Chapter 5 Blood Never Lies

Ghosts of the Past (Aria's POV)*

Rain soaked the cobblestones outside the Moretti estate, the kind of cold storm that made everything feel cinematic... or dangerous.

Aria stood in the glass corridor, watching lightning flicker over the trees. Her fingers tightened around the burner phone she found tucked in her drawer that morning. No one admitted leaving it, but it had only one message:

*"Meet me tonight. 10 p.m. Greenhouse. – L"*

Leo.

She hadn't seen him in years. And if Dante found out...

Her pulse skipped.

She could lie. She could stay in her room, ignore the message.

But she wouldn't.

Because the only way out of this web was through it-and Leo might hold the thread that unraveled it all.

Dante's Dominion (Dante's POV)*

The underground council room buzzed with subdued hostility. Five mafia families. One summit.

Dante leaned back in his chair, black-on-black suit immaculate, hands folded like a man prepared to sign peace or start war.

The Solari Don tried to posture. "We've heard rumors, Moretti. Whispers that your bride has... complicated ties."

Dante didn't blink. "She married me. That makes her my territory."

"And if she turns on you?"

"She won't."

"Confident."

"No," Dante said coldly. "Prepared."

He stood, slow and calm.

"You're all circling like wolves," he said. "But remember who built the cage we're in."

Then he tossed a sealed folder onto the table.

Inside: blackmail. Photos. Bank transfers. Dirt on every Don present.

A clear message: *I've already won. Don't make me prove it.*

Reunion at Midnight (Aria's POV)*

The greenhouse smelled of wet earth and jasmine. Aria stepped inside carefully, her heart hammering. Then she saw him.

Leo Romano. Older. Hardened. Scar over one brow. And eyes that still held her childhood in them.

"You came," he said.

"I almost didn't."

Leo gave a sad smile. "You always did have better instincts than me."

Aria folded her arms. "Why now?"

"Because your uncle's making his move. He's feeding intel to the Solari. They want to take Dante down, use you as a pawn."

"And you? Leo hesitated. "I want to protect you. Like I should've before."

She looked at him closely. "You're the one who left. You vanished. You let me think you were dead."

"I had to disappear to survive," Leo said, voice rough. "But I'm here now. And I need your help."

He stepped closer.

"I know what's coming, Aria. You and Dante... you're in the middle of something bigger. And when the knives come out, I need to know what side you're on."

She stared up at him. "Don't make me choose, Leo."

"You already did. You just don't want to admit it."

Smoke and Secrets*

Aria returned to the estate after midnight.

She wasn't followed or so she thought.

Dante stood by the fire when she entered the sitting room, drink in hand, jacket slung across a chair. He didn't speak.

Just watched her.

"You couldn't sleep either?" she asked casually.

"I sleep just fine when I'm not being lied to."

Her breath caught.

"I didn't lie."

"But you met him."

She froze.

Dante stepped closer. "Do you think my people don't know every step you take after dark? You think I'd let you walk into danger blind?"

Her temper flared. "You were spying on me."

"I was protecting you."

"I don't need protection

"Then what *do* you need, Aria?" he snapped, voice low. "Because I'm getting real tired of chasing ghosts while holding together a world that wants to eat us both alive."

She turned away, but he grabbed her wrist gently.

"I'm not the enemy," he said. "But if you keep running from me... I will become one."

*Lines in the Sand*

The next morning, Aria found herself standing on the balcony outside Dante's study, watching the city breathe beneath a gray sky.

Behind her, his voice was quiet. "I need you by my side tonight."

She turned.

"What's happening?"

"A meeting with the other Dons. Public. Formal." He paused. "And dangerous."

Aria crossed her arms. "You think I'll be used."

"I know you will." His voice dropped. "Unless you're with me. Unless they see you not as a Solari, not as a pawn but as my wife. My equal."

Something tightened in her chest.

He wasn't asking her to be silent. He was asking her to *stand beside* him.

"Then I need something too," she said.

He tilted his head.

"Your trust."

Dante nodded once. "Done."

The Gathering*

The ballroom at Hotel Caelus gleamed like a stage-crystal chandeliers, velvet walls, and shadows moving beneath silk and power.

Aria wore blood red.

Not white. Not black. Red like danger, like choice, like war.

As she entered on Dante's arm, whispers bloomed like wildfire.

"She showed."

"She looks like a queen."

"She's a Solari."

"She's a Moretti now."

At the far end of the room, a low-ranking Don made a mistake.

He stepped too close. Smirked at Aria. Whispered something lewd.

Before Aria could react, Dante grabbed the man by the throat.

No yelling. No theatrics.

Just a steel grip and a knife pressed lightly to the man's ribs.

Dante's voice was velvet and venom.

"You speak to my wife again without my permission," he murmured, "and I'll mail your teeth to your family."

Then he released him.

The Don collapsed, gasping.

Dante turned to Aria, unfazed. "Shall we continue?"

Aria's heart pounded not in fear, but something darker. Something electric.

She knew now: he didn't just protect her.

He claimed her.

And in this world, that was the only safety that mattered.

Crossfire (Dante's POV)*

Hours later, Dante stood in the rooftop lounge, watching firelight flicker across Aria's face as she spoke with the Sorrentino heiress.

Luca approached quietly. "Problem."

"What kind?"

"Leo Romano. He was spotted near the tunnels behind the estate. Surveillance picked up static interference."

Dante's jaw tightened.

He looked at Aria again.

"She knows," he said softly. "She's protecting him."

"You want us to take care of him?"

Dante hesitated "No," he said. "Bring him to me. Alive."

*Endgame (Aria's POV)*

It was after midnight when she found the blood on the floor.

In the garage. Near the back exit.

She followed the trail, heart hammering, until she heard the voice.

Leo.

Tied to a chair. Bloody, breathing, furious.

And across from him Dante.

He didn't look at her as he cleaned his hands with a white cloth.

"He broke into our systems," Dante said coldly. "Triggered silent alarms. He had maps of the estate. Attack routes."

Aria's heart cracked. "Leo, tell me you didn't

Leo spat blood. "I came to protect you. Not from him from what's coming. Aria, your uncle he's going to move against you both. This was just recon."

Dante looked at her finally. "You believe him?"

Aria's throat was tight.

"I... don't know."

Leo met her eyes. "He'll never put you first, Aria. He'll choose the empire every time."

Dante's voice was a growl. "Say that again."

Leo smiled. "You're already proving me right."

The tension snapped like a wire.

Dante turned and walked away.

"Wait what are you going to do?" Aria called after him.

He didn't stop. "I'll give him twenty-four hours to disappear. After that, he's not your ghost anymore."

He's mine.