Chapter Twenty-Five

Dexter

Four days later, DAF Financial Grand Centre…

Dexter was reviewing new forensic reports he’d received from The World Bank on the Russo debacle when Darlene’s voice pierced through his concentration.

“Stop! You can’t just willy-nilly stroll into Mr. Flint’s office. Get back here, I say!”

Before he could process the commotion, his office door flew open with enough force to rattle the white panels. Violet burst in unceremoniously. He immediately noticed that her usual composed demeanor was completely shattered. She stumbled to a halt. Her eyes met his with an almost feral desperation that made his chest tighten.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Darlene huffed as she collided with her from behind and then smoothed her blazer with practiced irritation. “I’m sorry, Dexter. As usual, she has no regard for business decorum.” She shot Violet a withering look. “One would think, as a renowned defense attorney, the opposite would be true.”

“Thank you, Darlene. Please close the door. I’ll take it from here.” Dexter remained still, studying Violet with growing concern. Her face was ashen and lacked its usual healthy glow. Within her wide eyes, he recognized a barely contained panic. He’d seen her in countless high-pressure situations, but this was different. Her entire body radiated an anxiety that seemed to pulse through the room.

Her hands trembled as she wrung them together in an endless nervous dance. This wasn’t his confident, sharp-witted Violet who could command any courtroom with a mere arch of her eyebrow. The woman before him seemed smaller somehow, almost fragile, and it stirred every protective instinct in his body.

“You seem tense, love. Did something happen?” He kept his voice steady and firm, watching as some of the wild energy seemed to seep out of her shoulders at his tone. Still, she continued fidgeting. Her fingers picked at each other in a way that made him want to capture them in his own hands to still their restless movement. Violet had easily matched him stride for stride in their growing relationship. Her strength and assurance had become a constant he’d come to rely on, especially over the past two weeks living together. Seeing her this unsettled sent warning signals through his mind.

What the fuck did that little shit Theo do now?

“I’m waiting, Violet.” He deliberately deepened his voice as an edge of dominance colored his words. It was like watching a string puppet whose lines had suddenly been pulled taut. She blinked, then the words came rushing out in a breathless torrent.

“I chose to come here because I needed a neutral environment to have this discussion. It’s about my family. I know I should’ve told you long ago, but it’s hard. So, fucking hard, and I hate that I was born into it, but I’m their daughter, so I’m stuck with them. I couldn’t do it at home—it would’ve been too difficult, especially should you… if you… when you…”

“You’re babbling, love,” Dexter said gently, though his mind was racing through possibilities, and each was more concerning than the last. He rose from behind his desk and crossed to her in three long strides. Taking her hand, he was alarmed at how cold her fingers felt against his palm as he guided her to the sofa.

“Sit down. Take a deep breath, then tell me what’s got your panties twisted in a knot.”

Despite his light words, worry churned in his gut. Whatever had the usually unflappable Violet in this state had to be serious. He was well aware that her family matters were most definitely not simple.

“I’m... eh…” Violet sank onto the sofa. Her usual graceful movements were replaced by jerky uncertainty. Her gaze drifted to the window and fixed on the distant city horizon as if seeking an escape route. Her delicate fingers curled into tight fists before resuming their nervous dance, picking at cuticles and twisting around each other in an endless loop of anxiety.

Dexter settled beside her, deliberately keeping his movements slow and measured. His large hand enveloped hers, stilling their restless motion.

“Enough. I want to know what’s going on, Violet. Talk to me, love.” He maintained a carefully relaxed posture, and angled his body toward her with an openness that invited confidence.

“You told me you love me,” she began in a voice barely above a whisper. She darted a quick, almost frightened glance at him, like a trapped animal seeking an exit. “I never... I didn’t open up about how I feel, but I can’t keep it in any longer.” Her free hand fluttered in the air. “Living with you these past two weeks... actually, long before that, I already knew.” She swallowed hard, her throat working visibly before she nodded with a decisiveness that seemed to cost her. “I did, but I also knew we didn’t have a future. The kind of man you are, so honest with such high integrity... you’d never…”

Unable to remain still, she jumped up and positioned herself in front of the window. Her silhouette was taut with tension against the midday light.

“Loving anyone isn’t meant for me, Dex. Not with who I am and where I come from.” Her head dropped forward, flanked by slumping shoulders. “I have to leave and let you move on with your life. I’m not your responsibility, so you can relax and stop mothering me.”

Dexter’s heart surged at her inadvertent confession of love, even as his chest tightened at her obvious pain. But he kept his voice steady, his posture deliberately casual.

“Somewhere within all that nonsense you just spurted, I ascertained that you love me. Am I right, Violet?”

She turned to face him. Her eyes swirling with a storm of emotions.

“Dex, you heard what I said. It doesn’t matter what I feel. There isn’t a future for us.”

“I’d like to hear the words either way, Violet.” He let his dominance seep into his tone, watching as it called to the submissive nature she always seemed to fight against.

“I do love you, Dex, but it’s a love that was doomed from the start, so—”

“And you assume it’s doomed because of who your family is.” His wry smile held understanding rather than judgment. “The highly loved and successful Prosecco Vineyards Russo family.”

“If only that was all they were,” she muttered, voice thick with bitterness.

“I know, Violet.”

Her head snapped up as her eyes grew wide once more. “You know... what, exactly?”

Dexter settled back, deliberately stretching out his legs and relaxing his arms by his sides. Every movement was calculated to project calm acceptance rather than tension or judgment.

“Your father, George Lucky Russo, is the mighty Don of the Los Angeles Crime Family, aka the Gragna Mafia. Your brother, Tag The Grinch Russo, is his Underboss, with Leo The Snake Russo as one of his advisors, and then there’s Theo The Slasher Russo, who I’m not sure exactly what his function is other than being everyone’s lackey. Yes, Violet... I know exactly who and what your family is. I learned all this soon after the opening night of the L.A. Club Decadent Skies.” His smile softened with affection. “I knew all of that, and I still fell in love with you.”

“But... I don’t... how could you…”

Dexter leaned forward with his elbows pressed on his knees and his hands hanging loose between them in a gesture of openness.

“Your family doesn’t define who you are or the kind of life you live, love. I know you walked away from that life the moment you could. I also know you were never involved in any criminal activity at any point in your life. You are your own person, Violet Russo. Don’t ever forget that.”

Dexter watched the emotions play across Violet’s face as his words sank in. Her lower lip trembled slightly, and those expressive green eyes, usually so sharp and confident, swam with unshed tears. The vulnerability in her expression made his chest ache with tenderness.

“I thought the same thing, Dex, but recently... I realized that no matter how far I run from them, I have the same blood running through my veins... and you know the saying... blood is thicker than water.” Her voice caught on the last words, heavy with resignation.

“That is true.” He studied her carefully, noting how the afternoon light caught the flecks in her eyes, even as despair darkened them to a deep forest green. “But that didn’t stop you from carving out your own path despite your family’s shadows. You chose to become a defense attorney, fighting for justice within the system rather than against it. You have built your reputation on merit and hard work, never once trading on the good part of your Russo family name.” His lips curved into a gentle smile.

“Everything about you, my love, from your fierce independence to your unwavering ethical standards, speaks of a woman who deliberately chose to be more than her heritage.” Rising slowly, he drew her against his chest and kept his eyes locked with hers. The slight tremor that ran through her body as she pressed against him made his protective instincts surge. “My love for you isn’t in spite of your background but because of how you have risen above it.”

Unable to resist any longer, Dexter lowered his head to capture her lips with his. The kiss started gentle, almost reverent, as if he was trying to pour all his admiration and acceptance into that single point of contact. Her lips were soft and yielding beneath his and tasted of coffee and something uniquely Violet. As she melted against him, and her hands slid up his chest to curl around his neck, the kiss deepened naturally. His tongue traced the seam of her lips, requesting rather than demanding entry, and when she opened to him with a soft sigh, the tenderness transformed into something more heated.

With one hand cradling the back of her head, he threaded his fingers through the silky strands of her hair while his other hand pressed against the small of her back, dragging her flush against him. He could feel her heart racing against his chest, matching the rapid rhythm of his own. The kiss was a promise as much as it was an acceptance of a love that saw past surface appearances to the truth of who they were together.

Drawing back, Violet’s eyes remained troubled as she looked at him.

“There is more… something I have to tell you.” She pressed her fingers against his lips as he opened them to speak. “No, I need to do this before I lose courage. We didn’t meet by chance, Dexter. I was on that plane with the sole purpose of making contact with you.” A derisive smirk twisted her face askew. “Hence my comment… if only my family were winemakers.”

Dragging in a deep breath, she continued.

“Tag is also in the BDSM lifestyle, and he told me about the club opening after my mother begged me to help them reach out to someone of power in The World Bank.” She lowered her eyes. “According to my father and Tag, they’re being set up with fake documentation and transactions through major banks across the U.S., implicating them in money laundering.” Pushing away from him, Violet sat on the sofa. Dexter didn’t follow, sensing she needed space between them.

“It’s ironic, really. They are guilty of money laundering, but they have always been very careful and never used large amounts or filtered it through big financial institutions.” She looked up to quickly explain. “I didn’t know any of this. They told me the day they asked for my help. Of course, I’m not stupid. I know how mafia trading works, but I never kept track of anything they did.”

“I know, Violet.”

“So, I was supposed to… to, you know… seduce you, then ask you to trace the origin of those transactions so we could prove their innocence.” Her fingers returned to twitching and plucking. “Except I couldn’t. After that weekend of being your submissive… I knew then that I could never involve you in anything unlawful.” She shrugged. “Tag and Theo had a big fight, and the vile way everyone reacted… I am done with them for good, Dexter. I want nothing to do with them.”

“Except if they’re not the ones who were behind those transactions, it means someone is setting them up to take the fall. I have to tell you, Violet, the way things stand now, your entire family will end up behind bars, including your mother, for the rest of their lives.”

“I don’t understand. How do things stand? What things?”

“You are obviously aware that I am a silent VP of The World Bank. They have approached me to investigate the case they are building against the Russo family. If I can’t find evidence to prove their innocence, the intel the Bank’s forensic analysts and auditors have compiled is damning. It irrevocably proves that your parents, Tag, and Leo are indeed the Gragna Mafia.”

“But not Theo?” Violet frowned. “So, that’s what he meant by me choosing the right side before the war erupts. I can’t believe he’d betray his own family like that. I… but why? I know Theo is a hothead and thinks before he acts, but to go that far? I just don’t get it.”

“I’m afraid your little brother got himself involved with the wrong crowd in his search for power and acknowledgment. Your family might prefer to live a double life and thereby hide in plain sight while conducting their criminal activities, but he clearly doesn’t. Theo wants to be seen as a powerful man who scorns at what’s right and wrong.”

Violet frowned. “Yes, Tag and Leo mentioned something to the same effect. They mentioned a Syndicate. What crowd are you talking about?”

“The Phantom Drug Syndicate.”

“Yes! It’s the same one.”

“Their leader, Rick Hampton, has taken Theo under his wing. He’s given him power, and from what I’ve been able to find out, he’s using him to sink your family. We believe he wants to unseat your family as the leaders of the Los Angeles Crime Circle. In fact, involving Theo as he has, I think he promised him the top dog position of the Gragna Mafia, but my gut says that once your parents, Tag, and Leo are in prison, he’s going to get rid of Theo and take over the reign.”

“How can you know all this, but my father and Tag don’t?” Violet stared at him in confusion.

“Most criminals nowadays communicate on the dark web. They have highly sophisticated systems in place to keep information from leaking. Rex is an IT mogul. If there is even one letter of intent on the web, he can find it. I had him look into Theo after you told me about his visit and allegations. He came across encrypted emails they had shared, which confirmed the association between them. It was confirmed when we staked him out one night. I’m afraid Theo might be the one who ousted your family, Violet.”

“Yeah, Tag also had that suspicion.” Rubbing her forehead, she looked at him. “What do I do now, Dexter? Do I just walk away? Let my family get locked up for something they are guilty of in the broader sense of the word, although not the actual crime you’re investigating?”

“The main crime they would be locked up for is the proof that they are not only associated with the Gragna Mafia but that they are them. The money laundering, whether true or not, would just cement their fate.”

“And now that you know the truth, you are bound to share it with the authorities.” Violet’s shoulders dropped an inch lower.

“I am not a police officer or an FBI Agent, Violet. Yes, I am a law-abiding citizen, but I do acknowledge that, as with anything in life, there is a gray area. In this case… you are my gray area.” He smiled grimly. “I am going to find the proof that Rick Hampton is the one setting up your family. I just have to find out why. Whether or not they end up in jail isn’t up to me… or you. That’s my take on it.”

“I can’t let you do this, Dex. You’re too honest. I can’t expect you to lie and take the—”

“It’s my choice how I deal with this matter, Violet. I love you. You are my future, and I will do everything in my power to secure our path. If that means fighting Rick Hamilton tooth and nail to keep you safe and, by extension, your family, too, then that’s what I’ll do.” He hugged her for long moments and reveled in how naturally she molded into him and wrapped her arms around him.

“We are not going to debate this issue to death, Violet. It’s done. I make my own choices, so you have nothing to feel guilty about. For now, all I need you to do is heal properly, stay alert, and for fuck’s sake, stay away from your family… most of all, avoid Theo like he has the plaque.”

“You’re right, Dex. It’s time I cut the cord, not leave a couple of strands connected. I have to rip it apart.” She cupped his face. The look of love shining in her eyes weakened his knees. “You are more important… our future is more important. I don’t owe them anything, not anymore, and especially not knowing now how unscrupulous they truly are.”

“I will always do everything in my power to keep you safe, Violet. Just don’t ever take any chances, not even with your family. Promise me that.”

“I promise.”