The Don’s Double Standard: She Vanished with His Child Chapter 06

I never reached out to Dante again.

Not once.

On graduation night, we ended up at the same after-party.

Serena was glued to him all night. The VIP booth buzzed with conversations I tuned out.

I kept my head down, nursed my drink, and made small talk whenever someone came over.

On my way home after the party, Dante called.

The first time he’d called me in a month.

Everything in me said to let it ring. My thumb hit answer anyway.

“Where are you?”

That voice. That tone.

Two words, and every wall I’d spent a month building came down.

My eyes stung. I swallowed hard, kept my voice even, and told him where I was.

“Stay there.”

He hung up.

That night, I waited four hours.

I waited until the crowds thinned to nothing, until the street vendors folded up their carts and disappeared.

Somewhere around hour three, I understood something. Hope is just a sandcastle. It looks solid until the tide comes in.

By the time Dante finally showed up, I’d been stuck at the same bus stop for almost four hours.

He waved me toward the car. I gripped the bus stop sign to steady myself, my legs stiff and half-numb.

“Something came up.” He glanced at me, my lips pale, my face drained of color, and his frown deepened. “Why didn’t you just call me when I wasn’t showing up?”

“You were just going to stand here? What if I never came, would you have waited all night?”

I held up my phone. Dead. The battery had given out hours ago.

Dante went quiet.

After a long silence, I spoke. “Next time, just tell me. Whatever it is. Don’t make me guess.”

Neither of us said another word after that.

That night, I didn’t mention what I’d seen on Serena’s social media.

A massive custom cake in the middle of the room. Everyone crowded around it, smiling, toasting, every single person from the party that night.

Everyone was there.

Except me.

After that, the rest of the night made perfect sense.

No wonder everyone had been so eager to send me off early, making excuses about having somewhere else to be.

No wonder Serena had given me that smug little smile on the way out before leaning over to whisper something to Dante.

No wonder Dante called me the second I was gone, then let me wait for hours while he stayed.

None of it was an accident. Every piece of it was planned, and every piece of it was meant to remind me where I didn’t belong.

That was just who he was. Whoever had his attention got everything, all the warmth, all the tenderness, no holding back.

Intense with his attention. Ruthless when he moved on.

…

After the night Dante showed up at my door with the DNA test, he started turning up everywhere.

Sometimes I’d find him outside my building. Other times he’d be standing at the gates of St. Agnes when I went to pick up Talia.

Never too close, never too far. But always there.

Just… watching.

But I knew Dante. Patience wasn’t in his nature.

One afternoon, I finished packing my orders and was heading out the door.

My phone went off. It was Ms. Harper, Talia’s teacher.

“Hi, this is Ms. Harper. I just wanted to let you know, Talia was picked up by Donna Moretti this afternoon.”

“Were you aware of this?”

My blood ran ice-cold. The blood rushed to my head so fast my vision blurred.

Ms. Harper kept talking.

“A group of men in suits came to the school this afternoon, and the principal met with them personally. They were there specifically for Talia. They had DNA test results with them.”

My nails dug into my palms. I could barely breathe through the rage.

I hung up, grabbed my keys, and was already dialing as I ran out the door.

“Where the fuck did you take my daughter?”

I never reached out to Dante again.

Not once.

On graduation night, we ended up at the same after-party.

Serena was glued to him all night. The VIP booth buzzed with conversations I tuned out.

I kept my head down, nursed my drink, and made small talk whenever someone came over.

On my way home after the party, Dante called.

The first time he’d called me in a month.

Everything in me said to let it ring. My thumb hit answer anyway.

“Where are you?”

That voice. That tone.

Two words, and every wall I’d spent a month building came down.

My eyes stung. I swallowed hard, kept my voice even, and told him where I was.

“Stay there.”

He hung up.

That night, I waited four hours.

I waited until the crowds thinned to nothing, until the street vendors folded up their carts and disappeared.

Somewhere around hour three, I understood something. Hope is just a sandcastle. It looks solid until the tide comes in.

By the time Dante finally showed up, I’d been stuck at the same bus stop for almost four hours.

He waved me toward the car. I gripped the bus stop sign to steady myself, my legs stiff and half-numb.

“Something came up.” He glanced at me, my lips pale, my face drained of color, and his frown deepened. “Why didn’t you just call me when I wasn’t showing up?”

“You were just going to stand here? What if I never came, would you have waited all night?”

I held up my phone. Dead. The battery had given out hours ago.

Dante went quiet.

After a long silence, I spoke. “Next time, just tell me. Whatever it is. Don’t make me guess.”

Neither of us said another word after that.

That night, I didn’t mention what I’d seen on Serena’s social media.

A massive custom cake in the middle of the room. Everyone crowded around it, smiling, toasting, every single person from the party that night.

Everyone was there.

Except me.

After that, the rest of the night made perfect sense.

No wonder everyone had been so eager to send me off early, making excuses about having somewhere else to be.

No wonder Serena had given me that smug little smile on the way out before leaning over to whisper something to Dante.

No wonder Dante called me the second I was gone, then let me wait for hours while he stayed.

None of it was an accident. Every piece of it was planned, and every piece of it was meant to remind me where I didn’t belong.

That was just who he was. Whoever had his attention got everything, all the warmth, all the tenderness, no holding back.

Intense with his attention. Ruthless when he moved on.

…

After the night Dante showed up at my door with the DNA test, he started turning up everywhere.

Sometimes I’d find him outside my building. Other times he’d be standing at the gates of St. Agnes when I went to pick up Talia.

Never too close, never too far. But always there.

Just… watching.

But I knew Dante. Patience wasn’t in his nature.

One afternoon, I finished packing my orders and was heading out the door.

My phone went off. It was Ms. Harper, Talia’s teacher.

“Hi, this is Ms. Harper. I just wanted to let you know, Talia was picked up by Donna Moretti this afternoon.”

“Were you aware of this?”

My blood ran ice-cold. The blood rushed to my head so fast my vision blurred.

Ms. Harper kept talking.

“A group of men in suits came to the school this afternoon, and the principal met with them personally. They were there specifically for Talia. They had DNA test results with them.”

My nails dug into my palms. I could barely breathe through the rage.

I hung up, grabbed my keys, and was already dialing as I ran out the door.

“Where the fuck did you take my daughter?”