Stepmother Beats Poor Waitress For Feeding Stray Dog — The Mafia Boss Saw Her Scars & Takes Action

Chapter 16

The building was a small three-story walk-up in Oak Park, with a narrow alley running along the side. Elodie was waiting at the back door, wearing a coat over a bakery apron, flour still dusting her sleeves.

She looked different. Not just healthier—though she was that too. She looked like someone who’d finally been allowed to stand up straight.

“She’s back there,” Elodie said, nodding toward the far end of the alley, where a row of garbage bins stood against the brick wall.

Cassian walked slowly toward the bins, his footsteps deliberate and even.

And then he saw her.

The dog was lying beneath the furthest bin, her body pressed into the corner where the wall met the concrete. Her gray-brown coat was still matted, still streaked with dirt. The V-shaped tear in her left ear was exactly as he remembered it.

She lifted her head when she saw him. Her eyes locked onto his.

And she didn’t run.

Cassian stopped six feet away. He crouched down, lowering himself to her level, and stayed there without moving.

“Hey, girl,” he said softly. “I’ve been looking for you.”

The dog’s ears flicked forward. Her body remained tense, coiled, ready to bolt.

But she didn’t bolt.

Cassian reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a piece of dried meat—something he’d carried with him every day for three months, just in case.

He set it on the ground between them, then moved back a step.

The dog watched him. Then, slowly, she crawled forward on her belly, her eyes never leaving his face. She took the meat in her teeth and retreated back under the bin.

Cassian stayed where he was.

Five minutes passed. Then ten.

And then the dog came forward again. This time, she didn’t take anything. She just sat there, three feet away, looking at him.

Cassian extended his hand, palm down, and held it there.

The dog sniffed the air. Then, so slowly it was almost imperceptible, she moved closer.

And she pressed her nose into his palm.

Cassian didn’t move. He let her stay there, let her remember.

And when she finally sat down beside him, her body still trembling but no longer poised to run, he rested his hand on her head.

“I know,” he said quietly. “I know.”

Behind him, at the far end of the alley, Elodie stood watching. She didn’t say anything. She just smiled—small and soft—and then turned and went back inside.