Dante Cavallaro

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**Dante Cavallaro** (born January 2, 1979) is a main character in the Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles and a minor character in the Camorra Chronicles, the Mafia Standalone *Fragile Longing* and in the Sins of the Fathers. He is the oldest child and only son of Fiore and Isotta Cavallaro, and older brother of Ines. He was first married to Carla, and married secondly to Valentina Aresco and had children Anna, Leonas, and Beatrice.

## Appearance and Character

He mentions in Bound by the Past that he and his father look very much alike - a fact people never stopped mentioning. Same cold blue eyes, blonde hair, and aloof attitude.

Fiore taught his children to suppress any kind of emotional turmoil.

## Early Life

He is the Capo of the Chicago Outfit and is the youngest Capo in the history of the Outfit.

His father taught Dante and his younger sister, Ines to have perfectly composed and serene external demeanor and to maintain control of their emotions in public. Because of that, Dante is often mentioned as being a very calm and cold man.

He and his first wife Carla married when he was 20 years old and stayed married for 12 years until she died. They never had any children. For the last three years of her life, she battled cancer. Everyone assumes that the cancer killed Carla, but in reality, Dante killed her out of mercy because she was in so much pain and was going to die anyway. Aria Scuderi mentions in Bound by Honor that her family had attended her funeral two months prior, placing her death at about June 2011.

## Born in Blood

### Bound by the Past

#### *Late 1998*

When Dante is nineteen and Ines is sixteen, he finds her in the library crying. She tells him that their father, Fiore Cavallaro, had decided to betroth her to Jacopo Scuderi, the heir apparent to his consigliere. In despair she throws herself in Dante’s arms, shocking him momentarily. Dante says that he had worked with Jacopo often in the past, not by his choice but by his father's as he wanted Dante to work with the Scuderi brothers, as they were his consigliere sons, but he abhorred Jacopo deeply. He thinks about how Ines is a trophy for Jacopo, and that he and his father have been asking for her hand for years. He describes Jacopo as a cruel, vengeful being who thrives on demeaning people he considered less - women, low soldiers, and his younger brother, Rocco - and while he is a cruel and vengeful man himself, he doesn't find satisfaction in humiliating others, least of all women. The few times that he had been forced to visit one of the Outfit's whorehouses, Dante had seen firsthand what Jacopo considered fun, adding that he is a sadist, in bed and otherwise. He was sure that Ines was unaware of the extent of his depravity, and yet she knew he was the worst choice.

Dante presses her for details, saying that their father had not mentioned anything to him about the match. Ines said it was settled that morning. Dante then realizes why Fiore has made his choice, because he insisted on marrying Carla. He was using Ines to punish him. Dante says that he will talk to their father, but Ines says that there is no point.

Dante heads to his fathers office, trying to remain calm as nothing infuriates Fiore more than when he could not draw a reaction out of him. Fiore immediately begins talking about dates for the upcoming wedding - Dante and Carla’s and Jacopo and Ines’. He suggests next year for Ines and the following year for Dante. He offers to wait a couple more years for Dante’s, as he is only nineteen, they could wait until he is twenty-one. Which is ironic as he is suggesting his daughter be married by seventeen. Dante doesn't want to make Carla wait that long, as she would be nineteen by then, nor does he. He tells his father that he is there to discuss Ines and Jacopo, not himself. Fiore says that it is the expected bond, as Jacopo will be Dante’s consigliere. Dante says that Jacopo is too old for Ines, that he has a bad reputation and is a sadist and psychopath. Fiore insists that if Ines obeys his commands, that she will be fine, that they all have to make sacrifices and she should be proud to be given to someone of Jacopo’s stature. Dante insists he is making a mistake, but Fiore tells him to remember his place.

### Bound by Honor

We first meet Dante when he is in attendance at Luca and Aria's engagement party, Aria notes his presence with his father Fiore. Aria notes that the only man who looks positively bored out of his mind is Dante. While most of the other men were eyeing Aria in her revealing dress, that he only had eyes for his Scotch. She then notes that her family had attended the funeral of his wife, Carla, two months prior. She went on to say that she would have had pity for a widower in his thirties if he hadn't scared her senseless.

### Bound by Duty

Four years after Carla had died of cancer, Dante married his second wife Valentina. They had some problems at first, as he was unwilling to commit to her emotionally, but they fell in love with each other eventually.

Dante and Valentina have three children: Anna, Leonas, and Beatrice.

## Appearances

* *Bound by Honor*
* *Luca Vitiello (novel)*
* *Bound by Duty* (protagonist)
* *Bound by Hatred*
* *Bound by Temptation*
* *Bound by Love*
* *Bound by the Past* (protagonist)
* *Twisted Loyalties* (mentioned only)
* *Twisted Emotions* (mentioned only)
* *Twisted Pride*
* *Twisted Bonds* (mentioned only)
* *Fragile Longing*
* *By Virtue I Fall*
* *By Fate I Conquer* (mentioned only)

## Trivia

* He plays the piano.
* After a trip to Paris for Valentine's Day, Dante decided to make a Valentine's trip their tradition as it gives them couple time.
	+ For Valentine's Day 2023 their trip took them to Vienna.

## References

1. ↑ *Bound by the Past*
2. ↑ Cora Reilly's 02/14/2023 Newsletter