Chapter 11 - The Night Isabella Nearly Lost Him
“Yes.”
The security officer continued speaking.
Isabella heard only fragments.
Armored vehicle.
Intersection.
Truck.
Hospital.
Stable.
She was already moving.
Elena stood.
“Sofia?”
“Stay with her.”
“Mommy?”
Isabella turned.
Sofia stood beside Sunny.
“Where are you going?”
“Mr. Alessandro got hurt.”
Sofia’s face changed.
“Bad?”
“I don’t know.”
The honesty frightened her daughter.
Isabella crouched.
“I’m going to find out.”
“Tell him I said not to die.”
Isabella almost broke.
“I will.”
The hospital was surrounded by security.
Alessandro had a fractured collarbone, stitches along his temple, and bruises across his ribs.
He was awake.
And irritated.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
Isabella stopped beside his bed.
“Excuse me?”
“Marcus may have arranged this.”
“You were nearly killed and your opening line is an order?”
“Concern.”
“Terrible delivery.”
His mouth moved slightly.
She wanted to hit him.
Instead she took his hand.
Both of them noticed.
Neither commented.
“What happened?”
“A truck ran a red light.”
“Driver?”
“Gone.”
“Gone?”
“Escaped before police arrived.”
“Convenient.”
“Yes.”
Isabella looked at his injuries.
The anger disappeared.
Fear replaced it.
“You could have died.”
“Yes.”
“Stop saying yes to terrible things.”
“What would you prefer?”
“I don’t know.”
Her voice cracked.
“Maybe lie.”
His expression softened.
“I’m okay.”
“You’re terrible at lying too.”
She sat.
For a long time they said nothing.
Then Alessandro asked:
“Why did you come?”
Isabella stared.
“What kind of question is that?”
“You said you needed space.”
“You got hit by a truck.”
“That doesn’t answer me.”
She released his hand.
“You are exhausting.”
“So I’ve been told.”
“Sofia told me to tell you not to die.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“She likes you.”
“I like her.”
The simplicity of it hurt.
Isabella looked toward the dark window.
“Nathan would have liked you eventually.”
Alessandro laughed and immediately winced.
“No, he wouldn’t.”
“You’re probably right.”
Silence.
“Nathan’s family is still part of Sofia’s life?”
“Yes. His parents adore her.”
“Good.”
“You ask questions about everyone except yourself.”
“What do you want to know?”
Isabella looked at him.
“Why aren’t you married?”
His face closed.
“Bad timing.”
“For twenty years?”
“Yes.”
“That sounds like a lie.”
“It’s incomplete.”
“Then complete it.”
He sighed.
“I had relationships.”
“I assumed.”
“One serious.”
“When?”
“Eight years ago.”
“What happened?”
“She wanted a life I couldn’t give her.”
“What life?”
“Normal.”
Isabella understood more than she wanted to.
“You chose the family business.”
“Yes.”
“Do you regret it?”
“Every day.”
“Then leave.”
He looked at her.
“It isn’t that simple.”
“People always say that when something is very simple but painful.”
He smiled faintly.
“You’ve become ruthless.”
“I learned from men like you.”
His expression turned serious.
“I have been leaving.”
“What?”
“Over the past four years, I’ve been dismantling the illegal side.”
She stared.
“Why?”
“My father’s last instruction.”
“End the cycle.”
“Yes.”
“Is that why people are trying to kill you?”
“Partly.”
“And Marcus?”
“He benefits if I fail.”
Isabella stood.
“You should have told me.”
“I’m telling you now.”
“You should have told me before I let my daughter stay at your estate.”
His face tightened.
“You were safe there.”
“That’s not the point.”
“No. It isn’t.”
Progress.
She noticed.
“Do you understand why I don’t trust you?”
“Yes.”
“Do you understand why part of me still wants to?”
“Yes.”
“Stop.”
“Sorry.”
She laughed despite herself.
Alessandro’s eyes softened.
Then the door opened.
Maya entered.
“We found the truck.”
“Driver?” Isabella asked.
“Dead.”
The room went silent.
“Shot,” Maya added. “Before the collision.”
Alessandro frowned.
“Then who drove?”
“Autonomous control.”
Isabella stared.
The truck had been remotely guided.
This was not Marcus improvising.
This required technical planning.
Resources.
Someone else.
Maya placed a photograph on the table.
“We pulled access logs from the trucking company.”
One executive account had been compromised.
The credentials belonged to a cybersecurity consultant.
Isabella recognized the name.
“Evan Mercer.”
Her own company’s former security contractor.
She looked at Alessandro.
“We fired him last year.”
“Why?”
“He was accessing files outside his scope.”
Maya nodded.
“He currently works for Vain Capital.”
The betrayal widened.
Marcus had not only infiltrated finances.
He had built access into infrastructure.
Phones.
Cars.
Security.
Possibly Isabella’s home.
Maya continued.
“We think the attack was triggered after your press conference.”
“So Marcus ordered it from jail?”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“We searched his communications.”
“And?”
“No order.”
Alessandro sat straighter despite the pain.
“Then someone is operating without him.”
Maya nodded.
“Exactly.”
Isabella’s stomach dropped.
“Who?”
“We don’t know.”
Her phone buzzed.
A message.
Unknown number.
She opened it.
A photograph of Sofia sleeping.
Taken that night.
Inside the hotel room.
Isabella could not breathe.
Below it:
YOU’RE LOOKING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION.
She showed Alessandro.
He ripped the IV monitor from his finger.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting up.”
“You have a broken collarbone.”
“Your daughter is compromised.”
“I’m calling Elena.”
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Isabella ran.
Alessandro followed despite nurses shouting after him.
By the time they reached the hotel, police had surrounded the floor.
Isabella ran into the suite.
“Elena!”
She appeared from the bathroom.
“What happened?”
“Where’s Sofia?”
“Asleep.”
Isabella entered the bedroom.
Sofia lay untouched.
Sunny beside her.
The window was locked.
No intruder.
No forced entry.
Then Alessandro noticed the ceiling.
A tiny camera hidden inside the smoke detector.
Someone had not entered tonight.
They had been watching for days.
Isabella looked at the lens.
And understood.
May you like
Marcus might be in jail.
But the real enemy had already been inside her life long before he was arrested.
