Chapter 1 - The Broken Rose
The crystalline clatter of the falling chandelier seemed to echo endlessly, yet it was only the shatter of fine porcelain and ruined sponge cake across the polished marble floor. A suffocating silence smothered the grand ballroom. High society guests held their breath, their eyes fixed on the three-year-old girl in the pastel yellow dress.
Elena dropped to her knees, her maid’s uniform sweeping through the spilled strawberry reduction and crushed sugar roses. She pulled Lily tightly into her arms, trembling so violently that the lace cuffs of her sleeves rattled.
""Mr. Moretto, please... she didn't mean it. She is only three,"" Elena whispered, tears blurring her vision. She knew who Dante Moretto was. Behind his immaculate bespoke suit and silver cufflinks was a ruthless underworld kingpin who showed no mercy to anyone who threatened his domain.
Dante stepped forward. His shadow swallowed the small child. His seven-year-old son, Ethan, clung to his father’s jacket, wide-eyed and clutching the silver cake knife. Slowly, Dante crouched. His tattooed hand hovered before touching Lily’s trembling shoulder.
""Lily,"" Dante said, his voice terrifyingly calm. ""Why did you destroy my son’s cake?""
Lily swallowed, her tiny hazel eyes welling with moisture. She pointed toward the frosted wreckage. ""Because a bad man with snake eyes touched it, Mr. Dante. He put bitter dust on Ethan's slice.""
Dante froze. He turned his head slightly toward Marco, his head of security. Marco immediately knelt, pulling an electronic field tester from his breast pocket and swiping it across the ruined frosting. Within three seconds, the sensor flashed a violent, fluorescent red.
""Cyanide,"" Marco murmured, his blood running cold. ""Concentrated lethal dose. It would have killed the young master within seconds.""
A collective gasp swept through the ballroom. Dante stood up, his jaw set like carved obsidian. He looked down at Elena and Lily, his intimidating glare melting into profound shock and dark fury.
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""Lock down every single exit,"" Dante ordered coldly. ""Nobody leaves this estate alive until I know who brought poison to my son's table.""
Before the guards could seal the double mahogany doors, the ballroom lights abruptly died, plunging the entire estate into pitch-black darkness.
