Chapter 174: Fuck Her Until She Can’t Walk.

POV: DANTE

Dante sat in the study of his Naples villa, listening to his second-in-command deliver the weekly report.

Luca Moretti....forty-two years old, ex-military, loyal to the Romano family for twenty years, stood at attention on the other side of the mahogany desk, tablet in hand.

"The New York surveillance shows no movement from Valentino," Luca said. "He’s been at his penthouse for six days straight. Either he’s injured worse than we thought, or he’s planning something."

"Both," Dante said, swirling the whiskey in his glass. "Dimitri Valentino doesn’t stay still unless he has to. Which means he’s healing. And while he heals, he’s strategizing."

"Do we move against him while he’s vulnerable?"

"No. Too obvious. Too expected." Dante took a sip. "Dimitri’s expecting retaliation. He’s fortified his territory, tripled security on his woman, positioned soldiers everywhere. If we come at him head-on, we lose."

"Then what’s the play?"

"Patience. We wait for him to make the first move. To show us his strategy. And then we counter in ways he doesn’t expect." Dante set down his glass. "What about the Rome surveillance?"

"Isabella Russo remains on schedule. Thursdays and Saturdays at Nero Club. Returns home alone or with..." Luca paused delicately. "...male companions. No contact with her family. No communication with Dimitri Valentino that we can track."

"And our men? She hasn’t noticed them?"

"Not yet. They’re rotating positions, staying back, blending in. Professional surveillance." Luca pulled up photos on his tablet. "But boss, about Isabella Russo...."

Dante’s phone rang.

He glanced at the screen. Isabella.

Ignored it.

"Continue," Dante said to Luca.

"The surveillance has been going for three weeks now. We’ve documented her routines, her vulnerabilities, her...." Luca cleared his throat. ".....personal activities. We have enough to move forward with whatever you’re planning."

The phone rang again.

Isabella. Again.

Dante felt irritation flash through him.

Desperate. Needy. Pathetic.

Exactly as he’d designed her to be.

He answered, his voice cold. "What happened?"

Silence on the other end. Then Isabella’s voice, small and uncertain. "I... nothing happened. I just wanted to know when you’re coming to see me."

"I’m busy."

"I know, but it’s been three days and I thought...."

"You thought what? That I’m at your beck and call?" Dante’s voice was deliberately cruel. "That I drop everything when you want to fuck?"

More silence. He could hear her breathing, could imagine her face crumbling.

"I’m sorry," Isabella whispered. "I didn’t mean.....I just missed you...."

"I’ll come when I feel like it." Dante leaned back in his chair, watched Luca pretend not to listen. "Maybe tonight. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe not at all."

"Please...." Her voice broke. "Please come tonight. I need...."

"You need what, Isabella? You need me to fuck you so you can pretend I’m him? So you can scream his name while I’m inside you?" Dante let the cruelty drip through every word. "You’re so desperate for Dimitri Valentino that you’ll beg a stranger to fill the space he left. That’s pathetic."

He heard her sob....quiet, trying to hide it.

Perfect.

Break her down. Make her beg. Make her so desperate for his attention that she’ll do anything.

"I’m sorry," Isabella said again. "I’m sorry, I just....please come tonight. Please. I’ll do anything."

"Anything?"

"Yes. Anything."

Dante smiled. "I’ll think about it. If I decide you’re worth my time tonight, I’ll let you know."

"Thank you...."

He hung up before she could finish.

Set the phone down and looked at Luca, who was very carefully studying his tablet.

"She’s completely hooked," Dante said conversationally. "Three weeks and she’s already begging. Crying. Offering to do anything for my attention."

"Boss...." Luca hesitated. "Is this really necessary? Using Isabella Russo like this? She’s Lorenzo Russo’s daughter. If he finds out...."

"He won’t find out. Isabella’s too ashamed to tell anyone she’s fucking anonymous strangers to forget Dimitri Valentino." Dante picked up his whiskey again. "And yes, it’s necessary. Because Isabella Russo is the perfect weapon."

"How?"

"Because she has access I don’t. Information I need. Connections to both the Valentino and Russo families." Dante pulled up a photo on his own tablet, Isabella leaving her building, looking tired and disheveled. "Right now she thinks I’m just another substitute for Dimitri. But eventually, when I’ve broken her down enough, when she’s desperate enough, I’ll reveal who I really am."

Luca’s eyes widened. "You’re going to tell her you’re Dante Romano?"

"Eventually. When the time is right." Dante zoomed in on Isabella’s face in the photo. "Imagine her reaction. The man she’s been fucking for weeks, the man she’s been using to forget Dimitri, turns out to be the head of the family Dimitri just destroyed. The man planning revenge against the only person she’s ever loved."

"She’ll be horrified."

"She’ll be devastated. And devastated people make mistakes. They lash out. They seek comfort in the wrong places. They become useful." Dante set down the tablet. "I’m going to break Isabella Russo so thoroughly that when I’m done with her, she’ll either help me destroy Dimitri willingly, or she’ll self-destruct so spectacularly that it damages both families anyway."

"That’s....." Luca stopped himself.

"Cruel? Manipulative? Evil?" Dante’s smile was cold. "Yes. All of those things. But Dimitri Valentino killed my brother. Shot him between the eyes like he was nothing. And now I’m going to take everything Dimitri cares about and burn it to the ground. Starting with the woman who still loves him."

Luca was quiet for a moment.

Then: "Are you going to her tonight?"

"Yes. Let her stew in desperation for a few more hours, then I’ll show up. Fuck her until she can’t walk. Remind her exactly who controls her pleasure." Dante stood. "And while I’m there, have the boys plant the listening devices you prepared. Her apartment will be completely compromised by morning."

"The devices are ready. Audio and video. Encrypted feed directly to us."

"Good. Once they’re installed, we’ll have eyes and ears on everything Isabella does. Every phone call. Every visitor. Every private moment." Dante moved to the window, looked out at Naples. "And when Lorenzo Russo inevitably contacts his daughter about family business, we’ll know everything."