The Ultimate Payback 17

Posted by admink, ? Views, Released on April 5, 2025

Chapter 17

The New York night was brutally cold, wind slicing between skyscrapers like sharpened stori

Inside Dante’s penthouse, darkness reigned except for a single lamp casting long shadows Acts Te room. The air hung heavy with the sour sweet stench of expensive liquor and unwashed tipthe

He sat on the floor beside his leather sofa, a bottle of rare whisky dangling from his fingers His appearance was shocking to anyone who knew the normally impeccalde Danse Wolf- hair disheveled, designer clothes wrinkled and stained

For a month, this had been his existence. Thirty days of isolation. No work no cal nothing bat

alcohol and the war in his head.

Two opposing voices battled constantly in his mind, one insisting Rosalie was nothing but a pawn in his revenge against her brother–just collateral damage in a game of power, the other vure going

louder each day, screaming that he had fallen hopelessly in love with het.

Only in the numbing embrace of alcohol could he sometimes see her again, a phantore visiting his alcohol induced hallucinations, smiling at him as if she’d never discovered his betrayal never lef

Marcus, Tyler, and Jason had taken turns trying to pull him back from the edge, but then wIEDS

evaporated before reaching him. His world had contracted to just the burn of whisky and the

echoing absence of her laugh

Standing near the kitchen, his inner circle exchanged worried glances,

“Look at him,” Marcus whispered, genuine concern etched across his face. I’ve seen Wolf se hundred million dollar deals without blinking. What the hell is this?”

“It’s obviously the revenge plan falling apart,” Tyler reasoned, his tone dismissive “Three years plotting against Lima, and suddenly it all goes to that. His ege can’t handle it.”

“No way,” Jason shook his head. “Wolf’s survived hostile takeovers and SEC investigations. He wouldn’t spiral like this over a failed scheme.”

“What’s he even upset about?” Tyler continued. “That dancer is gone, back to her brother Good riddance. At least Lima hasn’t retaliated… yet”

“You don’t think… Marcus hesitated, lowering his voice further, this is about the girl herself?

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“The Lima girl?” Tyler scoffed. “Come on. She was just leverage to him. A nice piece of ass and a way to screw over her brother.”

“Then explain this,” Marcus gestured toward Dante’s disheveled form. “This is a guy who once fired an assistant for bringing him coffee in the wrong temperature mug. Now look at him.”

“Yeah, and remember what happened at the venue? Jason added. “He destroyed millions in property and screamed at us when we suggested it was about the plan failing”

“Are you suggesting that Wolf actually…” Marcus trailed off.

“What?” The others pressed.

“That he fell for her. For real”

The group erupted in muffled laughter. “Wolf? Fall in love with Alistair Lima’s sister? That’s rich. He’s Dante fucking Wolf. He doesn’t do love.”

A cold female voice sliced through their conversation. “You can stop your little analysis. He’s heartbroken and drowning his sorrows like a pathetic teenager.”

They turned to find Darcy Brown standing in the doorway, designer purse in hand, her expression a mixture of contempt and bitter satisfaction.

“Miss Brown,” Tyler said tensely. “This isn’t really a good time.”

Darcy laughed coldly. “Why shouldn’t I be here? You all assured me that plain little dancer was out of the picture. That makes him mine again, doesn’t it? I came to check on my fiancé.”

“Look, he’s not seeing anyone right now,” Marcus tried diplomatically.

“Not seeing anyone?” Darcy’s voice rose sharply. “Let me tell you what he’s been doing. Yesterday, he called my father to cancel our engagement–a merger worth billions. My father went straight to

Dante Senior. I was there for their discussion.”

Her lips curved into a cruel smile. “Senior wouldn’t hear of canceling the merger. But our great

Dante Wolf wouldn’t back down. His father brought out that antique riding crop from their family collection. Ninety–nine lashes. The traditional Wolf family discipline for disobedience. And still, even

bleeding, he refused to marry me.”

The men stared at her in shock. Jason immediately moved toward Dante, pulling aside his rumpled shirt. Sure enough, his back was marked with angry welts, some still seeping blood that had soaked

Chapter 17

through the expensive fabric.

“Jesus Christ, Wolf,” Marcus breathed, “The Brown Wolf merger would have made you untouchable in this market. Why throw it all away?”

Darcy’s laugh was brittle. “Because he’s a coward. He fell in love with the girl he was supposed to be using, and he can’t even admit it to himself. He thought he was so clever, playing the long game, but ended up the biggest fool of all. The great Dante Wolf, undone by a dancing nobody.”

The friends exchanged uneasy glances, doubt finally penetrating their certainty.

“That can’t be right,” Tyler said, but his voice wavered. “Wolf wouldn’t fall for someone like her.”

“No?” Darcy challenged, gesturing toward Dante’s broken form. “Then explain this. Explain why a man who worships power and money would throw away the merger of the decade. Explain why he’d endure his father’s punishment–something he swore would never happen again after he turned eighteen. Explain why New York’s most notorious playboy has been drowning in whisky for a month over a girl who dumped him.”

The room fell silent as they considered her words, each man recalling Dante’s increasingly protective behavior toward Rosalie over the past months.

“Wolf,” Jason finally ventured, “level with us. Is Darcy right? Did you actually fall for Rosalie Lima?”

Throughout their entire discussion, Dante had remained silent, as if existing in a different reality. At the direct question, something shifted in his posture. In one violent motion, he hurled his whisky bottle against the wall. It shattered spectacularly, amber liquid streaming down the custom wallpaper like tears.

He looked up at them, his eyes bloodshot but finally, truly present. His voice emerged as a raw,

wounded thing.

“Yes,” he admitted, the single word seeming to cost him physically. “I fell in love with her. So fucking

what? Is that a crime?”

The naked vulnerability in his voice shocked them all into silence. For the first time in memory, Dante Wolf–New York’s most ruthless businessman–looked utterly defenseless, the armor of his carefully constructed persona finally shattered like the bottle against his wall.