A Capo's Anniversary of Ashes

The club dancer my husband, Dante, kept on the side loved to play twisted games of 'true love'.

For her ninety-ninth game, she kidnapped my daughter.

"Dante, I can't stand you being with anyone else," she'd purred. "I'll sell her off to Mexico. Then you'll only have me."

My voice like ice, I ordered my husband to get our daughter back. Dante just rolled his eyes.

"Chloe just loves me too much. She'll bring the kid back once she calms down. Stop making a scene."

I glanced at my phone. A video showed my daughter, the corner of her mouth split and bleeding. I made another call.

"In the Moretti family, what's the price for stealing an heir?"

"She goes to the bottom of the lake. No exceptions."

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1

"Scarlett! Are you insane? Chloe was just joking, why are you taking it so seriously?"

"Call your people off. Now. If they so much as touch Chloe, we're done."

In seven years of marriage, Dante had never raised his voice at me. Now, for the first time, he was screaming—all for his little mistress.

I jabbed a finger at the screen, at the video of our daughter bound hand and foot, my voice dropping to a glacial calm.

"A joke? Who jokes about kidnapping?"

"Sofia's face is swollen. Can't you see that?"

Dante, however, was dismissive.

"It's just makeup. If you can't even tell the difference, no wonder Chloe says you're old and boring."

Right in front of me, Dante pulled out his phone to send Chloe a nauseatingly sweet text.

"Baby, where are you?" he typed. "You know you're the most important one in my heart! Come back soon. I worry when you're out alone."

Watching Dante, so utterly unconcerned for our daughter's safety, I felt fury pulse at my temples.

I strode forward, snatched his phone, and dialed Chloe's number.

The contact name, 'My Queen,' stung my eyes.

In seven years of marriage, Dante's contact for me had always been my full name.

I had asked him to change it once, but he’d brushed it off as a childish game.

"Dante, I took your little girl. The one you had with that old hag. You're not mad, are you?"

Chloe's cloying voice pulled me from my thoughts.

My face hardened. "Bring my daughter back. Now. You can't afford the consequences of kidnapping a Moretti."

Chloe met my warning with a scornful laugh.

"Well, well, who do we have here? If it isn't the old hag Dante despises."

"Scarlett, you're old and you're boring. Other than your family's muscle, what have you got that I don't?"

"I just want you to know that in Dante's heart, you and your daughter are worthless! Even if I sell her to Mexico as a child laborer…"

Before Chloe could finish, I cut her off, my voice grim.

"You touch a single hair on my daughter's head, and I guarantee you won't live to see another sunrise."

The next second, a sharp slap cracked across my face. It was Dante.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Chloe just loves me; she feels insecure. You're a grown woman. Why are you harassing a young girl?"

"Chloe, don't worry. As long as I'm here, no one can hurt you."

"Do whatever you want with the kid, just don't be late for our date tonight."

"I booked your favorite sky bar to celebrate our 100-day anniversary!"

They cooed at each other, their words dripping with saccharine.

After he hung up, Dante changed into a fresh suit, spritzed on cologne, and headed for the door.

He paused only to lecture me.

"Chloe can be dramatic, but she's not a bad person."

"She sent Sofia home ages ago. Just go pick her up."

"Next time, get your facts straight before you cause a scene. You're making a fool of yourself."

After Dante left, the bodyguard at my side spoke.

"Principessa, I'll take my men to teach that bitch a lesson right now."

I pressed my fingers to my temples.

"Bring Sofia back first."

But when my men stormed Dante and Chloe's love nest, they found no trace of Sofia. Only a floor slick with blood.

The Saint Christopher's medal I'd given Sofia was lying in the middle of it, soaked red.

In that moment, I clenched my fists, stormed to the private club where Dante and Chloe were having their date, and kicked the VIP room door clean off its hinges.