Chapter 5 - The Glass Slippers and The Safehouse
When Elena was finally discharged a week later, Dante didn’t take them to an apartment.
He took them to a fortress.
His estate in Weston sat on fifty acres of private forest, surrounded by electrified fences, security cameras, and heavily armed guards patrolling with dogs.
The massive iron gates swung open, revealing a sprawling stone mansion that looked like a modern castle.
The three girls pressed their faces against the tinted windows of the SUV.
“Is this a hotel?” Mia asked, her eyes wide.
“No, principessa,” Dante smiled gently from the front seat. “This is your home.”
Inside, Dante had transformed an entire wing of the house for them.
There were three canopy beds dressed in pink silk. Closets filled with hundreds of dresses, from casual play clothes to designer gowns. Toys, dolls, art supplies, and an enormous playroom.
Bella ran to a massive dollhouse, her mouth open in shock.
Lily just held onto Dante’s leg, refusing to let go, completely overwhelmed.
Elena stood in the doorway, wearing one of Dante’s oversized sweaters, looking at the luxury that felt so alien after years of surviving on crumbs.
“Dante,” she murmured. “This is too much. You’ll spoil them.”
Dante walked over, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder.
“I intend to spoil them for the rest of my life,” he said. “I missed their first steps. I missed their first words. I will buy them the moon if they ask for it.”
He turned Elena around, looking deep into her green eyes. The hollows in her cheeks were beginning to fill out, and a faint blush of health had returned to her skin.
“I missed you,” he whispered, before capturing her lips.
It was their first kiss in seven years.
It tasted of salt, of tears, of lost time, and of an undeniable, scorching passion that had never died. Elena melted against him, her fingers tangling in his dark hair.
But the tender moment was interrupted by the heavy, hurried footsteps of Nico in the hallway.
Dante broke the kiss, his eyes hardening.
May you like
“What is it?” Dante asked.
Nico stood at the door, looking grim. “Lorenzo knows. One of our hospital staff talked. Lorenzo knows Elena is alive, and he knows about the triplets. He just put a five-million-dollar bounty on their heads.”
