Chapter 7
1304 Words
Vale clamped her hands over her ears, her whole body shaking as the gunshots echoed. She had no clue if the person shooting was there to kill her or save her.
"Noah...?" Rania gasped, staring at the guy pointing a gun right at her. He looked exactly like Dante Romano.
But unlike his twin brother, Noah didn't give a damn about the underworld. He preferred being a CEO—it was cleaner, made way more money, and satisfied the greedy side he’d inherited from Celine.
Rania shook her head in disbelief. There was no way Noah knew how to use a gun. His smooth hands had never touched a weapon, unlike Dante, who trained every single day.
"Noah, what do you think you're doing? Don't touch me, or Dante will lose his mind," Rania warned, her voice trembling.
Noah smirked. "Like I care. Anyone who touches my sister-in-law is asking for a death sentence," he hissed.
Bang!
Bang!
Two more shots rang out. Noah’s smile turned dark. He could play nice, but he could just as easily flip a switch when things got messy.
"Clean this up," Noah ordered his men. Then, he looked down at Vale, who had passed out.
"Dante, you've really crossed the line this time," he muttered, scooping Vale up into his arms.
"Sir..." his assistant started.
"To the hospital. Fast. If Mommy finds out about this, she’s going to lose her mind, and I don't want to hear her lecturing me. Dante is such a pain in the ass," Noah snapped before his assistant could even ask where they were going.
"Got it, sir," the assistant replied.
On the way to the hospital, Noah looked down at his sister-in-law. She was gorgeous. It was such a waste for Dante to treat her like garbage. He honestly wondered why Celine hadn't set Vale up with him instead of his cold-hearted brother.
"Miss Valerie is stunning, sir," the assistant chimed in, breaking Noah's train of thought.
"Yeah, she really is. But don't forget, she belongs to that psycho," Noah sighed.
"Well, Mr. Dante doesn't seem to want her. You could always just take her," the assistant joked lightly.
Noah rolled his eyes. "Right, because she’s totally a piece of property I can just ask for. You think Dante would just hand her over? He’d kill me first."
They pulled up to the hospital, and Noah rushed inside, carrying Vale straight to the ER.
Vale slowly opened her eyes. She was fully conscious, but everything was pitch black. Her head was throbbing. As she tried to sit up, a pair of strong hands gently helped her.
She caught a whiff of his cologne—it was unfamiliar, definitely not anyone from Dante's house. "Did you save me?" Vale asked, turning her head to the right, though the person was actually on her left. Her voice was barely a whisper; Noah had to lean in just to hear her.
"Nope, just found you on the side of the road and brought you here," he replied casually. "And hey, I'm over here. Relax, you don't need to be so formal with me."
Vale nodded weakly. Whoever he was, she owed him everything. "Thank you. I don't have any money to pay for the hospital bill, but I can work it off. I can clean your house, do chores..." she offered, her hand instinctively going to her throat, which felt raw and painful.
Noah let out a soft laugh and shook his head, glancing at the door. Dante was standing right outside, listening in secret. "Clean my house? In your condition? You'd probably end up burning the place down accidentally."
Vale went quiet, lowering her head. He was right. She was useless. No wonder Dante always called her a burden—it was the truth.
"I really am good for nothing," she mumbled to herself.
Outside, Dante clenched his fists as he watched Noah gently pat Vale’s head through the glass. He had finally learned the truth. Daniel had shown him the CCTV footage. He saw how Elza had been spiking Vale's drinks every single day until she lost her voice. He saw how Elza had dragged her up to the fifth floor.
Regret hit him like a truck. He should have been the one protecting his wife, but instead, it was his brother who had saved her.
"Hey, stop talking like that. I don't want anything from you," Noah said gently. "Don't you want to call your family? Or..." He trailed off as Vale shook her head.
"I don't have a family anymore," Vale said, a sad smile on her lips. "Nobody wants me. My husband already kicked me out because I'm just a burden to him."
"So, where are you going to go after this?" Noah asked.
Vale took a deep breath. "Before I lost my sight, I used to pass by a marketplace near my old place. There are people there... people like me. Could you just drop me off there?"
Noah’s eyes widened. He knew exactly what she meant—she wanted to go to the slums where disabled beggars lived. Outside, Dante closed his eyes in agony. Was she really that desperate? He was a billionaire, yet his wife wanted to live on the streets rather than ask to come home.
"Are you crazy? You want to live there?" Noah asked, genuinely shocked.
Vale tilted her head up. "I have nowhere else to go. I can find a job there, like doing people's laundry or something."
"Hell no," Noah scoffed. "You're not living on the streets. You're coming to stay at my place." If Celine found out he let Vale sleep on the streets, she would literally murder him.
Hearing that, Dante couldn't take it anymore. He slammed the door open, his temper flaring. "She’s coming home with me!" he barked, stepping inside. He wasn't about to let Noah take his wife.
Vale flinched at the sound of Dante's voice, her heart racing with pure terror. "Dante...?" she whispered, trembling.
Dante shoved Noah out of the way and stood by her bed. "Just rest and stop talking. Once you're discharged, you're coming back to the mansion," he said, his tone commanding and leaving no room for argument.
Noah raised an eyebrow. Classic Dante—always demanding, never asking.
"Mr. Dante, you can't just—" Vale started, her voice shaking, but Dante cut her off.
"Leave us, Noah. I've got my wife," Dante said.
Noah burst out laughing. Wife? Now he wants to call her his wife?
'Noah?' Vale thought to herself. So the guy who saved her was actually Dante's twin brother?
"Wife?" Noah mocked, crossing his arms. "Pretty sure you threw her out, bro. So why don't you leave? I'll take care of my sister-in-law, and then I'll give Mommy a quick call. Your funeral, Mr. Mafia boss."
"Shut up, Noah!" Dante growled.
"Oh, what's wrong? Scared of Mommy?" Noah taunted, leaning in to whisper, "And don't forget, Uncle Zian is watching your every move."
He wasn't bluffing. Zian always kept a close eye on Dante. Even though Zian had his own family, he protected Dante like his own son.
Dante glared at his brother, but before he could say another word, Vale spoke up. Her voice was quiet, but firm.
"I'm not going anywhere with you, Dante," Vale said, staring into the darkness. "Noah, please... take me with you."
Dante froze, staring at his wife in total disbelief as Noah smirked triumphantly.
To be continued...
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