My accusation hung between us, sharp and filled with anger. "You bought the sky."
Dante didn't flinch. He wore a mask of calm that irritated me, but I noticed a flicker in his jade eyes—not guilt, but something colder. Calculation.
"I don't leave my assets unprotected, Isabella," he said, his voice low and chillingly practical. "And whether you like it or not, you are now one of them."
"I am not one of your assets!" I tossed my briefcase onto a nearby chair, the sound echoing in the huge room. "I am a person! That firm, that work, it was mine! It was the one thing you hadn't messed with!"
"Messed with?" He stepped closer, lowering my head to meet his gaze. His presence was powerful, and I could feel the heat from him. "That firm was about to collapse. They were being targeted by a shell corporation that was funneling money to their opponents and stealing their top talent. An attack planned by Marco Valerius. He knew you were going there. He aimed to ruin the firm from the inside and leave you stuck, discredited, and vulnerable. My purchase wasn't about controlling you. It was a tactical counter-attack. I saved your dream, even while taking it."
His words hit me hard, knocking the wind out of me. My anger, so righteous moments before, now mixed with confusion. He hadn't just acted to own me. It was a harsh, calculated move on his global chessboard—a move that had also protected the very thing I cherished.
"How… how do you know that?" I stammered, annoyed by the weakness in my voice.
"It's my business to know," he replied simply. "It's how I've survived."
As he spoke, something clicked in my mind. A name. A detail buried in my research for the Rivera case: 'Falkon Ventures.' It was one of the shell corporations funding the multinational we were suing. I had also seen that name on a document on Dante's desk a few nights ago when I got a glass of water.
My suspicion flared up again, a shield against the confusing pull I felt towards him. "Falkon Ventures," I said, my voice turning hard. "It's one of the corporations poisoning the water supply of those farmers. And I saw it in your paperwork. You're no better than they are. You just dress it up in a more expensive suit."
I expected him to get angry, deny it, or dismiss me. Instead, a slow, dangerous smile appeared on his lips. It didn't reach his eyes. "You are observant," he said, sounding genuinely troubled. "Moretti Enterprises acquired Falkon Ventures three years ago during a larger hostile takeover. When my internal audit revealed their… unethical activities, I had them liquidated within a month. The documents you saw were the final closure reports. The damage your farmer clients are suing for happened before my ownership."
He noticed the disbelief on my face.
"You are a lawyer, Miss Rossi. You believe in evidence," he continued, turning and heading toward his office. "Come. I will show you."
He was inviting me in. To the heart of his empire, the base from which he waged his wars. It felt like a test, a gesture of something I couldn't name. Trust? Or maybe just confidence that his version of the truth was unbeatable.
Hesitantly, I followed him. He sat at his desk and, with a few quick keystrokes, pulled up a series of encrypted files. Financial audits, liquidation notices, inter-office memos. He turned the large monitor toward me.
"See for yourself," he said, his voice a quiet challenge.
For the next hour, I read. I scanned documents, my legal training focused on finding loopholes, deceit, or anything to confirm my belief that he was the villain. But there was nothing. The evidence was there, cold and clear. He had taken apart the corrupt enterprise with the same ruthless efficiency he applied to everything else.
I leaned back in the chair, exhaustion washing over me. He wasn't the monster I wanted him to be. He was something more complex and dangerous: a man with his own brutal, firm code of honor. He would destroy his enemies, but he wouldn't, it seemed, poison a village.
As I stared at the screen, I finally understood. He hadn't just bought my cage. He had strengthened it, secured its foundations, and removed any threat to its structure, all without asking me. He didn't see it as taking my freedom; he saw it as guaranteeing my survival. And in his world, survival was the only victory that mattered.