Chapter 4 - THE TRANSFER DEED
Hannah rushed past Alessandro, pushing through the swinging kitchen doors into the main bakery.
The festive atmosphere had vanished entirely. The guests were huddled against the walls, holding their champagne glasses in terrified silence.
In the center of the room, Brian was standing near the display case. He looked pathetic, sweating profusely, his expensive suit suddenly looking too big for him. Two of Carmine’s enforcers stood opposite him.
Brian’s beautiful fiancée was already gone. She had taken one look at the armed men and walked out the front door without looking back.
"I'm telling you the truth!" Brian pleaded, his voice cracking loudly. He pointed a trembling finger directly at Hannah as she emerged from the kitchen. "She's not a maid! She's been living in his house for three years! They're together! She knows everything about his schedules, his routes, his accounts!"
Hannah felt physically sick. The man she had once loved, the man who had broken her heart because she wasn't "presentable" enough, was currently trying to trade her life to save his own skin.
Alessandro stepped out from behind Hannah.
He didn't yell. He didn't pull a weapon. He simply walked toward Brian with the slow, deliberate grace of an apex predator.
"Mr. Vitale, please," Brian whimpered, taking a step back until his spine hit the glass pastry case. "I owe Carmine two hundred thousand dollars. I just need more time. I thought if I gave him leverage on you—"
"You have no leverage," Alessandro said quietly.
Alessandro pulled his phone from his pocket. He dialed a single number and put the phone on speaker, holding it up.
"Execute the buyout," Alessandro commanded.
A voice on the other end responded instantly. "Done, sir. The firm is yours."
Alessandro ended the call. He looked at Brian, whose eyes were wide with confusion.
"You work for Miller & Hayes Accounting," Alessandro said softly. "As of ten seconds ago, I am the majority shareholder of Miller & Hayes. You are fired, Brian. Your pension is dissolved. Your corporate accounts are frozen. And I will ensure that not a single firm in North America will hire you to balance a checkbook for the rest of your miserable life."
Brian’s knees literally gave out. He collapsed against the pastry case, burying his face in his hands, sobbing uncontrollably.
Hannah watched him. She didn't feel pity. She didn't feel vindicated. She just felt exhausted. The illusion of the perfect man she had spent a year crying over was completely shattered.
"Impressive theater, nephew."
Carmine Vitale stepped back into the bakery, pushing past his own men. He tapped his silver cane against the newly polished hardwood floor.
"You always did have a flair for the dramatic," Carmine sneered. He reached into his immaculate gray suit pocket and pulled out a folded piece of thick, legal parchment.
"What is that?" Alessandro asked, his posture stiffening.
"A transfer deed," Carmine smiled, unfolding the paper. "For this charming little bakery. Your lovely girlfriend’s mother was foolish enough to put the building up as collateral for my loan."
Hannah’s mother gasped from the kitchen doorway, covering her mouth.
"You are going to marry the Rossi girl tomorrow, Alessandro," Carmine stated, his voice ringing with absolute authority. "You will merge our families and secure the shipping routes I promised them."
"I told you," Alessandro said, stepping in front of Hannah. "I will not be bought."
"Oh, but you will," Carmine smiled, a dark, wicked expression. "Because if you do not sign the marriage contract by midnight tonight, I am going to call in the loan on this bakery. I will take the building. I will leave this family homeless."
Carmine turned his cold eyes to Hannah.
"And just to ensure my point is made," the old man whispered, "I will have my men lock the doors and burn this place to the ground tonight. With or without people inside."
The silence in the room was deafening.
Alessandro looked at the transfer deed. Then he looked at Hannah. For the first time, the impenetrable mafia boss looked genuinely conflicted. The armor was cracking.
"Don't do it," Hannah whispered, stepping forward and grabbing his arm. "Don't marry someone you hate for me."
Alessandro looked down at her hand on his arm. He looked at the sapphire bracelet around her wrist.
May you like
Then he looked at his uncle.
"Bring me the Rossi contract," Alessandro said, his voice hollow. "I'll sign it."
