CHAPTER 8
Three weeks passed in a peaceful blur of luxury, intense healing, and an undeniable, powerful bond growing rapidly between Maya and Dante.
Her physical strength returned, her cheeks filled out with a healthy, radiant glow, and the dark circles beneath her eyes completely disappeared under elite medical care.
Dante spent every evening with her, setting aside his syndicate duties to sit on the sunlit terrace, listening to her talk about her dreams of becoming an interior designer.
He treated her not as a fragile victim, but as an equal, buying her sketching supplies, encouraging her talent, and protecting her peace with an iron ring of security.
However, the silence was shattered on a rainy Thursday afternoon when a formal legal summons was delivered directly to the penthouse front desk by state marshals.
Damon Cross, utilizing his high-level political connections, had secured an emergency court order demanding the immediate custody of his "unborn heir" and accusing Dante Moretti of kidnapping.
"He's using the family court system to force me out into the open," Maya said, her voice shaking as she read the legal documents on the dining table. "If I step foot inside the Manhattan Supreme Court building, his security detail will try to snatch me in the garage."
Dante picked up the court order, scanning the judge's signature before letting out a low, cold laugh that echoed through the penthouse.
"He thinks he's playing a game of legal chess," Dante said, pulling out his encrypted phone and dialing his chief legal counsel. "Assemble the top three defense firms in the country, and contact the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York."
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"The US Attorney?" Maya asked, her eyes widening in surprise. "Dante, you run a syndicate! Why would you call federal prosecutors?"
"Because," Dante replied, turning to her with a lethal, brilliant smile, "Damon Cross didn't just abuse you; he ran a three-billion-dollar illegal insider trading ring out of his hedge fund, and I happen to hold all his offshore ledger files."
