He Let Me Bleed So I Let Him Go Chapter 08
Bianca staggered and fell to the floor.
Before she could get up, Elena lunged, grabbing the neckline of her gown and ripping it down.
“Dante, help me!”
Bianca screamed, clutching at her skirt.
The next second, a foot slammed into Elena’s abdomen.
She crashed onto the marble floor, the back of her head striking the hard surface with enough force to make her vision go black.
“How long are you going to keep this up?”
Dante’s voice rained down on her from above.
He pulled Bianca into his arms first, shielding her, then motioned to the two guards by the door.
“She attacked the Ferraro Don’s daughter at the truce table and cost me my credibility in front of our allies. There is no reason for me to preserve her status any longer.”
“Take off everything she’s wearing that marks her as part of the De Luca family.”
Elena’s eyes flew open.
The two guards approached and ripped the silver pin from her coat.
That pin signified her access rights as the Don’s wife. Without it, she couldn’t enter the command center or command protection from any De Luca man.
One of them reached for her coat, the one bearing the Family crest.
Elena clutched the front of it.
“Don’t touch me!”
In the struggle, the inner clasp of the coat snagged on her sweater. With a tearing sound, the fabric ripped open, all the way down to her chest.
Elena instantly crossed her arms over her body, pulling the ruined clothes shut.
Some of the guests looked away.
Most did not.
They knew how cruel this was. But Dante was the Don. Unless he rescinded the order, no one would dare speak up for a woman whose protection had just been revoked.
“That’s enough,” Dante finally said.
The guards backed away.
Dante straightened his cuff and turned to his allies, his tone once again polite and controlled.
“My apologies for not handling my internal affairs with more discretion. Please, continue.”
He left with Bianca in his arms, without a single glance back.
“Get Elena off our territory. Until the records are confirmed, she is not to set foot in this building again.”
The guards hauled Elena to her feet and dragged her toward a side door.
When it opened, they shoved her down the steps.
Her knees struck the hard pavement again.
People on the street turned at the sound.
Elena kept her head down, wrapped the torn coat tightly around herself, and slipped into a nearby alley.
At the end of the alley, she found a thrift shop and spent ten dollars on a threadbare trench coat.
The early autumn wind cut through the thin fabric, but she couldn’t stop shaking.
An unmarked black sedan rolled to a quiet stop in front of her.
The rear window lowered, revealing a man with a sharply handsome face.
He took one look at her, his voice steady and calm.
“Get in.”
Elena opened the door and slid inside.
The car pulled away from the streets controlled by the De Luca family.
Leaning back against the leather seat, Elena pulled the Family signet ring from her left hand.
It wasn’t a wedding ring. It was her key to De Luca properties, and one of the reasons so many men in the city had never dared to touch her.
Elena dropped the ring into the car’s metal ashtray.
“Please submit this to the committee with the withdrawal papers.”
Then she took out the phone card that connected only to De Luca secure lines and snapped it in half. The card could be used to track her, and she wasn’t giving anyone the chance to drag her back.
Finally, she had her assistant at the firm transfer all project payments and salary back to her personal account and halt all payments to the De Luca household.
Once it was all done, she looked out the back window at the city lights, already growing distant.
Dante De Luca.
Consider these five years a debt I have now paid in full.