Finally, he called a halt. I collapsed onto the mats, gasping for air, my whole body trembling with exhaustion.
Dante handed me a bottle of water. "You did well."
"I feel like I got hit by a truck."
"You'll feel worse tomorrow. But you're stronger than you look." He sat beside me on the mats, close enough that our arms almost touched. "Your mother must have been a fighter too. You have her steel."
"Rosa said that last night." I took a long drink of water. "You knew my mother?"
"No. But I knew of her. Catherine Chen was legendary in business circles. A woman who built an empire from nothing in a male-dominated industry. That takes more than intelligence. It takes ruthlessness.
Determination. The ability to fight when everyone expects you to break."
"She taught me to be strong. But I don't think this is what she meant."
