Chapter 13 - THE NIGHT THE GLASS SHATTERED
The night Celeste returned to the penthouse, I was carrying a tray of tea.
Valentina sat beside the fireplace.
Dante was in his study.
Marco and Elias were speaking with the security team.
For the first time in weeks, the house felt almost peaceful.
Then the elevator doors opened.
Celeste stepped out.
She wasn't alone.
Julian Price stood beside her.
My stomach tightened.
"Miss Bowmont?"
She looked directly at me.
"Where's Dante?"
I kept my voice steady.
"Please speak with his attorney. Your access to the residence has been suspended."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Don't tell me where I can go."
Julian stepped forward.
I instinctively backed away.
Then Valentina appeared in the hallway.
"Celeste."
The younger woman's expression changed.
"Valentina."
"Leave."
Celeste laughed bitterly.
"After everything I've done for this family?"
Valentina looked at her.
"You've done enough."
For one terrible second, nobody moved.
Then Celeste reached into her handbag.
Julian shouted something.
I stepped backward.
The tea tray slipped from my hands.
Porcelain shattered across the marble.
A glass panel beside the hallway cracked as someone slammed into it.
I stumbled.
My bare feet struck broken glass.
Pain shot through my heel.
Then I saw the gun.
Celeste was holding it.
Her hand trembled.
She pointed it toward Valentina.
"Nobody moves!"
My heart stopped.
Dante appeared at the study doorway.
His expression changed instantly.
"Celeste."
She turned toward him.
"Stay back!"
He stopped.
For a moment, the entire penthouse was silent.
Then he looked toward Valentina.
His mother stood behind me.
Terrified.
I slowly shifted between her and Celeste.
"Serena," Dante said quietly, "move away."
I shook my head.
"Your mother can't move quickly."
Celeste's eyes filled with rage.
"You!"
I stared at her.
"Put the gun down."
"Shut up!"
She took a step forward.
I stepped backward.
More glass cut my foot.
Blood spread across the white marble.
Celeste looked toward Dante.
"You were supposed to marry me!"
He didn't answer.
She laughed hysterically.
"Four years! I gave you four years!"
Dante's expression remained calm.
"Celeste, nobody needs to get hurt."
She shook her head.
"You already destroyed everything."
Then Julian Price moved toward the hallway.
Celeste swung the gun toward him.
"Don't!"
For a split second, everyone froze.
Then Dante drew his own weapon.
I heard Valentina gasp.
And suddenly the image from the beginning of this nightmare became real.
I was standing barefoot on shattered glass.
Blood beneath my fingernails.
Dante aiming a gun at the woman everyone believed would become his wife.
Then Celeste screamed:
"Vincent promised me the entire empire!"
Dante went still.
"What?"
Her face crumpled.
"He said Luca was dead, your mother was becoming incompetent, and you would eventually sign everything over."
I stopped breathing.
She'd just admitted the plan.
But before anyone could move, Julian stepped forward.
"Celeste, stop talking."
She turned.
And shouted the secret that finally exposed him.
"You told me Luca's death would look like an accident!"
The room fell silent.
Julian's face went white.
Then Celeste lowered her gun slightly.
Dante's security team intervened and secured the weapons without anyone being shot.
I sank to the floor.
My feet were bleeding.
My hands shook.
But Valentina was alive.
May you like
Dante was alive.
And the woman who'd spent years trying to steal his family had finally revealed the truth in front of witnesses.
