a few bites, Victoria looked up. "I'll need a new phone. Mine's gone."

Dante didn't even glance at her. "I'll get one for you."

"I can get it myself."

He finally looked at her, his gaze sharp and dangerous. "You're not leaving this house."

Her spoon froze mid-air. "You can't keep me here."

"So you can go running to him?" he asked, his tone turning cold. "What does he have that I don't, Victoria?"

"That's the thing you always think everything is about you." Victoria snapped at him.

"What about me? I had a life and a job, and I was supposed to be getting married," she asked. "You just show up from nowhere, and now you own me."

The knife hit the table with a loud noise, and she got up.

"Where are you going?" Dante growled at her.

"I need to see my family, and yes, I owe them an explanation," Victoria hissed.

He moved before she could speak again, shoving her gently  against the wall, his breath hot against her ear.

"Don't lie to me. You said once I was the only one. Was that a lie too?"

Her heartbeat betrayed her fast, wild. His hand hovered near her cheek, unsure whether to touch or pull back.

"That was years back, Dante," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "Now we both live in separate worlds."

 "Look at you now; you control the whole Moretti asset, while  I'm just me, Victoria, nothing to my name, just a father who sees my marriage as a gain to the family."

"No one can hurt you when you're with me," Dante said, his hands finally touching her cheeks.

Her cheek was now wet with tears.

"Victoria, how can I make it up to you?" Dante asked.

"Just let me go," she muttered.

His throat tightened, pulling back, he returned to the dining room.

 The air in the room froze.

Her eyes held him waiting for a response.

"That's impossible," he spat.

 "Go and get a new phone, and this card is for anything you want." He threw a black card at her, not even lifting his head, sulking like a wounded lion.

"I don't need your card." Victoria pushed it back to him.

"That's the only way I'm letting you leave this house, and your father, don't worry about him, we will pay him a visit when I get back."

 Victoria hesitated, but she had no money; all her savings her stepmom had asked for in preparation for her wedding, saying as the first daughter to get married in the family, it had to be grand.

To her, Kelvin was her only chance; he'd loved her ever since and even offered her a job as his secretary. This wasn't how she wanted to pay him.

 "Fine." She took the black card and headed for her room. Standing here any longer, and she couldn't tell what would happen.

After she'd returned to her room and had her bath, when she opened the closet, all the dresses were high-end designer dresses, and they were all her size.

She spent the next hours trying on the different dresses, admiring her curves in the mirror.

One thing about Victoria: she loved to model. She loved the thrill of being noticed, looking good, and smelling nice, but thereafter, one scandal on her first modeling job, she had decided to make money first before going back to modeling.

 The dress lightened up her mood.

She settled for a two-piece collection and a sunglass while she tied her hair into a bun and applied light makeup to cover her eye bags.

The sound of the car leaving made her finally relax.

Dante was gone.

Phew!!

"I'm going out," she told Madam Agnes.

"Do you want the driver to take you there?" Madam Agnes asked.

"No need; I'd book a cab." After the stunt pulled at her fake wedding, she knew pulling up with a car and a new luxury would get everyone talking, so for now she had to settle everything and come back to handle Dante Moretti.

The air outside smelled of  money. his world, not hers. Still, she walked until a cab pulled up, and she asked the man to take her to the nearest bank to get some cash.

She'd  found a phone shop with a neon sign: "Mobile Repairs & Recharge."

Her hands trembled as she paid cash for a cheap phone, quickly typing Nina's number.

"Vicky? Oh my God, where are you? Kelvin's furious. Your dad's..."

"I just needed to hear someone," Victoria said, cutting Nina off.

"Vicky, you have to be careful, he..."

A laugh sliced through the air behind her.

"Well, well," a voice said sweetly. "Look who we have here."

Her stomach dropped.

 She turned slowly.

"Well, look who we have here."

Victoria froze.

She knew that voice too well...

Her stepsister's.

Amelia was  like a green snake under green grass.

In front of everyone she was the sensible child, but Victoria knew too well how dirty she could be.

"Amelia," she whispered.

"The runaway bride," Amelia scoffed.

 The two girls beside her laughed.

"Amelia, please, not today." Victoria said she was trying to leave since she'd already bought the phone.

On the other end of the line, Nina heard Amelia voice and knew that she would pick her fight with Victoria very soon. "Victoria, send me your location," Nina asked over the phone

. Victoria, not thinking about why Nina asked, just casually mentioned the name of the phone shop for her.

Amelia strutted closer, flanked by two friends with smirks plastered on their glossy lips.

"You've got some nerve showing your face outside, sister dear. Shouldn't you be on a honeymoon with Kelvin?"

Her friends snickered. "Oh wait, she ran away at the altar," one mocked, twirling her hair.

Everyone turned, looking at Victoria, making her uncomfortable. She'd wish for nothing more than to give this bitch a dirty slap.

"You're right, I ran away from my wedding. What about you? Has anyone ever proposed to you, not to talk of taking you down the aisle?" Victoria snarled at her.

Amelia gaze darkened as she glared at her supposed sister. "You left a good man for a gangster who pulled up gun with a to your wedding."

The people around began to murmur, and some of them even looked at her with disdain.

"Not only did she abandon her fiancé, who did everything for her, she ran off with a fuckboy. Do you want to kill Father?" Amelia continued seeing that everyone now judged Victoria.

"Some ladies don't know how to live a decent life," an elderly woman who was getting a phone with her daughter hissed.

Victoria bit her lip, anger building underneath her skin.

Amelia circled her like a cat cornering a mouse. "Dad's disappointed, you know. He said you embarrassed him in front of the Valens. You ruined everything. Even your dress..." she sneered, tugging at the hem of Victoria's outfit. "Is this fake silk? God, I can't breathe the same air as you."

The other two girls giggled beside Amelia, clearly fanning the fire.

"You don't have to worry about whether the man I ran off with is a fuckboy or not, and I'm going to see Dad, so it's none of your business," Victoria warned.

"You've said enough."

 "Relax, I'm just trying to tell you what's good for you," Amelia purred. "Maybe I'll introduce you to one of my new friends since you like to jump from one man to another."

"I'm a model now, didn't you see? This was your dream, right? I got signed by Halo Agency. I meet real men with money, Vicky. Not your little street thug pretending to be rich."

Her friends giggled louder.

Victoria's eyes stung. Modeling was her dream, but she wouldn't give her that satisfaction of seeing her crumble. Not anymore.

"Enjoy your little modeling gig," she said, voice trembling but steady. "I hope you no longer sleep with old, dirty men like five years ago when you used me to cover up your dirt."

Amelia froze for a second, her eyes darkened, but she quickly masked it  with  a twisted smile."You'll regret those words. Don't come crying to us when you and your thug boyfriend can no longer survive."

Victoria turned to leave, heart pounding, but then her phone buzzed.

Nina.

She remembered she'd given her the location a while ago.

She picked up instantly. "Nina?"

"Where the hell are you?" Nina's voice cracked through the line. "I'm opposite the phone plaza."

"I'm fine. I just ran into Amelia."

"Oh, perfect," Nina snapped. "That viper is still breathing? Where is she? Let me teach her manners."

 Victoria  laughed, masking her feelings. "Please don't."

 Nina said. "Come meet me at Café Bloom."

Victoria nodded, slipping her phone into her bag, ignoring Amelia's eyes burning holes in her back.

"Running away again?" Amelia mocked as she walked off.

"Walking away," Victoria shot back. "There's a difference."

...

At Café Bloom.

Nina was already waiting, stirring her iced latte with that bored, dangerous expression she wore when she was about to explode.

"Wow, Vicky, you look like you've walked out of a telenovela," Nina said, eyes googling her best friend. "Who do I punch first?"

"No one. I just need to think."

Nina sighed, leaning back. "You look good, so Dante is back, and do you want him now?"

 "Nina, you wouldn't understand; he just came back because he heard I was getting married to his former friend, I suppose."

 "Overthinking, as usual. Look, I never liked Kelvin; there was just something off about him. Who would fall for their best friend's woman?"

"Your family's worse. You need to stop letting them define you. Do you think if Kelvin wasn't investing in your dad's business, they'd give a fuck about you?

Victoria smiled faintly. "You always make it sound so easy."

"Because it is," Nina fired back. "You want your freedom? Take it. You want answers? Go get them. You said your dad's office is downtown, right? Let's go."

Victoria hesitated, glancing at her phone screen.

She had just finished setting up her phone and restoring her social media account.

"Fine, I would head to my dad's place and then meet with Kelvin. I owe him answers."

Nina grinned. "That's my girl."

Both ladies ordered while they discussed catching up.

Just then a text came through.

"I think you should check your phone." Nina said.

Victoria glanced at the strange number.

She picked up the phone.

"Where are you?"

Just then another text pops up again just before she could figure out who it was.

"Vicky, it's not safe. Text me your location now."

Her hands froze; only Dante called her like that.

What does he mean by not being safe?

She had not yet married into the Moretti family, and now it wasn't safe?

"Who is that?" Nina asked, seeing her face turn pale.

Her phone started ringing.

 Then a black car pulled up outside Cafe Moon with men in black suits who all came outside.

Three men stepped out in matching suits, scanning the café like hunters who already knew their prey was inside.

The sight causing a commotion.

"Vicky..." Nina whispered. "Tell me you know those men.".

Victoria's hands trembled as she locked her phone. "No. But I think they know me."

Then, the man at the front reached for his earpiece. His gaze landed directly on her.

He smiled.

Panic clawed at her throat.

Something told Victoria they were here for her.

She shook off the feeling. getting up from her sit.

"Nina I think I should get going now."

"Wait Victoria, who texted you?" Nina asked again.

"Some other time I'd call you to hangout." she said kissing her cheeks as she made for the other door.

The city buzzed around her as she stepped out.cars honking, people chatting, the faint smell of roasted coffee and gasoline filling the air.

She realized she must have been thinking too much as the car didn't follow her. She adjusted her glasses, heading toward her father's company building two blocks down.

Just as she reached the corner, a black van screeched to a stop beside her.

Her breath caught.

The door slid open.

"Miss Victoria Hales?" a man's deep voice called. He wore  sunglasses, his lips curved into a wide calm smile.

"I-I think you've got the wrong person," she stammered, stepping back.

"Ah... I know it you" the man's laughter covered her ear.

Victoria's heart thumped and she quickly brought out her phone dialing Dante number.

Another man got out. He was bigger with wild tattoos all over, the kind of man whose eyes didn't blink much.

Her phone slipped from her hand.

Before she could scream, a rough cloth covered her mouth. The bitter scent burned her nose.

"Mmph-!"

The world tilted.

People walked by without looking, the noise of traffic swallowing her muffled cries.

At Dante Mansion.

The call went through.

"Hello Vicky" Dante called but no one answered.

Dante's glass shattered in his hand as one of his men rushed in.

"Boss the lady's gone."

For a heartbeat, he didn't breathe.

Then, cold and deadly, Dante stood. "Find her. Whoever touched her... won't live to regret it."

He picked up his phone the list of people who could cross him came to his mind as he dialed the first call.

"Kelvin how can you hurt the woman you claim to love?" Dante cursed at him.

"Where's Victoria? You can't even protect the lady you stole from me all the enemies you have in this city and you think I'm the one" Kelvin snapped back at him.

Dante ended the call he knew it wasn't Kelvin he didn't have the heart he was a little rat.

"Boss we couldn't trace anything again"

 Dante's glass slipped from his hand, crashing against the marble floor. Red wine and blood pooled together, staining the white surface.

The room froze.

"Find her," Dante cut in, his voice calm but low enough to make the air heavy. "Every street, every van, every camera between here and downtown. I want her found."

"Her phone went dark two blocks from Hales Industries," one of his men reported, already pale. "We picked up the van on CCTV for only a second. Professional work. Military pattern. Whoever took her knew how to hide."

WDante's pulse spiked. He knew that kind of efficiency. It wasn't random.

"Boss," Felix, his right-hand man, said carefully, "if it's not Kelvin, then..."

Dante turned toward him, eyes dark.

"It's Enzo."

The room stilled again.

Enzo Moretti.

His stepbrother. The golden child of their father's second wife.

The one who grew up in luxury while Dante was forced to train in silence and bleed for every scrap of respect.

"That bastard," Dante muttered, dragging a hand down his face. "He's been waiting for a reason to move against me. Maybe he finally found it."

Felix frowned. "You think this is about business?"

"It's always about business," Dante said flatly. "He's been begging for control of the eastern docks since Father died. I refused. If he can't beat me in negotiation, he'll try to cripple me emotionally." His fist clenched. "He knows what she means to me."

Felix hesitated. "Then this might not just be a message, boss. This could be leverage."

Dante exhaled through his nose, the sound sharp. "He thinks he can use Victoria to force my hand?"

"He wants me to sign that  contract, the one tied to the Russians. So he can be trafficking young girls. He's aligning himself with them behind my back."

He turned toward the wall where a large painting of his father hung. His lip curled.

"You raised snakes, old man," he murmured. "And now they bite each other."

He picked up his jacket from the chair, ignoring the sting in his palm where the glass had cut deep. The pain grounded him, a reminder that weakness was a luxury he couldn't afford.

"Get the cars ready," he ordered. "And gather intel from the harbor. I want eyes everywhere. If Enzo touched her, I'll make him regret ever breathing my air."

He moved toward the door, but paused his reflection flickering in the window. For a fleeting second, guilt surfaced in his eyes.

You promised you'd protect her this time.

He pushed the thought away.

"This isn't about love anymore," he said under his breath. "This is war."

"Boss," Felix said again, voice cautious, "what if Enzo reaches out? Maybe this is his way of calling you to the table."

Dante smirked coldly. "Then he's about to learn that deals made in blood never end with signatures."

He stepped out, the mansion's massive doors swinging open as his convoy waited outside black cars lined up like soldiers in formation.

Engines roared to life, headlights slicing through the night as they sped down the long driveway.

"If it's truly Enzo... then Victoria's in more danger than she knows." One of the men muttered.

...

And far away, in the dim backroom of a cargo dock, a man poured himself a drink.

A silver ring gleamed on his finger the same crest Dante wore.

"Welcome back to the game, brother," Enzo murmured with a cold grin. "Let's see what your heart is worth."