Page 66 of Ivory Obsession

“I hope so too,” I murmured absently, my mind already wandering back to Dante. “Didn’t your last date bring his pet iguana along with him?”

“Okay, in his defense, I told him I liked iguanas,” Ellie defended, triggering another wave of laughter between us. That was the Ellie I loved - the one who could find humor in even the most bizarre situations.

“So why did you ask about Rodriguez?”

“Because he’s weirdly muscular for a tech geek, wouldn’t you agree?”

I shook my head, smiling. “Honestly, I haven’t noticed.”

“Maybe when he’s done being a nuisance, I can ask him if he’s single. You haven’t seen a ring, have you?”

“No,” I replied. I didn’t want to tell her it wasn’t like I had been looking. “But I’ll try to find out if you want.”

“I wouldn’t hate that. In the meantime, I guess it’s back to the grind,” Ellie quipped with a half-hearted chuckle, signaling our return to the hum of machines and the scent of progress that was our daily soundtrack.

But as we approached the incubators housing our latest experiment, a pungent odor snaked through the air. It wasn’t the usual sanitized tang of disinfectants or the sterile nothingness of filtered air; this was different—organic and intrusive. My stomach lurched in protest.

“Ugh, do you smell that?” I frowned, pressing a hand against my abdomen as if to quell the sudden nausea.

“Smell what?” Ellie’s brow furrowed, her nose scrunching as she sniffed the air like a bloodhound on the scent. “I don’t catch anything off.”

“Never mind.” I waved her off, my voice steadier than I felt. Maybe it was just me. But as I stood there, surrounded by beeping equipment and petri dishes lined up like soldiers, a thought slithered into my consciousness, cold and unwelcome.

Could this place, this temple of science and sterility, be a danger to the new life slowly taking root inside me? A shiver ran across my skin—a traitor to my resolve. The idea was absurd, surely. I lived for this work, sacrificed so much for it. But the unease clung to me, a silent question mark etched into the back of my mind.

“Jade?” Ellie’s voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. “You’re looking a bit pale. Everything okay?”

“Fine.” The word tasted of steel, but I forced a smile. “Just a long day. Let’s wrap this up.”

And with that, I turned back to my screen, to the numbers that made sense, the variables I could control. Because in this world of mine, uncertainty was not an option, and fear had no place. Not even the faint shadows of doubt cast by the underbelly of Dante’s world could reach me here.

Or so I desperately wanted to believe.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Dante

Ireached for my phone, and then practically threw it across the room. I wanted to call Jade. I just knew I shouldn’t.

The morning sun had a way of sneaking past the heavy drapes, casting slivers of light that cut through the darkness of my office. I sat there, engulfed by the scent of aged leather and the sheen of polished wood, papers strewn before me like fallen soldiers on a battlefield. Each sheet was a fragment of a larger scheme, line graphs and pie charts depicting the infancy of our legitimate investments—our future, unchained from the family’s dark legacy.

I sighed, trying to ignore my pounding headache, and went back to work.

I sifted through the numbers, the potential profits from businesses untouched by blood money. The BioHQ data lay amongst them, its implications as potent as the power it promised. It was a game-changer, sure to pivot the Moretti name towards something resembling honor—if such a thing wasn’t too far gone for us.

I was working—I was only working—because I desperately didn’t want to think about Jade. In the background, a news report droned on. One of Caruso’s capos had been indicted, which meant Caruso would be angry.

Fuck.

Without hesitation, I grabbed my phone, feeling its cool surface against my palm. This time, it wasn’t to call Jade. I scrolled to Marco’s contact card and pressed the call button. “Meet me at the new property site. We need to discuss the next steps,” I ordered, my tone leaving no room for argument. There was a brief acknowledgement on the other end before the line went dead.

I hung up and leaned back in my chair, the leather creaking under my weight. My gaze drifted to the hidden compartment in my desk. Inside, the original stolen BioHQ data was tucked away, a constant reminder of the lengths I’d go to protect what was mine—and the power I wielded to sway fortunes in our favor. This was bigger than just us now; it was about carving out a life where the shadows we cast didn’t stretch quite so long or dark.

“Marco, this is the backbone of our future,” I said later that day, standing with him amidst the iron bones of what would soon be not just a building, but a beacon of our new direction. Steel beams rose around us like ribs of some giant beast, the air thick with dust and the clamor of progress.

Marco, clad in his usual sharp attire that seemed oddly out of place against the backdrop of hard hats and concrete, gave me a nod of understanding. “As long as we keep our hands clean, Dante. That’s what you’re aiming for, right?” His skepticism was a thin veil over genuine curiosity.

“Cleaner than they’ve ever been,” I affirmed, feeling the weight of the responsibility settle on my shoulders.

He stuck his hands in his pockets. “I mean, worse comes to worst, we can at least charge tenants exorbitant rates. It’s all about location.”

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