Now, he wanted to talk.
I had always imagined that if Dante ever told me the truth about why he hated me so much, that he would do it lethally. He’d use words meant to wound, a final dagger between us.
But tonight, in the safehouse, there were no daggers. Just the quiet noise of the wind outside, and Dante sitting across from me, shoulders bowed like he was carrying something far heavier than his injuries.
“My family,” he started, and the way his voice sounded made my chest feel tight. “I miss them every day. You probably don’t know their names. They weren’t powerful or well known. They were just miners from Arkala. People who had nothing to do with the Eastern Province or board politics.”
I stayed silent, watching the flicker of memories in his eyes.
“I miss my cousin the most. His name was Luca.” His mouth curved faintly. “We grew up together. He was shorter than me but he could still beat me in a sprint. We’d race from the docks to the old fig tree at the center of town. Then we would go home, to my house or his, and have dinner with the family.”
There was something raw in the way he said it, as if each memory hurt him.
“I didn’t get to say goodbye to him,” he continued, quieter now. My stomach ached with the knowledge of where this was heading. Dante adjusted himself in the bed and winced, then continued. “We heard Harringday had a new CEO. I was already in the Eastern Province at that time, but I never thought thatanything that drastic would happen. But then he called me back to visit the island. And when I went, I found out about the worker’s rights abuses.” His eyes, dark and haunted by memory, caught mine.
“The working conditions - I know you likely never knew how bad it was. The safety measures weren’t in place, and the mines collapsed.” He said, and I reached out to grab his hand.
I knew exactly what he was talking about.
“Dante, I know.” I started, and he looked up at me, vulnerable and questioning. “After I found those documents, the ones with my signature… I did some digging.” My voice sounded disconnected as I told him the truth. The truth even I wasn’t aware of.
My family had built Harringday on corruption and suffering. The days I spent in Pack Valence’s guesthouse before I’d found Sterling, I’d done some research. I looked into the past, how my great-grandfather had started Harringday and how he grew it into the massive organization it is now. My family told me the shining, happy version - we’d worked hard and grew through our innovation. But that wasn’t the only reason we grew.
My great-grandfather, grandfather, and yes, even my own father - they had done some terrible things to stay on top. They were ruthless, which was the way to be in the Eastern Province if you wanted to succeed. I always knew this, in the back of my mind. But I’d discarded it thinking that if I made positive changes, then the past didn’t matter.
But it did.
I loved my family. They loved me too, and left me a legacy that made me incredibly wealthy, and the first female omega CEO in the province. But that didn’t mean they were innocent. My father, despite his love for me, had also done some bad things to continue the Harringday success.
I looked at Dante, my understanding of his position now deeper after I learned about my own family history. “Dante, I know how my family grew Harringday. I learned more about the hidden history of how it was built.” I started, stammering as I admitted my own family had everything to do with his family’s suffering. “As much as I didn’t realize how bad my family was, that doesn’t excuse it. Harringday was, and still is, the cause of so much pain.” I said, my eyes tearing up at Dante’s expression. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am. For what my family did. For my part in it. For not knowing, not researching enough. Dante, I’m so very sorry.” My voice trembled as I thought back on the photos I’d seen of the carnage at Arkala. That was Dante’s whole life, his family, and they’d been murdered just to make a point.
Dante swallowed, and I couldn’t help but stare at how his neck moved. It had been so long since we’d been alone, and deep down I’d missed him more than I realized. His fingers brushed over my hand.
“You have no idea how much it means to hear you say that.” He answered, and it looked like the tension finally left his body as he lay on the mattress. “I know it wasn’t your fault, though. Celeste, you aren’t like that. You’re good.” He said, his voice barely above a whisper. A tear ran down my cheek.
“It doesn’t excuse all the pain that we caused. I should have known.” I said, mourning the old memories I had of my father. Dante reached up, wiping the tear away.
“Maybe that’s why we found each other, Celeste. Maybe that’s why we are fated. To right the wrongs of the past. I was already going down a dark path. If I never met you, who knows what I would have become.” Dante said, cupping my cheek.
I looked at him, then bit my lip. “I want to know more. Finish the story.” I replied. He looked hesitant.
“It’s not good.” Dante warned.
“I want to hear it.” I said. Ineededto hear it.
He looked at me, then relented. “My cousin told me all the things going on with Harringday. How they refused to help, how the townspeople had to go to the mines and dig people out themselves. How the conditions were so bad, that the people decided to revolt.” His words tore at my heart. I knew things were bad in Arkala, but not to this extent. It was one of the first things I wanted to fix when I was interim CEO. I thought if I went and cemented fair worker rights, then everything would be solved. I was so naive.
“The workers wanted to negotiate, to take over the mining operation so it would be owned by the Arkalans. Then, when you showed up, it seemed like everything was going to be fixed.” He paused, and I remembered that time. I'd just been named interim CEO, and this was my first time managing a majorproblem. I’d flown out, making sure to give all the workers increased wages, replace management, and implement new safety rules. The media was there, and from what I could tell, everything had been fixed.
“And after I left?” I asked, afraid to hear Dante’s words, though I already knew what happened.
He looked at me, then swallowed again. “I got a call from my cousin. I remember hearing gunshots in the background. He told me, ‘they’re killing everyone.’” His words felt like a knife in my heart.
“It was a punishment, a warning from Harringday to never revolt, never ask for more. I heard him trying to escape. The Harringday staff, they were on a rampage, killing the people who’d participated in the revolt. I heard my cousin pleading for his life, then someone saying that this was courtesy of Celeste Harringday. Then a gunshot.”
His hand tightened into a fist on his knee. “I heard him scream. Then nothing.”
I swallowed hard, my own eyes stinging.
