Black Rose in the Abyss Chapter 12

After a brief dead silence, there was an uncontrollable ecstasy mixed with sobbing shouts:

"It's the Boss!"

"The Boss is back!!"

"Boss is back!!!"

Roxy couldn't hold it in anymore. Ignoring her image completely, she rushed over and hugged Bianca, wailing loudly. "You dead woman! Where the hell have you been for two years?! I thought you were really gone!"

The remaining brothers' eyes also turned red as they gathered around.

Bianca gently patted Roxy's back. Her gaze swept over the excited, bruised faces, finally looking toward the distant, brilliant night view of Manhattan.

She was back.

Everything that belonged to her, she would take back with her own hands, piece by piece.

The news of Bianca's return created ripples under the long-silent undercurrents of New York.

She took the remaining brothers to sweep through the territories. Her methods were even more decisive and sharp than two years ago.

Luca came knocking almost immediately.

In the afternoon sunlight filtering through the glass window, the air floated with the scent of old times.

Luca looked at Bianca, who appeared even colder than before. "It's really you." His voice was hoarse, filled with disbelief and excitement. "They all said you... It's good that you're back."

Bianca poured him a cup of hot coffee. Her gaze landed on his crippled leg, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Luca followed her gaze, smiled bitterly, and explained proactively:

"Two years ago, after your accident and Dante's disappearance, all those jackals and leopards pounced, wanting a piece of the pie."

"I had to guard something for him. One leg in exchange for half his empire. Not a bad deal."

He looked at Bianca, his voice nostalgic.

"Remember when the three of us just started making a name for ourselves?"

"Squeezed in that leaky attic in the Bronx, sharing a bottle of the cheapest beer, swearing at the lights below that one day, all of New York would be ours." He paused, his tone bitter. "Now... you just came back from the edge of death, Dante is missing, and I'm a cripple."

"Bianca, tell me. Do the three of us still have a chance to sit on the top floor of the Empire State Building and have a good drink like before?"

Bianca remained silent. The noise outside the window seemed to be cut off.

After a long time, she spoke. "I'll contact the best doctor for your leg."

She stood up, preparing to leave.

"Bianca!" Luca stopped her urgently, his tone pleading. "I know you hate Dante because of Mia."

"But he had his reasons. The Sterling family isn't as simple as they look. Mia's father holds evidence of Dante's mother's disgraceful past..."

Bianca listened quietly, no expression on her face, as if listening to a story unrelated to her.

"Luca," she interrupted him, her voice as light as a sigh. "Those things are too long ago. So far away it feels like a past life."

She raised her hand and gently patted his shoulder. "Rest well."

With that, she didn't stay any longer and turned to leave.

She left Luca leaning on his crutch, looking at her resolute back with a face full of pain.

The news also quickly reached Chicago, to the study in that deep mansion.

Dante almost sprang up from his chair instantly.

She wasn't dead! She was really still alive!

He turned and rushed out, even forgetting that he had just been punished by Lorenzo with family law for returning to New York without permission. The wounds from the hundred lashes on his back were still burning with pain.

"Stand still."

The magnificent and lazy voice sounded from behind. Lorenzo was still playing with that lighter. He stood at the study door, blocking Dante's path.

Dante stopped abruptly. Due to the rapid movement, blood seeped from his wounds, staining his shirt red.

"Let's talk." Lorenzo's voice held no warmth.

"For the past two years, whenever there was a rumor in New York that someone looked like her, didn't you run over risking half your life? Every time, you were beaten half to death and carried back. You've grown; you haven't chickened out once."

Dante's voice was hoarse. "Lorenzo, just this once. I'll come back as soon as I confirm she's safe."

Lorenzo looked at his state. He didn't order him to be dragged away for punishment like usual. Instead, he walked slowly in front of him.

"Do you know why, for the past two years, even knowing I couldn't stop you, I still beat you back every time and strictly forbade you from stepping foot in New York?"

Dante was stunned.

Lorenzo spoke indifferently. "This request was made by Bianca."

Dante's body went stiff violently. The blood drained from his face instantly. "She... doesn't want to see me that much?"

A huge sense of loss made him cold all over.

Lorenzo didn't answer. He just handed a finely crafted silver-grey mask to him.

"If you did something wrong, go apologize. Go make amends."

"Hiding in Chicago feeling sorry for yourself is the behavior of a coward." Lorenzo's tone remained flat, but it carried a strange power. "The Valenti family doesn't raise cowards."

Dante took the mask in disbelief and looked at Lorenzo.

Lorenzo sneered with a hint of mockery. "What? Surprised? You didn't think about what kind of ghost you looked like when you were sent back two years ago."

"Besides looking for death, what was left in your brain? With a state like that, what right did you have to see her?"

Dante gripped the mask tightly. The metal edges dug painfully into his palm, but it also woke him up completely.

He gave Lorenzo a deep look, didn't speak, and turned to stride away.

After he left the study, the butler, who had been silent, whispered, "Sir, do you not intend to tell the Young Master that it was you who saved Miss Bianca from the sea two years ago and secretly sent her to the safe house to recover?"

Lorenzo didn't stop playing with the lighter. "What's there to mention? Saving her was just because it wasn't her time to die. I was just cleaning up the house along the way."

He paused, then ordered, "Remind him. Since he's going to stay in New York for a while, tell him to secure the pier reconstruction project led by City Hall."

"I've been eyeing it for a long time. Don't let him forget business just because he's busy with romance."