Hello sexiness, Enjoy the new chapter
____________________________________
If the Moretti mansion was a fortress, the Blackwell Estate...where the Commission held its annual gala was a gilded cage designed by a megalomaniac with an obsession for marble.
I stepped out of the SUV, the midnight-blue Widow's Weave dress clinging to my body like a second skin.
The silver embroidery caught the moonlight, making me look like I was draped in starlight and bad intentions.
[ STATUS: ELEGANCE +25 ]
[ NEW BUFF: LETHAL BEAUTY (Charisma increased by 15% for the duration of the event) ]
Dante stepped out behind me, looking so handsome it should have been a felony.
He offered his arm, his eyes dark as they swept over me.
"Try not to look too much like you're planning to take over the world, Serena," he murmured. "It makes the other bosses nervous."
"I can't help it, Dante.
It's the dress," I whispered back, slipping my hand into the crook of his elbow.
"It has Global Domination stitched into the lining."
He let out a short, surprised huff of laughter...a sound so rare that Marco, standing by the car, actually blinked in shock.
[ RELATIONSHIP WITH DANTE: +5 (Humor is a powerful weapon!) ]
As we walked up the red carpet, the System began to scream.
Little red markers popped up over the heads of the guests standing on the balcony.
[ NAME: VICTOR VALETTI ]
[ DANGER LEVEL: 88/100 ]
[ ROLE: RIVAL BOSS / THE PETTY ANTAGONIST ]
Victor Valetti was a man who looked like he spent more on his hair gel than his security. He was younger than the other bosses, with a sneer that suggested he'd never been told 'no' in his life.
He was the one Lucca had been selling secrets to.
"Moretti!" Victor called out as we reached the top of the stairs.
He looked at me, his eyes lingering on the high slit of my dress with a disgusting lack of subtlety.
"I see you brought a new... asset.
Though, considering the Rossi family's recent liquidity issues, I'm surprised she didn't come with a price tag still attached."
The air around Dante turned to liquid nitrogen.
I felt his bicep turn to iron under my hand.
In the original book, this was where Dante would flip a table, leading to a bloody shootout that lasted three chapters.
I didn't have time for a shootout.
I had an assassin to find.
"Mr. Valetti, I presume?" I said, stepping slightly forward with a dazzling, razor-sharp smile.
"It's a pleasure to meet the man who tried to buy my father's debts.
Though, I must say, after seeing your choice in pocket squares.
I'm glad the deal fell through.
A girl has to have some standards."
A few of the surrounding guests, older, more dignified bosses smothered laughs.
Victor's face turned a shade of purple that matched his unfortunate tie.
"You little..."
"Careful, Victor," Dante interrupted, his voice a low, terrifying purr.
"She has a very expensive tongue.
If you insult her again, I might have to bill you for the emotional damages.
And we both know you're currently overleveraged in the docks."
Victor stiffened, his eyes darting to Dante's hand, which was resting casually near his waistband.
He muttered an insult and stalked away.
"Standard-shaming a Mafia boss?" Dante looked down at me, an eyebrow arched.
"Remind me never to let you near my wardrobe if I've annoyed you."
"Your wardrobe is fine, Dante.
It's your brooding that needs work," I teased.
Inside, the ballroom was a sea of black ties and hidden holsters.
I took a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, my Sharp Eye skill working overtime.
[ SYSTEM TASK: IDENTIFY THE ASSASSIN ]
[ CLUE 1: The assassin wears the mark of the Spider]
I scanned the room.
Waiters, guards, mistresses, bosses.
Everyone had a Danger Level above their head, but none of them felt wrong until my eyes landed on a woman in a crimson gown near the buffet.
[ NAME: ELENA VANCE ]
[ DANGER LEVEL: 70/100 ]
[ ROLE: TRIPLE AGENT / UNKNOWN AFFILIATION ]
She was talking to a waiter, but her eyes were fixed on the chandelier directly above the center table where the Commission would sit.
I looked up.
The chain holding the three-ton crystal fixture looked secure, but then I saw it...a tiny, mechanical device clamped to the main link.
Oh, you've got to be kidding me, I thought.
A chandelier drop?
How very 1920s of them.
"Dante," I whispered, leaning in close as if I were going to kiss his cheek.
"Don't look up, but the chandelier is rigged. Someone is going to drop three tons of expensive on your head during the toast."
Dante didn't flinch.
He didn't even stop swirling his drink.
"How sure are you?"
"99%. The other 1% is just me being dramatic, but I'd bet my emerald green dress on it."
"Marco," Dante said into his lapel mic.
"Get to the attic.
Someone touched the winch.
Bring them to me alive. Or mostly alive."
Dante turned his attention back to me.
"If you're right, you just saved the entire Commission.
They'll owe me.
And I'll owe you."
"I'll take the owing me in the form of a very long, very uninterrupted nap tomorrow," I said, taking a sip of champagne.
"And maybe some of those truffles.
I'm starving. Being a Toy is hard work."
Dante's eyes softened, just for a fraction of a second, before the mask of the Boss returned.
"Stay here.
Don't move from this pillar."
He moved away to speak with an older Boss, leaving me alone for the first time. I leaned against the marble, trying to look bored.
"So, I am curious , who replaced Rossi girl's spine with a steel rod?"
I turned.
Standing there was a woman who looked like she'd been carved out of ice.
She was older, elegant, and had a Danger Level of [ ? ? / 100 ].
[ NAME: CASSANDRA MORETTI ]
[ ROLE: THE DOWAGER QUEEN / DANTE'S MOTHER ]
Crap.
In the book, Cassandra was the one who eventually ordered Serena's disposal because she wasn't high-born enough.
"Mrs. Moretti," I said, curtsying just enough to be polite but not submissive.
"I was told you were in Tuscany."
"I was.
But I heard my son had bought a pet that started talking back to him," Cassandra said, her eyes scanning me like a microscope.
"Tell me, Serena.
Are you a clever girl who found a lucky break, or are you a disaster waiting to happen to my family?"
"I'm an opportunist, Mrs. Moretti," I replied, meeting her gaze.
"And right now, the opportunity is keeping your son alive.
I think we can agree that's a goal we share."
Cassandra looked at the chandelier, then back at me.
She didn't smile, but she didn't call the guards either.
"We shall see.
But remember, girl....Dante is a man of appetites.
Once he's full, he throws the scraps away. Make sure you aren't just a snack."
"I'm the whole five-course meal, Mrs. Moretti.
With a very expensive dessert."
Humor was the only thing keeping my heart from leaping out of my chest.
Suddenly, the lights flickered.
The room went silent.
The head of the Commission, a man named Old Man Ricci, stood up and raised his glass.
"To the future of the Five Families!" he shouted.
I looked up.
The device on the chandelier sparked.
"Dante!" I screamed, forgetting my Mystery persona.
I didn't wait.
I lunged forward, grabbing Dante's hand and pulling him toward the edge of the room. At the same moment, the winch snapped.
CRASH
The sound was deafening.
Thousands of crystal shards exploded like shrapnel.
Dust filled the air.
Screams erupted as the ballroom plunged into chaos.
In the dark, I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around me, shielding my body with a wall of muscle and expensive wool.
Dante had me pinned against a wall, his body acting as a human shield against the flying glass.
"Are you hit?" he rasped, his breath hot against my forehead.
"I... I think I'm okay," I coughed, my ears ringing.
"My dress might be ruined, though.
Gianluca is going to kill me."
Dante let out a sound that was half-s
ob, half-laugh
. He pulled back, his hands framing my face. In the dim emergency lights, he looked absolutely feral.
"You're worried about the dress?" he growled.
"You just threw yourself into the path of a falling chandelier to pull me back."
"Well, I couldn't let you die," I said, trying to find my voice.
"Who else is going to pay for my shoes?"
Dante stared at me for a long beat.
Then, he did something he hadn't done yet. He didn't kiss me with dominance or hunger. He pressed his forehead against mine, his eyes closing.
"You're insane," he whispered.
"It's a requirement for the job," I replied.
[ MISSION COMPLETED: THE BLOOD GALA ]
[ REWARD: +50 RELATIONSHIP WITH DANTE, +100 XP ]
[ NEW STATUS: THE BOSS'S WEAKNESS (Warning: This is a double-edged sword!) ]
I looked over his shoulder.
In the dust, I saw Elena Vance...the woman in red disappearing through a side door.
She wasn't the assassin.
She was the distraction.
The real assassin was still in the room.
And as the emergency lights turned a deep, warning red, I saw a laser dot settle right on the center of Dante's chest.
"Dante, get down!"
Author's Note:
The chandelier was just the beginning!
The real assassin is still in the room, and Serena has just gained a very dangerous status: The Boss's Weakness.
In the Mafia world, being a weakness is a death sentence.
How will Serena handle the Dowager Queen Cassandra now that the party has turned into a war zone?
And who is the person behind the laser sight?
Don't forget to Power Stone this chapter pter! We are grinding towards greatness
Support with collections, and reviews
Enjoy