Sofia stared at the Page Six headline on her tablet, stomach dropping as she read: "Castellano Heir's Attorney Girlfriend Tied to Rival Business Interests?" The accompanying photo showed her leaving the courthouse, carefully cropped to catch Dante waiting for her at the bottom of the steps, with Victor Valenti visible in the background, watching them both.
The article implied she was playing both sides, representing clients with ties to the Valentis while dating a Castellano. It wasn't true, of course. She had explicitly declined the Morton case to avoid any conflicts. But the damage was already done, the insinuation of divided loyalties now public.
Her phone rang—Franklin Sloane's office. Of course. A gossip column questioning her professional ethics would have the managing partner calling before his morning coffee was cool enough to drink.
"I'll be there in thirty minutes," she told his assistant, already calculating how to contain this professionally.
Her second call was from Dante. She hesitated before answering.
"You've seen it," he said, not bothering with preliminaries.
"Yes." Sofia moved around her apartment, gathering what she needed for the day. "It's a problem."
"It's Valenti's next move." Dante's voice was cold, controlled. "Undermining your professional standing, suggesting you're compromised. First the Morton case, now this."
"You knew about Morton?" Sofia paused, hand on her briefcase.
"I know everything that touches my interests." He paused. "Or the people important to me."
The simple statement, people important to me, shouldn't have affected her as it did. "I'm meeting with Sloane this morning. This could impact my standing at the firm."
"What will you tell him?"
"The truth. That I've maintained strict professional boundaries and declined any cases with potential conflicts." She locked her apartment door behind her. "What are you planning to do?"
"Handle it."
"Dante." Sofia stopped at the elevator. "I need to know what that means."
"It means I'll ensure there are consequences for this move against you." His voice had dropped to that dangerous register she'd come to recognize. "My family has protocols for these situations. Clear lines we don't cross without authorization. But Valenti crossed one first."
"Don't do anything that makes this worse," Sofia warned. "I can manage the professional fallout."
"You shouldn't have to." The steel in his voice softened slightly. "This isn't your battle, Sofia. It never was."
"It became mine the moment I looked through that door at La Luna," she reminded him. "Just... be careful."
After ending the call, Sofia took a steadying breath. Eight weeks ago, she would never have imagined herself cautioning a Castellano about consequences rather than threatening to report him to authorities. How quickly perspectives could shift when the lines between ally and adversary blurred.
***
Franklin Sloane's office felt colder than usual, the managing partner's expression matching the gray overcast sky visible through his wall of windows.
"This," he said, tapping the folded newspaper on his desk, "is precisely the situation I warned you about."
"It's a fabrication," Sofia replied calmly. "I've represented no clients with Valenti connections. In fact, I specifically declined the Morton case because of potential Castellano conflicts."
"Yes, a decision that now appears prescient." Sloane leaned back in his chair. "But perception matters as much as reality, Sofia. This article raises questions about your judgment, your loyalties."
"My professional record is impeccable."
"It was," he corrected. "Before you became entangled with a family known for operating in gray areas." He sighed, softening slightly. "The firm has received three calls already this morning. Clients concerned about whether their confidential information might be compromised."
Sofia felt her professional reputation slipping through her fingers like sand. "That's absurd. I've never..."
"I know." Sloane held up a hand. "But we're in the business of trust, and trust is fragile." He studied her for a long moment. "The partnership committee is meeting this afternoon. They'll want to discuss this situation."
The implication was clear. Her position at the firm, the career she'd built meticulously for years, was now in jeopardy because of her connection to Dante.
"I understand," she said finally. "Will you be requiring me to attend?"
"Not today. But Sofia..." Sloane looked genuinely troubled. "You might want to consider whether this relationship is worth the professional cost."
She left his office with her head high but her thoughts turbulent. The arrangement with Dante had been meant to protect her, yet now it threatened everything she'd worked for. The irony wasn't lost on her.
Her phone buzzed with a text as she reached her office. Unknown number: *You're caught between worlds now. I can offer a way out. - V*
Sofia deleted it immediately, refusing to give Valenti the satisfaction of a response. But his strategy was becoming clear, isolate her professionally, then offer himself as an alternative ally.
She had barely settled at her desk when Gabriella appeared in the doorway, expression grim.
"Three client calls canceled this morning," she reported. "And Judge Hanson's clerk called. He's reassigning the Portman case to Stevens."
Sofia felt the blood drain from her face. Judge Hanson had specifically requested her for Portman, a high-profile case that would have cemented her reputation as one of the city's premier defense attorneys.
"Did they give a reason?"
"Scheduling conflicts," Gabriella said, not bothering to hide her skepticism. "Sofia, what's happening?"
Before she could answer, her desk phone rang. Her assistant. "Ms. Ricci, there's someone here to see you. A Ms. Castellano. She says it's urgent."
Sofia's day, already careening off-course, took another unexpected turn. "Send her in."
Elena Castellano entered moments later, elegant as always in a perfectly tailored suit, carrying a slim leather portfolio. She closed the door behind her and assessed Sofia with that penetrating gaze so similar to her brother's.
"You look like you could use this," Elena said, placing a coffee cup on Sofia's desk. "Three shots of espresso. Dante mentioned it's your preference on difficult mornings."
The casual reference to Dante knowing her coffee preferences caught Sofia off guard. "Thank you. Though I'm surprised to see you here."
"Damage control." Elena sat across from her. "The article was a calculated move. Valenti has more planned."
"He texted me," Sofia admitted. "Offering a 'way out.'"
Elena's expression hardened. "Classic. Create the problem, then present himself as the solution." She opened her portfolio. "We need to get ahead of this narrative before it does irreparable damage to your career."
"We?"
"Yes." Elena met her gaze directly. "Despite what you might think, Sofia, my family protects its own. And right now, that includes you."
"I'm not..."
"Family?" Elena's smile was knowing. "Perhaps not officially. But my brother has broken protocol for you, which makes your wellbeing our concern."
Sofia set down her coffee. "What protocol?"
"Several, actually." Elena began laying out documents. "First, he's initiated countermeasures without family council approval. Second, he's directed resources toward your professional protection rather than family business interests. Third..." She hesitated. "He's shared certain information with you that normally remains strictly within the family."
The implications were significant. Dante wasn't just bending rules, he was breaking fundamental family principles for her.
"What countermeasures?" Sofia asked carefully.
"Nothing illegal," Elena assured her. "But effective. The editor who approved that article has received evidence of his own indiscretions. A retraction will run tomorrow, citing 'factual inaccuracies.'" She slid forward a document. "And these are statements from three prominent clients publicly affirming their confidence in your professional ethics."
Sofia scanned the names, a state senator, a tech entrepreneur, and a nonprofit director. All influential, all connected to legitimate Castellano business interests.
"This is..."
"Protection," Elena finished for her. "The kind our family provides."
"At what cost?" Sofia asked, the lawyer in her immediately seeking the quid pro quo.
Elena studied her with newfound respect. "Smart question. The cost is already being paid, by Dante. My father is... displeased with his independent actions."
"Why would he risk that?" The question came out softer than Sofia intended.
"I think you know the answer." Elena's expression softened. "My brother calculates everything, Sofia. Every risk, every outcome, every variable. Except when it comes to you."
The statement hung between them, its implications too significant to dismiss but too dangerous to acknowledge.
"What happens next?" Sofia asked instead.
"Professionally? The retraction helps. These statements solidify client confidence. The rest..." Elena shrugged elegantly. "Depends on how your firm responds. And on Valenti's next move."
"And personally?"
Elena gathered her documents. "That depends on you and Dante." She stood to leave, then paused. "One more thing. My brother mentioned you have dinner with your father tonight."
Sofia nodded, confused by the seeming non sequitur.
"Judge Ricci will have questions about the article," Elena said carefully. "You should know that our family has never approached him or attempted to influence his professional judgments, despite opportunities to do so. That's information you may find... relevant."
After Elena left, Sofia sat motionless, processing the layers of information beneath the surface conversation. Dante had broken family protocols to protect her. The Castellanos had resources to influence media and rallying influential people to support her. They had deliberately maintained distance from her father professionally, despite having the means to do otherwise.
And most significantly: whatever was developing between her and Dante had become visible enough that his sister spoke of it as an acknowledged reality rather than a strategic arrangement.
Her phone buzzed with a text from Dante: *Dinner after you see your father? We should talk.*
Sofia stared at the message, feeling the weight of choices narrowing before her. Their four-month arrangement had evolved into something neither had anticipated, something that was already costing them both more than they'd bargained for.
*Yes*, she replied simply.
She turned to her window, watching clouds gather over the city skyline. What had begun as a forced compromise to ensure her safety had transformed into something far more complex. Dante Castellano was breaking his family's rules for her. And Sofia was increasingly uncertain whether she wanted their arrangement to end as planned, or whether she was willing to cross lines she'd once considered immovable to protect what they were building together.
The realization was as terrifying as it was undeniable: protocol wasn't the only thing breaking between them.