Chapter 5
Sera POV
The guards reached for me. Calloused fingers hovered inches from my skin, violating my space before they even made contact.
Dante didn’t just move. He detonated.
He intercepted the first guard’s wrist mid-air, twisting it with a sickening *snap* of bone before slamming the man’s face into the nearest marble pillar. The guard dropped like a stone, unconscious before he hit the floor.
The other three hesitated. That split-second of indecision cost them their lives.
The double doors of the ballroom flew open with a thunderous crash.
Fifty men in black suits flooded the space like a dark tide. They weren't Luca's men. They were ours. They moved with military precision, automatic rifles raised, the Cavallaro crest gleaming on their lapels.
The music died instantly. Screams erupted as guests scrambled back against the silk-paneled walls, desperate to distance themselves from the violence.
Dante withdrew a sleek black handgun from his jacket. He didn't aim it at the guards. He strode straight up to Luca and pressed the barrel hard against his forehead.
"Touch her," Dante said, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through the silent hall, "and I will burn this entire city to the ground."
Luca froze. The arrogance evaporated from his expression, replaced by the cold sweat of a man who realized he had brought a knife to a nuclear war.
"Who do you think you are?" Luca stammered, though his voice trembled. "This is my city!"
Dante pistol-whipped him. The sound of metal striking bone cracked through the room.
Luca fell to his knees, blood gushing from his nose to stain his pristine shirt.
"Wrong," Dante said.
He turned to the crowd, blood flecking his knuckles, looking like a vengeful god of war.
"I am Dante Cavallaro. And I am the new *Capo dei Capi*."
Gasps of shock rippled through the room. The heads of the Five Families looked from Luca, bleeding on the floor, to Dante, standing tall and untouched. The shift in power was palpable; the air itself seemed to bend to Dante's will.
Dante reached out a hand to me.
"And this," he said, pulling me to his side, his arm wrapping around my waist like an iron band, "is my wife."
"Wife?" Mia shrieked. She looked hysterical, her face twisting in ugly disbelief. "You can't be his wife! You're damaged goods!"
Dante swung his gun toward Mia. She silenced instantly, the word dying in her throat.
"She is your Queen," Dante said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "And anyone who disrespects her, disrespects me."
His gaze snapped to Mrs. Rizzo, who was trembling in the corner like a trapped rat.
"You slapped my wife," Dante said icily.
"I... I didn't know..." Mrs. Rizzo stuttered, backing away until she hit the wall.
Dante handed me a knife. It was a stiletto blade, thin and wickedly sharp.
"Sera," he said softly, pressing the hilt into my palm. "Do what you need to do."
I took the knife. The weight of it felt right in my hand, grounding me. I walked toward Mrs. Rizzo.
The room watched in breathless anticipation. No one moved to help her. That was the way of our world. Power was the only law, and tonight, we were the law.
I stood before her. She was weeping now, black mascara streaming down her face, ruining her expensive facade.
"I remember you," I said, my voice steady. "I remember you laughing when they said I ran away. I remember you calling my mother weak while she withered away."
"Please," she begged, clasping her hands together.
I didn't hesitate. I slashed the blade across her pearl necklace.
The string broke. Pearls cascaded onto the floor, scattering across the marble with a hollow, rhythmic *clatter-click-clatter*.
The blade nicked her skin, a thin line of red appearing on her throat. A warning. A promise.
"Get out," I said. "Before I change my mind."
She ran, tripping over her own heels in her haste to escape.
I turned back to Luca and Mia. Dante was smiling at me. It was a dark, proud smile that set my blood on fire.
"Now," I said, looking at the two people who had killed me in another life. "Let's talk about the past."
Luca looked up at me from his knees. For the first time, I saw true fear in his eyes.
He realized the game had changed. He just didn't know that the game was rigged, and I was finally holding all the cards.
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