Panic filled Ella’s eyes. The color drained from her face as she stammered, “I thought confessing meant I’d be forgiven. Why… Why won’t you let me go?”“Because betrayal deserves nothing less than hell.”Max raised his bloodied hand and signaled for the men to drag her away.Ella’s wails echoed down the hall. “No! Why? You were the ones who chose to do everything I asked! This isn’t fair!”Max ignored her cries. After wrapping his hand in a quick bandage, he and Leo boarded the helicopter bound for Italy.It was Mia and Benedict’s wedding day. They were going to take her back, with evidence in hand and a desperate attempt at redemption.As the helicopter descended on the wedding grounds, Mia was adjusting her groom’s collar.Gasps erupted from the crowd as ropes dropped from above. Max and Leo rappelled down.“Mia, come with us.” Max reached out his hand. “We were wrong. Ella’s been dealt with.”Leo anxiously explained. “She was jealous of you. So she set us up! Just give us a
As soon as Mia finished speaking, more bodyguards surged forward and dragged Leo and Max away.Before they were hauled out, Benedict gave an order. “Put them on the next flight home. If they refuse, call their fathers in New York. Let them know they’d better keep a tighter leash on their sons. I can’t promise that if they set foot in Italy again, they’ll make it back in one piece.”Leo asked with disbelief. “Mia, is that really what you want too? We spent ten years together! I refuse to believe you are going to just throw it all away.”“He said exactly what I would’ve said.”Hearing that, Leo’s head finally lowered in defeat.Max, on the other hand, let out maniacal laughter. “I’m not giving up. Mia, you can only be mine.”Benedict’s face darkened at that. He gestured at the guards. They immediately gagged both of them before dragging them out.When he turned back to Mia, his expression softened instantly. “Are you mad at me for handling things that way?”Mia shook her head.
Just as they were about to sign, Mia heard someone shouting her name from behind.“Mia! No!”Mia froze for a second, but she did not look back. Instead, she swiftly signed her name without hesitation.When she was done, she glanced over at Benedict.He had just finished signing his as well. Their eyes met and held for ten seconds, until Mia finally looked away.That was when Leo, ever the hothead, lost control. He punched the guard by the door with a furious roar. “I told you to get out of the way! Didn’t you hear me?”Amid the commotion and scuffling, Mia raised her hand to signal for the guards to let them through, though they were stopped a full ten paces away from her.Leo struggled again and tried to push forward, but Max held him back. He looked straight at her and said, “Mia, come back to New York with us. Whatever you want to do, we’ll be right there with you.”“Yes! Mia, just come back with us. We’ll agree to anything you want!” Leo chimed in eagerly.Mia simply raise
Back home, neither of them managed to get any sleep.Max, usually the composed one, suddenly sat up in bed and called Mia’s cousin again.“Just tell me this, has Mia returned to Italy?”On the other end of the line, the cousin hesitated. He hung up and looked at Mia, who was busy trying on her tenth wedding dress. He was not sure if he should tell her.After a moment, he texted Max instead.“Mia hasn’t gone back. Stop looking for her. She’s safe.”The moment Max read the message, a sinking feeling gripped his chest. His fingers tightened around the edge of the nightstand.A moment later, he sprang out of bed, threw a few things into a suitcase, and called Leo. “You have ten minutes. Meet me at the front gate, or I’ll go find Mia myself.”When Max left his building, he saw Leo waiting by the front gate with his suitcase. He looked worn out. The moment he saw Max, he rushed up and asked, “Where are we going? Have you found her?”“Sort of. I’ve got a lead, but we need to confirm
At dawn, they rushed back to Mia’s house. They brought her favorite things as peace offerings.However, the moment they arrived, they were stunned to see movers going in and out of the villa.In their haste the night before, they had not noticed that nearly everything in the house had been labeled by Mia.Blue tags marked Leo’s name. Red ones, Max’s.Leo’s eyes landed on a mover holding a familiar vase. His voice rose in anger. “Where the hell are you taking that?”The mover glanced at him in confusion. “The homeowner instructed us to pack everything in the house according to the red and blue tags, then ship them separately to two men named Leo and Max.”He looked at the order slip as he spoke, but Leo snatched it out of his hands and snapped. “Who said you could touch any of this? I bought all of this for Mia! Do not touch a darn thing! You hear me?”Max grabbed Leo’s arm and held him back before he fully lost it. He turned to the movers and said, “Don’t mind him. Please get ba
That night, the three of them met up outside the concert hall. When Leo and Max saw Ella, they immediately asked, “Where’s Mia? She didn’t come with you?”A hint of wounded innocence flickered in Ella’s eyes. “She probably didn’t want to come. Maybe we shouldn’t go either.”Leo was the first to dismiss it. “Let her sulk! We’ll go enjoy the concert and bring her something nice afterward to cheer her up.”“Something doesn’t feel right. This is her favorite orchestra,” Max said with a frown. “She’s probably just being dramatic. Ignore her,” Leo said as he took Ella’s hand and led her toward the entrance. After a hesitant glance at the sparse crowd outside, Max followed them inside.Throughout the entire performance, only Ella seemed to be listening. Leo and Max sat through it, but their minds were elsewhere.When the concert finally ended, Max immediately called Mia, but she did not pick up. He grabbed Leo’s arm. “She’s not answering. What if something’s happened to her?”Leo fr