Chapter 3 - The Sanctuary of Shadows
Dante’s estate was a fortress, not just of stone, but of secrets. He didn't lock me in a room; he gave me a wing of the mansion and told me I was safe. Within hours, his personal medical team had transferred Miles to the best private facility in the state, fully funded, with the top specialists in the country hovering over his bed.
"Why?" I asked Dante that evening, finding him in his study, surrounded by ledgers that looked suspiciously like the ones that had destroyed my father.
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He looked up, the harsh light of the desk lamp softening his features. "Your father and I have been rivals for a decade, Serena. I’ve watched him destroy everything he touched. But you... you were the only part of that family that remained untainted. I couldn't let him break you."
The tension between us shifted. It wasn't the suffocating, heavy fear I felt with Julian. It was an electric, dangerous anticipation. I realized then that Dante hadn't just saved me—he had been watching me, waiting for the right moment to pull me from the fire. And as the days turned into weeks, the lines between 'savior' and 'something more' began to blur in the quiet, candlelit hallways of his home.
