Chapter 5 - The Master of Lake Forest
The Caruso estate in Lake Forest was not a house; it was a fortress disguised as a palace.
Surrounded by ten-foot stone walls and wrought-iron gates topped with security cameras, the stone mansion overlooked Lake Michigan. The grounds were meticulously manicured, but Emma couldn't help but notice the men in dark suits patrolling the perimeter with trained German Shepherds.
Emma was given a suite of rooms on the second floor that was larger than her entire Rogers Park apartment three times over. The bed was covered in Egyptian cotton sheets, and the walk-in closet was already filled with designer clothes in her exact size.
"How did you know my sizes?" Emma asked that evening as she sat across from Dante at a massive mahogany dining table.
"I have people for that," Dante replied smoothly, cutting his steak with precise, lethal movements. "Tomorrow, a stylist will arrive to prepare you for the weekend. My grandfather, Don Silvano, arrives on Friday. You must look the part of a woman who belongs at my side."
Emma looked down at her plate, suddenly losing her appetite. "Dante... what happens if he sees through us? I'm not an actress. I'm just a girl from the suburbs who got chewed up and spit out by a bad marriage."
Dante paused, setting his knife down. He looked at her, his gaze intense. "Don Silvano is a dangerous man, Emma. He has killed men for lying to him. But he is also an old man who believes in true passion. If he sees you trembling, he will think it is fear of him. We must make him believe it is passion for me."
He stood up, walking around the table until he stood behind her chair. He leaned down, his breath warm against her ear.
"From this moment on, when we are in public, you look at me as if I am the only man in the world. You touch my arm, you let me hold your waist, and if I kiss you, you kiss me back like your life depends on it."
"Does it?" Emma whispered, her heart hammering against her ribs.
Dante’s hand came down on her shoulder, his grip firm but strangely comforting. "Yes, Emma. It does."
The next day, the transformation began. Emma was scrubbed, polished, and poured into a stunning emerald-green silk dress that accentuated every curve of her body. Her dark hair was styled into elegant, soft waves, and a diamond necklace—a Caruso family heirloom—was fastened around her throat.
When she walked down the grand staircase that evening, Dante was waiting at the bottom. He was wearing a classic black tuxedo, looking impossibly handsome and terrifyingly powerful.
As she reached the final step, he offered his arm. He stared at her, his gray eyes darkening with a raw emotion she hadn't seen before.
"Beautiful," he murmured, his voice thick. "Almost too beautiful."
May you like
Before she could reply, the heavy front doors swung open. An old man with silver hair, carrying a heavy wooden cane with a gold wolf's head handle, stepped into the foyer. His eyes were sharp as needles, sweeping over the room before landing on Dante and Emma.
Don Silvano had arrived.
