Chapter 5 - The Harbor House SummitThe Harbor House was a sprawling, glass-fronted mansion perched on the jagged cliffs overlooking the Chesapeake Bay. Inside, the elite of Baltimore’s underworld mingled under crystal chandeliers, sipping champagne while millions of dollars in illicit shipping routes and real estate acquisitions were negotiated in quiet whispers.
I wore the emerald dress. It hugged my figure sharply, a stark contrast to the oversized scrubs I had worn just days ago. Dante kept his hand firmly at the small of my back, a subtle, possessive anchor that warned every prying eye in the room to keep their distance.
“Smile, Rosie,” Dante murmured near my ear, his breath warm against my skin. “The sharks are circling. They want to see if the stray cat I picked up has claws.”
“Let them look,” I whispered back, scanning the crowded room. My deaf left ear made the ambient chatter a dull roar, forcing me to rely entirely on my right side—and my instincts.
That’s when I saw him.
Across the room, standing near the mahogany bar, was Julian Vance.
The clinic owner. The man who had tried to force me to falsify medical records. The man who had blacklisted me and left me with twelve dollars to my name.
Julian noticed me at the exact same moment. His face turned the color of curdled milk. He whispered something to the aging mafia boss standing beside him—Don Salvatore Moretti, Dante’s oldest and most ruthless rival.
Dante felt the shift in my posture immediately. His hand tightened on my waist.
“Do you know him?” Dante asked, his voice dropping into a dangerous, glacial register.
“That’s Julian Vance,” I murmured, my eyes fixed on the man who had tried to destroy my life. “The man who ordered me to lie about a broken dog.”
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Dante’s gaze snapped toward the bar. A cold, lethal smile spread across his lips—the smile of a predator that had just spotted a wounded gazelle.
“Well, Rosie,” Dante said softly, pulling me closer against his chest. “It looks like it’s time to collect some debts.”
