He Replaced His Wife And Lost His Mafia Empire Chapter 04
As the dinner was winding down, Sloane came to my door carrying two glasses of wine.
“Dominic told me to bring you downstairs.”
I didn’t take the drink.
Through the crack in the door, she saw the open suitcase, and a flicker of alarm crossed her face.
“You’re leaving?”
“Yes.”
“Because of the picture?”
Sloane smiled and lifted her phone. The screen showed the portrait from earlier. She had already sent it to several people who worked closely with the Moretti family.
“You should know Dominic hates being forced to choose. The more you care, the more he wants to see you lose control.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
My calm seemed to unsettle her.
Suddenly, she tipped one glass of red wine over my white formal dress.
It spilled from my chest all the way down the skirt.
Several captains and allied representatives were still in the corridor. They all turned to look, but no one spoke.
If I splashed wine back at her in public, Sloane would have proof that I was unfit to represent the family. And if anyone spoke up for me, it would be a direct challenge to the role Dominic had just given her.
Sloane immediately covered her mouth.
“I’m so sorry. My hand slipped.”
Dominic came up the stairs and, by instinct, pulled her to his side first.
“Did you get any on you?”
Sloane shook her head, her eyes reddening instantly.
I lowered my gaze to my ruined dress.
My mother had picked it out with me. It was the only thing I was wearing tonight that was truly mine.
Once, I would have thrown the wine back in her face.
Now I only said to the maid beside us, “Please find Sloane a coat. It’s cold outside.”
Dominic stared at me.
“What exactly are you trying to do?”
“Isn’t she moving into the master bedroom? We wouldn’t want her to catch a chill.”
Silence fell around us.
Sloane clearly hadn’t expected me to know.
Now that he’d been exposed, Dominic’s voice turned colder.
“This is my house. I don’t need your permission to decide who stays where.”
“Of course not.”
I stepped aside from the doorway.
“She can have this room, too.”
I reached for my suitcase.
Dominic’s hand clamped around my wrist.
He ran one of the most feared families in Chicago. The moment the people in the corridor saw the motion, they all looked away.
“Stop acting like you don’t care.”
“And what is it you want from me?”
I looked at him.
“To cry and beg you to give me back the wife’s seat and your protection?”
His fingers tightened.
But I didn’t struggle.
Because I no longer wanted that place.