Chapter 4 - Dante Offered His Entire Empire to Save Her—But Ivy Walked Into the Warehouse With the Red Book and Made the Man Who Murdered Her Parents Confess Before the Whole CityMidnight arrived with rain.
Ivy wore black pants.
Flat boots.
A protective vest.
Dante hated the vest.
Not because she wore it.
Because its existence confirmed the danger.
Federal agents monitored from three blocks away.
Gabriel had threatened to kill Dominic if he detected police.
So they needed time.
Ivy carried the red book.
A copy.
The original was already federal evidence.
Gabriel didn't know.
Dante wore a wire.
So did Ivy.
“You don't have to do this,” Dante said.
They stood beside the warehouse.
Ivy looked at him.
“Yes, I do.”
“No.”
She frowned.
“I mean you're right.”
She stared.
Dante continued.
“You don't have to.”
He touched his chest.
“Neither do I.”
“We're choosing to.”
Ivy smiled.
“Better.”
They entered.
Dominic sat beneath a hanging industrial light.
Blood on his forehead.
Alive.
Gabriel stood behind him.
Three armed men nearby.
He looked like Dante.
Older.
Colder.
Same dark eyes.
No warmth.
“Ivy Bennett.”
Ivy stopped.
“You remember my parents?”
Gabriel smiled.
“Immediately to business.”
“Yes.”
“Your father was troublesome.”
Dante's jaw tightened.
Ivy didn't move.
“You killed him.”
“I corrected a problem.”
Rage hit her.
She held it.
“And my mother?”
“Collateral.”
Dante took one step.
Ivy touched his arm.
Not yet.
Gabriel smiled.
“You see?”
“What?”
“She controls you.”
Dante answered.
“No.”
He looked at Ivy.
“I listen to her.”
Gabriel laughed.
“Same weakness.”
Ivy looked around.
“Why Dominic?”
“Loyalty.”
“What?”
“I wanted Dante to understand its cost.”
Gabriel looked at his nephew.
“You could have inherited everything.”
Dante said nothing.
“Your father became sentimental.”
“He discovered what you did.”
“Yes.”
“He planned to expose you.”
“Yes.”
“So you killed him too.”
Silence.
Ivy's heart stopped.
Dante stared.
“What?”
Gabriel smiled.
“Matteo didn't have a stroke.”
Dante went pale.
“I poisoned him.”
Ivy remembered.
The glass of water.
Matteo collapsing.
His final confession.
Dante's breathing changed.
Gabriel continued.
“He wanted to give everything to federal investigators.”
“You murdered your own brother.”
“I saved our family.”
Dante's hands clenched.
Ivy whispered, “Dante.”
He looked at her.
She shook her head.
Don't give Gabriel what he wants.
Dante breathed.
Then relaxed his fists.
Gabriel's smile disappeared.
“You've become weak.”
Dante answered.
“No.”
“I became tired of confusing cruelty with strength.”
Gabriel pointed toward Ivy.
“Because of her?”
“Partly.”
Ivy looked at Dante.
He continued.
“Mostly because men like you eventually become boring.”
Gabriel's face hardened.
“Boring?”
“Same excuses.”
“Family.”
“Power.”
“Loyalty.”
“Survival.”
Dante stepped closer.
“You murder anyone who disagrees and call it tradition.”
Gabriel lifted his gun.
“Enough.”
Ivy raised the red book.
“This?”
His attention shifted.
“Give it to me.”
“Release Dominic.”
“No.”
“Then no book.”
“I can kill you.”
“Yes.”
Ivy's voice remained calm.
“But then you don't know where the original is.”
Gabriel froze.
Dante almost smiled.
Gabriel stared.
“Original?”
Ivy opened the copy.
“Did you honestly think I brought the only evidence?”
His face changed.
“Where?”
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“Federal custody.”
Gabriel's eyes widened.
Then he understood.
“This is a trap.”
“Yes.”
Gunfire erupted.
Not from federal agents.
From Gabriel's own men.
One turned on another.
Chaos.
Dante tackled Ivy behind crates.
Dominic kicked his chair over.
Gabriel ran.
Dante started after him.
Ivy grabbed his arm.
“Dominic.”
Choice.
Dante stopped.
They freed Dominic.
Federal teams stormed the warehouse.
Gabriel reached the dock.
Ivy saw him.
He had a speedboat.
He could escape.
Then he turned.
Gun raised.
Aimed at Dante.
Ivy screamed.
Dante moved.
Shot.
The bullet struck a metal railing.
Agents fired.
Gabriel fell.
Not dead.
Wounded.
Alive.
Ivy ran toward him.
Dante followed.
Gabriel lay bleeding.
He looked at Ivy.
“You think prison changes anything?”
“No.”
She stood over the man who murdered her parents.
“I think truth does.”
Agents handcuffed him.
Gabriel looked toward Dante.
“She'll destroy you.”
Dante glanced at Ivy.
Then smiled.
“She already destroyed the version of me that needed your approval.”
Ivy's heart stopped.
Gabriel was taken away.
The Morelli criminal network collapsed over the next six months.
Dante cooperated.
Not selectively.
Fully.
Illegal businesses were surrendered.
Victim compensation funds created.
Corrupt officials exposed.
The legitimate Morelli companies survived under independent oversight.
Dante paid enormous penalties.
Lost contracts.
Lost properties.
Lost influence.
For the first time in generations, the Morelli name became smaller.
Dante seemed relieved.
Ivy didn't immediately become his girlfriend.
That surprised everyone.
Especially Dominic.
“You're making him wait?”
Ivy stared.
“Excuse me?”
Dominic wisely retreated.
Dante waited.
They had coffee.
Dinner.
Walks.
Arguments.
He helped Ivy find an independent apartment after she left the estate.
She began consulting for hospitality companies.
It turned out her ability to see operational problems was valuable.
Extremely valuable.
Within four months, she had six clients.
Within eight, she employed three people.
She called the company Bennett House Operations.
Dante wanted to invest.
Ivy refused.
He accepted.
Eventually.
Her hair grew.
At first she kept trimming it short because she wanted the choice to belong to her.
Then one day, she stopped.
It reached her shoulders.
Then longer.
Dante never commented unless she asked.
That mattered.
Their first kiss happened nine months after the warehouse.
Outside a small restaurant.
Dante looked at her.
“Ivy.”
“Yes?”
“I've been trying to behave responsibly.”
She smiled.
“Painful?”
“Extremely.”
“What do you want?”
“To kiss you.”
Her heart raced.
“Then ask.”
He smiled.
“May I kiss you?”
“Yes.”
He did.
Slow.
Careful.
Nothing claimed.
Nothing taken.
When they separated, Ivy touched his jaw.
“You're surprisingly good at following instructions.”
“Only yours.”
“Dangerous answer.”
“True answer.”
They kissed again.
A year after Vanessa cut Ivy's hair, Dante hosted no gala.
Instead, the Morelli estate opened its doors for something different.
The mansion would no longer be a private residence.
Dante donated most of it to a foundation.
Employee training.
Domestic violence services.
Legal assistance.
Scholarships.
Ivy walked through the old entrance hall.
She stopped beneath the chandelier.
Same marble.
Same place.
She remembered hair falling.
Employees watching.
Vanessa's voice.
Remember your place.
Dante approached.
“You okay?”
“Yes.”
“Liar?”
“No.”
She smiled.
“Actually yes.”
He stood beside her.
Not in front.
Not behind.
Beside.
Ivy touched her hair.
Now brushing her shoulders.
“Funny.”
“What?”
“I thought coming back here would hurt.”
“And?”
“It doesn't.”
Dante looked around.
“Good.”
Ivy smiled.
“My place changed.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“You did.”
She considered.
Then shook her head.
“No.”
“What?”
“I think I finally stopped letting other people tell me where it was.”
Dante smiled.
“Better.”
They walked into the ballroom.
Former employees waited.
Charles.
Dominic.
Gardeners.
Drivers.
Housekeepers.
People who had witnessed that terrible afternoon.
Then Ivy noticed someone.
Vanessa.
She stood near the back.
No silver dress.
No diamonds.
Her legal case had ended.
She received eighteen months in prison followed by probation after extensive cooperation.
She had served the sentence.
This was the first time Ivy had seen her since.
Vanessa approached.
“I wasn't sure I should come.”
“Neither was I.”
Honest.
Vanessa nodded.
“I can leave.”
Ivy thought.
Then said, “Stay.”
Vanessa looked surprised.
“Why?”
“Because this building isn't about pretending harm never happened.”
Ivy's voice softened.
“It's about what people do afterward.”
Vanessa's eyes filled.
“I’m sorry.”
“I know.”
“Your hair…”
She stopped.
Ivy waited.
Vanessa looked ashamed.
“I shouldn't comment.”
Ivy smiled slightly.
“Correct.”
Vanessa laughed through tears.
Then stepped away.
Dante approached.
“You're kinder than I am.”
“No.”
Ivy looked at him.
“I just don't want what she did occupying permanent space in me.”
Dante understood.
That evening, they stood on the terrace.
“Ivy?”
“Yes?”
“I want to ask you something.”
She looked suspicious.
“That sounds dangerous.”
“It may be.”
He reached into his jacket.
Ivy's heart stopped.
“No.”
Dante froze.
She laughed.
“Not no to you.”
He exhaled.
“Good.”
“No public proposal.”
He looked toward the ballroom.
“Technically we're outside.”
“Dante.”
“Fine.”
He put the box away.
Ivy stared.
“You're actually putting it away?”
“You said no public proposal.”
She smiled.
“Good.”
“Tonight?”
“At home.”
“Your apartment?”
“Yes.”
“After dessert?”
“Maybe.”
He looked miserable.
Ivy laughed.
For a man once feared across the eastern seaboard, Dante Morelli had become remarkably easy to torment.
And she loved him.
She hadn't said it yet.
Tonight, perhaps.
After dessert.
After the cameras were gone.
May you like
After everyone stopped watching.
Exactly the way the most important choices should sometimes be made.
