CHAPTER 7
Dante stopped adjusting his cuffs, turning around slowly to meet her soft brown eyes with an intensity that made her breath catch in her throat.
He walked over to the bed, dropping down onto one knee before her so they were at eye level, removing every shred of intimidation from his towering frame.
"Because I know what it feels like to be treated as a ghost by the people who were supposed to protect you," Dante confessed quietly, his voice raw with an authentic sincerity she had never experienced before. "My father was a ruthless monster who viewed his sons as expendable soldiers, Maya."
He reached out, his large, warm hand gently covering her small, cold fingers where they rested nervously against her lap.
"When I looked at those marks on your back in the library," Dante continued softly, "I didn't see an asset or a ransom token. I saw a survivor who deserved a king to fight for her."
Tears welled in Maya’s eyes, but for the first time in her life, they weren't tears of fear or pain; they were tears of profound relief.
"Damon will never let this go," she whispered, leaning forward slightly as his thumb gently brushed away a falling tear. "He has the Sterling family in his pocket, and they will use every law firm in the state to drag me back."
"The Sterling family is currently facing three simultaneous federal tax audits and an immediate freeze on all their corporate liquidity," Dante revealed with a wicked, satisfying smirk. "I spent the last four hours purchasing eighty percent of their distressed debt."
Maya gasped, her hands covering her mouth as she realized the sheer scale of the financial war Dante had launched while she was resting.
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"You bought my stepfather's empire...?" she stammered in disbelief.
"By tomorrow morning, I will own the house you were abused in," Dante promised, his dark eyes burning with fierce vengeance. "And I intend to tear it down brick by brick."
