The city buzzed with movement as afternoon approached.
Inside a tall glass building overlooking the streets below, Dante Voss stood by the window, hands tucked into his pockets.
From this height, everything looked small.
Controlled.
Manageable.
"…Sir," his assistant's voice came from behind. "Your meeting has been rescheduled to 2 PM."
Dante didn't turn around. "Good."
Silence followed.
His assistant hesitated slightly before speaking again. "If I may ask… you've been unusually distracted today."
Dante's eyes shifted slightly.
"Is that a problem?" he asked calmly.
"No, sir," the assistant replied quickly. "Just… unusual."
Dante said nothing.
Distracted?
Perhaps.
But not in a way anyone could easily understand.
---
Dante turned away from the window and walked toward his desk.
On the surface, everything about his life was structured:
Meetings
Decisions
Power
Control
But beneath that…
There was another life.
A darker one.
One where he wasn't just a businessman.
One where he was feared.
Respected.
And sometimes… challenged.
His mind drifted back briefly.
The warehouse.
The masked woman.
Crimson Shadow.
His rival.
Cold. Calculated. Unpredictable.
"…She hasn't changed," he muttered quietly.
Yet something about her had always stood out.
Not just her strength.
But the way she never backed down.
---
His phone rang.
Dante glanced at the screen.
"Selena Hart."
His expression didn't change as he picked up the call.
"What is it?" he asked.
A soft, almost playful voice came through the speaker.
"Busy as always, Dante?"
"Cut to the point."
Selena chuckled lightly. "No need to be so cold. I just wanted to check on you."
Dante remained silent.
"You've been hard to reach lately," she continued. "And now I hear you're attending a university?"
"…News travels fast," Dante replied flatly.
"Of course it does," Selena said. "People talk… especially when it involves you."
There was a slight pause before she added:
"I might visit soon."
Dante's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Don't."
A soft laugh came through the phone.
"You always say that."
Click.
The call ended.
Dante lowered his phone slowly.
His expression remained calm…
But his eyes had grown colder.
Selena Hart.
Persistent.
Obsessive.
Dangerous in her own way.
Later that day, Dante arrived at a different location—quiet, less formal.
A private apartment.
Not the kind a businessman would usually own.
He stepped inside, closed the door behind him, and removed his suit jacket.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
No assistants.
No business tone.
No expectations.
Just silence.
He walked to a locked drawer and opened it.
Inside were documents.
Maps.
Reports.
Information that belonged to a completely different world.
The mafia world.
Dante's expression hardened slightly as he reviewed the contents.
Territory movements.
Rival activities.
Names.
One name stood out again.
Crimson Shadow.
He paused.
"…Still active," he muttered.
A faint sense of anticipation crossed his mind.
In the mafia world, she was his rival.
Someone who matched his level.
Someone who didn't fear him.
And that made things… interesting.
--
That evening, Dante changed into casual clothes—simple, dark, unassuming.
A completely different version of himself.
He stepped out of the apartment and walked through the streets like any other person.
No guards nearby.
No visible authority.
Just another young man blending into the crowd.
As he walked, his thoughts drifted back to earlier that day.
The university.
The girl.
Aria Cole.
Something about her interaction had been… different.
Not because it was significant on the surface.
But because it felt natural.
Unforced.
He didn't feel the need to dominate the conversation.
Nor did she.
"…Strange," he muttered under his breath.
---
Dante stopped walking for a moment and looked ahead at the moving crowd.
Two lives.
Two identities.
Two worlds.
And somehow…
Both were starting to overlap in ways he didn't expect.
He didn't know why.
But something told him…
His path was about to cross again with that same girl.
Not just once.
But repeatedly.
And next time…
It might not be as simple as a brief encounter.