Chapter 4

Isabella's POV

When I returned to the Romano estate, I had barely stepped into the main house when I heard laughter coming from inside.

"Look at the base I built!"

Leo's voice was filled with an excitement I'd never heard from him before.

"Wow! Leo, that's amazing!" Elena chimed in sweetly, followed by Vincent's deep laughter.

"That's enough, you two. Don't leave bullet casings all over the floor. Isabella will get angry if she comes home and sees this."

"I know, I know. You're so bossy, Vincent."

Elena's voice turned playfully coy as she drew out the last syllable of his name. The sticky sweetness of their exchange carried a secret thrill, as though it belonged to a private world only the two of them understood.

Without changing my expression, I pressed my fingerprint against the lock.

The moment the front door clicked open, the scene in the living room froze.

Vincent was sitting cross-legged on the carpet, holding a disassembled handgun in his hands. Elena was leaning so close that half her body was practically pressed against his back as she guided Leo's hands through the process of putting it together.

The moment she saw me standing in the entrance, Elena jumped to her feet and nervously tugged at the hem of her clothes, unable to meet my eyes.

Vincent stood up at once.

There wasn't the slightest trace of panic on his face at being caught. Instead, he wore an expression of calm, almost helpless resignation.

He walked over and took my trench coat as naturally as if nothing had happened.

"I was the one who asked her to come."

He slipped an arm around my shoulders.

"Leo's been acting up ever since he was discharged. Elena studied child psychology while she was in Siberia, so I thought she might be able to help him. Don't worry. She'll leave once she's finished."

Even bringing his illegitimate child together with his mistress could be dressed up as an act of kindness intended to ease my burden.

I didn't pull away from him. I simply looked over his shoulder at Leo, who was watching me warily from the corner of the sofa.

"She doesn't have to leave."

Vincent blinked.

"What did you say?"

I slowly removed his arm from my shoulders.

"If Leo likes her so much, she can stay and take care of him. I have port accounts to deal with lately, so I won't have much time for him anyway."

Elena jerked her head up, staring at me in disbelief.

Vincent frowned slightly, as if trying to determine whether I meant what I said.

"But that wouldn't be appropriate..." He tried to smooth things over with his usual affectionate tone.

"I'm tired. You all carry on."

I cut him off and headed straight upstairs.

Once I reached the master bedroom, I locked the door and slid down against it until I was sitting on the floor.

Then I dragged a travel bag out from beneath the bed and packed a few sets of old clothes I'd worn during street shootouts, along with several critical encryption keys for the arms routes registered under my name.

I slipped off the sapphire ring that symbolized my status as the head of the household and placed it on top of the divorce papers I'd left on the bedside table.

At two in the morning, a torrential downpour began outside.

The thunder drowned out my footsteps. Carrying my bag, I slipped past every security post without alerting a single guard and walked out of the prison I'd called home for five years.

I climbed into my black SUV, slammed my foot on the accelerator, and sped toward Palermo's private airport.

The windshield wipers thrashed back and forth, barely clearing the sheets of water cascading down the glass.

Memories of Vincent's tender smile, Sophia's false concern, and Leo calling me Mommy flashed through my mind.

The past five years had been one carefully staged performance.

And I was the only fool who'd never known she was part of the act.

Just then, blinding headlights appeared in the opposite lane.

A heavy armored truck veered out of control, smashed through the central guardrail, and hurtled straight toward me.

The glare swallowed everything in an instant. The piercing screech of brakes and the deafening crash of tearing metal exploded around me.

The airbags deployed, and agony tore through my entire body.

In the final second before consciousness slipped away, I felt something strangely close to relief.

If I died here, would I finally be free of those monsters?

Palermo City Hospital. Emergency Department.

The on-call surgeon held an encrypted phone with a shattered screen that was still lighting up. His brows knitted together as he examined the contact list.

There was only one pinned number.

Vincent.

He pressed the call button.

The phone rang for a long time before someone finally answered. In the background, Elena's laughter mingled with Leo's cheerful whistling.

"Hello? Isabella?"

The doctor glanced toward the operating room, where a woman lay covered in blood, and spoke in a grave voice.

"Mr. Romano? Your wife has been involved in a serious car accident on the coastal highway. She's in the emergency operating room. You need to get here immediately."