Chapter 4 - The Shadows of the Past
Living in the Valenti estate was like breathing underwater.
Everything was beautiful, fluid, and incredibly dangerous if you moved the wrong way.
I started joining Enzo and Leo for dinner in the grand dining room every night.
The staff treated me with a bizarre mixture of profound respect and sheer terror.
They had heard the rumors about the waitress who threw herself over the boss's son.
In their eyes, I was a saint carved out of pure steel.
One afternoon, I was walking through the expansive gardens with Leo, playing a gentle game of hide-and-seek.
The fresh air felt wonderful on my skin, and the sun warmed the lingering aches in my back.
Suddenly, heavy footsteps crunched on the gravel path behind us.
I turned around and saw two large men in dark suits approaching rapidly.
I instinctively pulled Leo behind my legs, my heart rate spiking.
"Relax, Miss Clara," one of the men said holding up his hands.
"We are Enzo's lieutenants, Marco and Dante."
I recognized their faces from the night at the restaurant.
They were the men who had been sitting in the VIP booth.
"The boss wants to see you in his office," Marco said, his expression grim.
"Bring the boy inside to his nanny."
I nodded, feeling a strange knot forming in my stomach.
I handed Leo over to his nanny and walked down the long, marble corridor to Enzo's private study.
The heavy oak doors were open, and the room smelled of cigar smoke and dark coffee.
Enzo was standing behind his massive desk, staring down at a man kneeling on the floor.
The man’s hands were tied behind his back, and his face was bruised and bloody.
I gasped loudly when I recognized the pathetic, crying face.
It was David.
My ex-boyfriend.
"Clara!" David sobbed, spitting blood onto the Persian rug.
"Tell this psycho to let me go! I just wanted to see you!"
I stared at the man who had stolen my savings and destroyed my trust.
"What is he doing here?" I asked, my voice surprisingly steady.
Enzo looked up at me, his dark eyes entirely devoid of mercy.
"He showed up at the front gate, demanding a million dollars in exchange for his silence," Enzo explained calmly.
"He claimed he had embarrassing photos of you that he would leak to the press."
My blood ran cold.
David had always been a greedy coward, but this was a new level of absolute stupidity.
"I don't have any money!" David cried out. "I owe bad people a lot of cash, Clara!"
Enzo walked around the desk, pulling a gleaming silver handgun from his shoulder holster.
"Enzo, wait," I said softly.
Enzo paused, turning his head to look at me, waiting for my judgment.
"He is a piece of trash," I told Enzo, looking directly into David’s terrified eyes.
"But he is not worth dirtying your floors."
Enzo studied my face for a long moment, a slow, dark smile spreading across his lips.
He holstered the weapon and kicked David squarely in the chest, sending him sprawling backward.
"Throw him in the trunk and drop him at the city limits," Enzo ordered his guards.
"If he ever says her name again, cut out his tongue."
The guards dragged David out of the room, leaving Enzo and me alone in the sudden silence.
Enzo walked toward me, stopping just inches away.
May you like
"You are learning, Clara," he murmured, reaching out to trace my jawline.
"Mercy is a weapon, but only if you know exactly when to use it."
