The Godfather's Love Buried in Snow Chapter 4

"Starting today, Ferrari cargo ships will no longer dock at Rossi ports. Buyers in Southeast Asia and South America will be notified. From now on, they only recognize a Ferrari signature. You want to protect that Bianca? Go ahead. But don't touch my family's business again."

Dante scanned the grim faces of the elders. These were men who had survived countless gang wars.

He suddenly sneered and pushed the agreement back.

"You want to terminate the contract? Fine. Let Elena talk to me herself. I'm a Godfather. I don't talk to messengers."

He turned and walked away, his footsteps echoing heavily.

I watched his back, feeling nothing.

He thought he could stall. He forgot I was no longer the little girl who hesitated for him.

When Dante returned to our empty marital home, he realized all traces of me were gone.

The closet held only his black suits. The gun oil on the vanity, the ornaments made from his spent shell casings—all gone.

Only one thing remained on the nightstand.

The bullet pendant engraved with the Rossi crest.

It was the one I threw at his feet at the kennel. He had picked it up.

He pulled out his phone and dialed my number.

"The number you have dialed is no longer in service."

My encrypted messaging apps, my private email—all deleted. I cut ties cleanly, leaving no room for entanglement. I vanished like a ghost.

A knock on the door. It was Donna Rosa.

She looked at the red veins in her son's eyes. Her voice trembled.

"Why won't you sign? Elena has permanent nerve damage in her back! She can't even hold a small-caliber pistol steady anymore! How long do you want to drag this out?"

"Her injury..."

Dante's Adam's apple moved. Panic crept into his voice. "Was it Bianca? It wasn't an accident?"

"Accident? Is your brain filled with paste?"

Donna Rosa raised her voice and pulled a USB drive from her Hermès bag, slamming it on the table.

"I had the kennel surveillance recovered! Bianca deliberately let that mad dog loose to bite Elena. And you held that bitch and walked away without even looking back at your wife!"

The USB drive slid across the table. Dante's face went deathly pale.

He ran his trembling hands through his hair.

The image of me falling, blood staining my white dress, flashed in his mind.

He hadn't just lost me. He had destroyed the thing I valued most as an arms dealer—my ability to fight.

"I need to see her."

He looked up, his eyes full of obsession. The madness of a Mafia boss.

"If I don't see her, I won't sign. Even if it means war."

Donna Rosa sighed.

"The Ferrari family has spoken. If you don't sign, they will ally with the Golden Triangle and Mexican cartels to completely cut off Rossi's supply. Do you want the family to go bankrupt?"

"Let them cut it!"

Dante looked like a wounded lion. "If I can't see Elena, no one gets to be happy!"

Meanwhile, in Zurich, Switzerland.

I sat in a classroom at a high-end security consulting academy. Outside, the snow-capped Alps were serene.

My notebook was full of specs for new sniper rifles. I couldn't shoot anymore, but I could teach others how to kill.

My mother sent an encrypted message: Dante refuses to sign.

I replied simply: Understood.

I continued listening to the instructor explain the latest anti-explosion tactics.

Compared to his harassment, expanding the Ferrari network in Europe was more important.

My best friend, Lisa—daughter of another arms dealer—sent me a video.

She secretly filmed it in the underground casino of the Myanmar Arms Guild.

In a dim VIP booth, a row of empty bottles sat in front of Dante. Someone was joking.

"Dante, since things are so bad with the Ferrari girl, why not get back with Bianca? You risked the Ferrari alliance for her. It's a legendary romance."

Dante suddenly crushed the glass in his hand.

"Bianca and I are done. I never intended to break the contract with Elena for her."

"Then why did you protect her every time?"

The man pressed on. "The shootout at the border, you shielded Bianca and left Miss Elena to face the Feds alone. And the kennel incident..."

In the video, Dante froze.

Expensive whiskey spilled on his trousers, but he didn't notice. His eyes were blank.

He looked like he was trying to figure out why he had protected Bianca.

I watched him through the screen and laughed.

He couldn't even see his own heart. How was he qualified to talk about not wanting to break up?

Lisa messaged again: Julian Vane asked for your address in Switzerland. He said he's delivering a sample of the new Kevlar vest.

Julian Vane. Heir to the Vane arms group.

In my past life, he was the only one who warned me Dante was unreliable.

This time, when I froze Dante's assets, Julian used his family's connections in Europe to help me secure a safe passage to Switzerland. I owed him.

Just as I closed the chat, the classroom door opened.

The instructor stepped aside.

Julian walked in wearing a black windbreaker. Blonde hair, blue eyes. He carried a silver metal case.

He brought a scent of sunshine that clashed with the cold room.

"Miss Elena. Orders to deliver the vest sample. And to discuss a big deal with the academy."

His eyes swept over my notebook, pausing on the line "Notes on lower back injury." He didn't ask.

He placed the box on the table.

"Latest nano-materials. Lightweight design. Memory foam lining. It won't hurt your back."

I paused. I remembered mentioning my back injury to him once. I didn't expect him to take it to heart.

Julian didn't stay long.

Before leaving, he turned back, a hint of warning in his eyes.

"Dante is using the dark web to find your address. Stay safe."

I nodded thanks. But I knew a control freak like Dante wouldn't give up easily.