Chapter 112: Money or Me
Elder Bellini took his time before he began to speak, gesturing for a glass of water, his thin fingers lifting only slightly as though even the effort of asking cost him something. The room was quiet, heavy with the kind of silence that only existed around people who were waiting for something irreversible to happen. The faint beeping of medical equipment echoed softly, marking time with cruel consistency.
Namira instantly scrambled to get one for him, nearly knocking into the side table as she hurried forward. Her movements were rushed, desperate to please, and she didn’t bother masking it as she poured the water with shaking hands and offered it to him.
Only for the old man to blatantly roll his eyes.
He didn’t even acknowledge her effort, instead taking the one Dante offered with a deep scowl on his face. His fingers wrapped firmly around the glass as he drank, slow and deliberate, before handing the now-empty cup back to Dante—who didn’t even look bothered by the dismissal.
"I’m too much in pain to give a shit!" he murmured under his breath, his voice rough even as he leaned back against the pillows and slid his gaze over each and every one of them, one after the other.
Namira stiffened under his stare. Furie and Warren remained still, unreadable. Dora shifted slightly, her hands clasped together far too tightly.
He looked bored, but beyond the boredom was an annoyance that shone true—sharp, unfiltered, and unapologetic. It was the expression of a man who no longer felt the need to pretend, one that showed how little he cared at that moment as he began to speak slowly.
"As you have heard, I’m definitely dying!" he said.
Dora outwardly flinched, her breath catching painfully in her chest while no one else in the room reacted. It was something they all knew was inevitable—so much so that it would most likely take a miracle for it not to happen.
"...I’m sure some of you here would like to desperately find out what’s in my will!" he added with a light chuckle, the sound echoing faintly in the sterile room.
"Fortunately you’ll have to wait until the burial!"
Dora’s face slowly began to pale. Her lips pressed together as she outwardly frowned, hating how easily he talked about his death. When she met his gaze, all she received was a smile.
One that annoyed her beyond words.
She was relieved when he finally stopped talking about it and began to speak about other things.
"In the meantime, I expect the utmost care! No more crowding of my room! If any of you would like to see me, make an appointment!" he snapped, his tone strangely jolly, which instantly diffused the huge tension that had previously been choking the air.
He spoke with them for a while after that, his mood lighter, even amused at moments, as though death itself were nothing more than an inconvenience. Namira, Furie, and Warren responded politely, but Namira especially made sure to emphasize how dedicated she would be to his care.
And at that moment, Dora didn’t doubt it.
She was sure that all Namira cared about was indeed the contents of the will—contents the old man could still change before he passed away.
But aside from the dying part, the conversation from then on was cordial enough. Elder Bellini dismissed them one after the other until only Dora and Dante were left behind.
Dora still wore a vastly anxious and worried expression, her shoulders tense and her eyes glassy, even as Elder Bellini turned out to be the one calming her down.
"If you keep that up, you’ll get wrinkles," he said with a sigh. "I’m the one dying and in pain, yet you look like you’re about to cry!"
She nodded seriously, swallowing hard.
"You should take care of yourself and the baby!" he added.
Dora nodded again, though it was still painfully obvious that she was holding back tears.
It wasn’t until Elder Bellini sent her out to get a snack for him and herself that Dora actually nodded more firmly, fully aware that he wanted to have a private conversation with Dante. It was the only reason he would send her away with such a flimsy excuse.
She welcomed it.
The door had barely closed shut when Dante, who had been standing quietly until then, sank into the chair by his bedside. He crossed his legs, folding his hands comfortably on his knee, his expression cool and composed as he focused on the old man.
Elder Bellini instantly hissed.
"No tears! How cold! My grandson doesn’t care whether or not I die," he said dramatically, chuckling to himself before coughing slightly, a brief frown crossing his face as he continued.
"I’ll make sure to haunt you in the afterlife!"
Dante didn’t even blink, his gaze unwavering as he focused all his attention on the old man.
He didn’t speak, content to let silence fill the air until finally Elder Bellini opened his mouth again.
"The shares will be yours once Dora gives birth!"
Barely had the words left his mouth when Dante coldly responded.
"You won’t make it until then! You won’t see the baby! Your skin is already too pale!"
Elder Bellini only smiled.
To him, it simply sounded like Dante was blaming him for not even being able to wait that long.
"Knowing that it will be born is enough joy! I should have done this earlier!" he said.
Dante let out a slow sigh and got to his feet, walking away from the bed toward the door as though he intended to leave. Halfway there, he stopped, turned back, and walked toward the bed again, raking his hands through his platinum-white hair in annoyance.
Elder Bellini’s expression shifted—hardening into something far more severe.
One so severe that Dora couldn’t have said she had ever seen such a look on his face before. The coldness and icy menace in his tone matched the words he opened his mouth to say.
"They will come for Dora and the baby! They will come for you too!"
His eyes burned with certainty.
"You need to kill them all! ALL of them!"
The emphasis was cruel, sharp enough that it would have sent shivers through even the most hardened of hearts.
"...Even your grandchildren?" Dante asked, a flicker of surprise crossing his gaze as he met the eyes of his grandfather.
Elder Bellini scoffed in anger.
"They’re not even my blood! Only your father was! Moreover, the company is his! If they come for the company, then feel free to do as you like!"
He coughed again, wiping his mouth with a napkin left beside him. Blood stained the fabric.
He didn’t bat an eye.
He folded it neatly and set it aside.
Dante nodded twice in understanding before turning around.
"I’ll come visit you," he said.
"You better!" Elder Bellini muttered.
Dante had just pulled the door open to leave, Dora arriving at the same moment, when Elder Bellini spoke again.
"...And make sure to take care of granddaughter-in-law!"
Without speaking—and without allowing Dora to enter—Dante closed the door.
It was already extremely late, and visiting hours had long been over, with exceptions being made only for VIPs.
"You can visit him tomorrow," Dante said calmly. "But right now, we need to get you home."
He offered his elbow. Dora took it, letting him guide her through the quiet hospital halls.
But barely had they reached the elevator when Dora frowned, looking ahead and recognizing the person walking toward them.
Shameless.
That—and a few other words just like it—was all that came to her mind as she watched him approach, his wife wobbling behind him on crutches, both of them smiling far too brightly.
She wasn’t surprised when the first words out of his mouth were gratitude.
"Thank you, Mr. Bellini, for the money! Without you, I don’t know what my family would have done!"
Dora stood frozen beside Dante, staring at her father with wide eyes.
How did I miss it all these years?
Which parent wouldn’t die before allowing their daughter to be sold in their place?
The thought was reasonable.
And yet, it was still unbearable.
Her father was a man she had known her entire life.
The realization that he loved money more than her was something her heart still found far too heavy to digest.
Dante nodded his head with a hint of a smile on his face even as Maria also stepped forward with a grand smile on her face.
"Thank you for taking care of me! And thank you for taking care of Dora!" She also thanked him even as Dante simply nodded his head without speaking too much.
"It’s nice to see both of you!" He said standing straight as a rod without showing any form of submissiveness.
"...but we have to go! I visited my father and it’s late!" He said and Luca her father instantly nodded his head as he finally spoke to Dora who simply stared at him for a moment he for nodding her head.
