CHAPTER 1: THE GHOST FROM THE FIRE
CHAPTER 1: THE GHOST FROM THE FIRE
Dante Russo had spent seven years believing the woman he loved was dead.
He had built his empire on that pain.
Every enemy who crossed him knew the story. Elena Ward was the only person who ever made Dante Russo feel human.
And someone had taken her away.
But now she was lying in front of him.
Alive.
Broken.
Terrified of him.
“Dante… they told me you ordered the fire.”
The words destroyed the silence inside the basement.
Nico, Dante’s right-hand man, immediately reached for his weapon.
“Boss…”
Dante lifted his hand.
No one moved.
Because the expression on Dante Russo’s face was not anger.
It was heartbreak.
“Elena,” he whispered. “Look at me.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I saw the fire, Dante. I saw the explosion. They told me you wanted me gone because I knew too much.”
Dante slowly stepped closer.
“Who told you that?”
Elena looked away.
Her hands trembled.
“I can’t.”
“You can.”
“They will kill my daughters.”
Dante froze.
Daughters.
His eyes moved toward the three little girls standing beside her.
Three children with his Elena’s eyes.
Three children who had survived six years of fear.
“Are they mine?”
The room became completely silent.
Elena closed her eyes.
And that was the answer.
Dante Russo, the most feared man in Boston, finally broke.
For seven years, he had mourned a dead woman.
But she had been alive.
Raising his children.
Alone.
In hiding.
Dante turned toward Nico.
“Find everyone connected to Elena Ward’s death.”
Nico nodded.
“How far do we go?”
Dante looked back at Elena.
May you like
His voice became cold.
“As far as the people who made her suffer.”
