After the delivery guy left, Dorothy slowly turned toward her daughter, disbelief still written all over her face.“Is this how people behave in this neighborhood?” she asked, her voice thick with shock.She still couldn’t process what had just happened. A complete stranger had walked straight into the apartment without knocking, without hesitation, as though he belonged there.Even more shocking was the fact that Giulia hadn’t reacted to it at all.“To think you sat there watching him stroll in like that,” Dorothy muttered under her breath.Giulia resisted the urge to laugh immediately. She already knew how traditional her mother is, especially when it comes to personal boundaries and basic courtesy.“Mom, don’t take it seriously. And for your question, no, that’s not how it's done here,” Giulia explained calmly. “He was only acting on instructions.”“Acting on instructions?” Dorothy cut in sharply before she could finish.Her brows lifted high in disbelief as she stared hard at her

Dante was in his hotel room in Bari City when his phone suddenly rang.At first, he ignored it.He was sitting on a couch, legs crossed, as he planned for the day.The court hearing from earlier still lingered heavily in his mind. Even though he had won against Atlantic Holdings, his mind was still bothered about how to locate Greg, the person who perhaps sponsored the propaganda.The sound continued vibrating against the glass table, refusing to stop. With a faint frown, he finally leaned forward and picked it up.His brows pulled together almost instantly upon realizing it was an unknown number.When he looked closely, he realized not only was the number strange, it was a foreign number too.The USA country code was displayed clearly on the screen.Dante stared at it for a few seconds before answering. “Hello?”“Congratulations on your victory over Atlantic Holdings" was exactly what the person from the other end uttered immediately. There wasn't even any introduction.The voice was

After the call Giulia had with Dante, she almost called her mother to inform her that she was no longer interested in their plan.The conversation had unsettled her more than she could admit. From the very first second he spoke, there was something in his tone that made her chest tighten.It felt as though he already knew what she and her mother were trying to do. That alone was enough to make panic creep into her heart.“But this is only between me and Mom,” she muttered under her breath. “How could he possibly find out?”The question lingered in her mind for several seconds before it slowly gave her a little reassurance. There was simply no way Dante could know. Neither she nor Dorothy had told anyone about the arrangement they were planning, so it was impossible for Dante to know.“He’s probably just trying to figure out my next move,” she finally concluded.Even then, the uneasiness refused to completely leave her.Giulia stood still in the middle of the sitting room, staring blank

It was exactly five o'clock in the evening when Dante arrived at Giulia's apartment, just as Dorothy, his ex-mother-in-law, had instructed.The evening was calm.Dante stepped out of his car and adjusted the cuff of his sleeve before making his way toward the entrance. His expression remained composed, but there was a certain caution in his movements.Standing before the door, he pressed the doorbell gently and stepped aside, waiting with the patience and courtesy that had always defined him for the occupants of the house to answer.Only a few moments passed before the door swung open.Giulia appeared almost instantly, as though she had been waiting behind it the entire time.Truthfully, she had.She hadn't even bothered asking who was at the door. From the very first ring, her instincts told her it was Dante. They had been expecting him for long.Even Giulia had been checking the time every few minutes.The sight of him standing there caused her heart to skip a beat before a bright s

Dante grimaced as he stirred awake. His body felt heavy, weighed down by a lingering haze that clouded his thoughts. For a brief moment, he assumed he was in his own bedroom. It was the natural conclusion to make after waking up from a deep sleep.He stretched lazily, expecting the familiar surroundings of his house to greet him, but then something felt off.The mattress beneath him was far too spacious.His bed at his current home in the ghetto wasn't uncomfortable by any means, but this one felt different. It was wider, softer, and more luxurious.His brows furrowed.Still half asleep, Dante extended an arm to the side. His fingers met nothing but empty space.That instantly chased away the remnants of sleep.Normally, his hand would have brushed against the edge of his bed by now if it were his bed, but instead of that, there was only more mattress.A knot formed in his stomach.Slowly, he opened his eyes. For several seconds, he stared blankly at the ceiling as fragments of memor