Chapter 3 - The Man Who Saved Him
Dante did not react immediately.
That frightened Mercer more than anger would have.
“You’re lying,” Dante said.
Mercer shook his head.
“I’m not.”
“You’re blaming the easiest target.”
“He paid me.”
“How much?”
“Two million.”
Dante looked toward Marco.
“Records?”
Mercer nodded quickly.
“There are transfers. Shell accounts.”
Marco left immediately.
Dante kept his eyes on Mercer.
“Why?”
“I don’t know everything.”
“You know enough.”
Mercer wiped sweat from his forehead.
“Victor said your recovery would destroy stability.”
Dante’s expression changed slightly.
“Stability.”
“He said the family needed one leader. Not a wounded one who might return.”
Dante stared at him.
“And Isabella?”
Mercer looked away.
Dante’s voice sharpened.
“Isabella?”
“She knew about the injections.”
Silence.
“But not the crash,” Mercer added quickly. “At least I don’t think she did.”
Dante leaned back.
For months, Isabella had sat beside him at dinners.
Held his hand before visitors.
Spoken softly about their future.
And all the while, she knew.
“Where is she?”
Marco returned.
“Her suite.”
“Bring her.”
Isabella arrived five minutes later.
She saw Mercer.
Then Shaw.
Then the injector.
Her face hardened.
“So this is a trial now?”
Dante looked at her.
“Did you know?”
“Know what?”
“That I was being drugged.”
She didn’t answer.
Dante gave a slight nod.
“That’s enough.”
Isabella stepped closer.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then help me.”
Her voice rose.
“After the accident, everything was collapsing.”
“Everything?”
“The businesses. The alliances. People were questioning whether you could lead.”
“So you drugged me?”
“I didn’t drug you.”
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
The word landed heavily.
Dante stared at her.
“Why?”
“Because Victor said it was temporary.”
Mercer laughed nervously.
Isabella turned on him.
“Shut up.”
Dante’s eyes moved between them.
“Temporary for what?”
“For the transition.”
Dante became still.
“What transition?”
Isabella’s eyes filled with frustration.
“You weren’t functioning.”
“I was paralyzed.”
“You had stopped attending meetings. You stopped making decisions. You barely spoke to anyone.”
“You helped make sure I stayed that way.”
“I was trying to protect what you built.”
Dante’s expression hardened.
“By handing it to Victor?”
Isabella didn’t answer.
Dante understood.
He looked at Marco.
“Find Victor.”
Marco checked his phone.
Then looked up.
“He left the estate twenty minutes ago.”
Dante’s face changed.
“How?”
“Service road. One gate guard disabled the alarm.”
“Who?”
“Missing.”
Dante closed his eyes briefly.
Victor had planned for this.
Of course he had.
Dante looked at Mercer.
“When did you tell him we found the device?”
“I didn’t.”
Isabella spoke quietly.
“I did.”
Dante looked at her.
She swallowed.
“Before you took my phone.”
Dante stared at her for a long moment.
Then he said:
“Get her out.”
Isabella stepped forward.
“Dante—”
“Out.”
Two guards escorted her away.
Rachel had been standing in the hallway.
Dante saw her.
“How long were you there?”
“Long enough.”
“Where’s Lily?”
“With the kitchen staff.”
“Good.”
Rachel looked toward the closed door.
“I’m sorry.”
Dante glanced at her.
“For what?”
“For what they did.”
He looked down at his legs.
“Sorry doesn’t fix nerves.”
“No.”
Rachel stepped closer.
“But truth sometimes does.”
That evening, Shaw conducted a full examination.
Dante gripped the edge of the table while she tested reflexes.
“Anything?”
He closed his eyes.
“Maybe.”
“Maybe isn’t useful.”
“I felt pressure.”
“Where?”
“Left calf.”
Shaw repeated the test.
Dante inhaled sharply.
“There.”
Shaw looked at him.
“What?”
“Something.”
Her expression changed.
Not pity.
Hope.
“We need imaging.”
Dante stared at her.
“Tell me the truth.”
“I am.”
“Can I recover?”
She took a breath.
“There’s activity.”
“How much?”
“Enough that I would never call this hopeless.”
Dante looked toward the silver bell hanging from his ankle.
For the first time in seven months, he felt something stronger than rage.
Possibility.
Then Marco entered.
“We found something.”
He placed a tablet in front of Dante.
Security footage from a garage appeared.
Victor stood beside Dante’s armored SUV.
Three days before the crash.
A mechanic handed him a tool.
Dante watched in silence.
“What is this?”
“The mechanic disappeared after the crash.”
Dante’s jaw tightened.
“Name?”
“Tommy Valez.”
“Alive?”
“We think so.”
“Find him.”
Marco nodded.
Then hesitated.
“There’s something else.”
He played another clip.
Isabella entered the garage.
She spoke to Victor.
Dante watched their body language.
Close.
Familiar.
Then Victor kissed her.
Dante’s face went completely still.
Rachel looked away.
Marco stopped the video.
Dante said nothing for almost a minute.
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Finally:
“So that’s the transition.”
