Chapter 1 - THE MILLIONAIRE MOB BOSS BOUGHT HER LIFE FOR A SINGLE DROP OF BLOOD
The darkness inside Dante Vance’s eyes did not flicker; it deepened into an abyss. Before I could process the cold marble flooring soaking through my torn uniform, his gloved hands slipped under my knees and shoulder, scooping me up with terrifying ease. He didn't care about the blood ruining his bespoke Italian wool. He didn't care about the screams echoing through the grand hall of Lumina as panic consumed the elite patrons.
“Clear the exits,” Dante barked, his voice carrying the authority of a military general executing a siege. “If anyone leaves this room before my men record their faces, break their legs.”
“Papa, is she dying?” Leo’s small voice trembled. The boy clung to his father’s trousers, his dark eyes wide with terror as he watched red droplets trail from my back onto the pristine floor.
“No,” Dante replied, his gaze locking onto mine with an intensity that burned hotter than the glass sliced into my flesh. “She isn't dying. She isn't allowed to.”
Within thirty seconds, I was rushed past the flashing lights of the kitchen and out into the torrential storm raging down the alleyway. Black armored SUVs lined the pavement, their engines humming like sleeping beasts. Dante carried me straight into the back of the lead vehicle.
“Press the pressure bandage against her lower spine,” Dante commanded his driver, a mountain of a man named Viktor, who immediately threw the SUV into gear. The vehicle roared to life, tearing through the city streets at breakneck speeds.
My breath came in ragged, shallow gasps. The pain was no longer a sharp bite—it had morphed into a roaring furnace across my back. “My... my shift isn't over,” I whispered weakly, my consciousness slipping on the edge of the dark, cold water in my mind. “I need to... clear table four...”
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Dante leaned over me, his hand cupping the side of my face. His palm was warm, his touch unexpectedly soft despite the violent shadow that hung over him like a cloak. “You will never serve another table for as long as you breathe,” he said, his tone striking a chilling promise into the air. “You just bought yourself a debt you cannot imagine, little ghost.”
As my vision dissolved into blackness, the last thing I heard was Dante roaring into his satellite phone, “Get the surgeon to the estate now! If she loses consciousness permanently, I will lay waste to every hospital in this district!”
