Unmasked
Virello Estate – The Gala
Belle moved through the ballroom, the weight of the tracker against her skin like a chain tightening around her throat.
Dante Castellano had just marked her.
Not just with his presence, not just with whispers—but with a device meant to keep her under his watch, his control.
She needed to remove it. Now.
But she couldn't.
Not here. Not in a room full of killers, criminals, and men who would tear her apart if they knew who she really was.
So she played her role.
She smiled when necessary, nodded politely when spoken to, and ignored the burning weight of Dante's gaze on her from across the room.
Then—she felt it.
A presence behind her. Close. Too close.
"You've changed, Bella."
Belle's breath caught.
That voice—it wasn't possible.
Slowly, she turned.
And there he was.
Luca Moretti.
Her father's former right hand. The man who had helped smuggle her out of the city when she was barely fifteen—before the Castellanos destroyed her family.
Before she had become a ghost.
But Luca wasn't looking at a ghost.
He was looking at her.
Alive. Breathing.
And he looked like he had just seen a ghost of his own.
"I don't know who you think I am," Belle said, her voice smooth despite the storm inside her.
Luca's lips twitched, amusement flickering in his dark eyes.
"Don't insult me, ragazza." His voice lowered, almost gentle. "I held you in my arms the night your father died. I taught you how to hold a gun before you could even ride a bike."
Belle's stomach twisted. Damn it.
This wasn't just recognition.
Luca Moretti was about to expose her.
---
Across the Room – Dante's Perspective
Dante had been watching her. He always watched.
But now—now he was hunting.
His gaze sharpened the moment Luca Moretti stepped into her space, the moment her body stiffened—the moment her mask cracked.
Dante didn't know who Elena really was.
Not yet.
But Luca did.
And that meant Luca had just become a problem.
Dante downed the rest of his drink, set the glass aside—
And started walking.
Straight toward them.
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