Rising From Ashes: The Don's Lost Queen

I sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the man in the doorway. Tonight, Dante looked like a stranger to me.

I smiled slightly. "What do you want to talk about? Tess?"

Dante fell silent, his shoulders tense.

I let out a soft sigh. "There’s nothing to say. I understand you need to comfort your subordinates for the sake of the family, right? There’s nothing to explain because I understand everything."

Those were the exact words he used to say to me whenever I cried for his comfort.

Dante’s face went pale instantly. He opened his mouth to speak, but the sharp ring of his encrypted backup phone cut through the silence.

He pulled the device out, hesitated for a second, and hit speakerphone.

"Boss!" Tess’s voice came through, thick with hysterical sobbing. "Someone shot at my car! I think I’m being followed! Please, save me!"

Dante frowned, his lethal instincts taking over. "Call the family doctor and go to the nearest safe house. I’ll send a Capo with armed men to protect you."

He hung up and immediately began mobilizing his men. I sat quietly, watching him issue cold, calculated orders.

When he finally hung up, he rubbed his face with his hand.

"If you knew this would happen," I broke the silence, "you should have driven her home yourself."

Dante froze, staring at me for a long time. "I shouldn't have taken her away," he murmured to himself, as if trying to convince his own conscience.

I pulled back the covers and lay down, turning my back to him. "Turn off the light when you leave."

Just like our marriage, it was time to turn out the lights.