Ryan’s POVI leaned back in the leather chair, swirling the amber liquid in my glass. Isabelle sat opposite me, legs crossed, that smug little smile tugging at her lips.“So, Alessandro’s gone,” Isabelle said, almost sing-song, as if talking about the weather. “One less obstacle in our way.”I smirked, taking a slow sip.“Exactly. Matteo will spiral. He’ll lose focus. And when he’s busy grieving… that’s when we take everything.”She tilted her head, her gold earrings catching the light.“Everything? Or just Sarah?”I let out a short laugh. “Both. I want Sarah, and I want Matteo crushed. This is personal now.”Her smile widened.“And here I thought you didn’t mix business with pleasure.”I leaned forward, placing the glass on the table between us.“When it comes to Matteo, I make an exception.”Isabelle’s smile was sly, almost feline, as she leaned forward, lowering her voice.“Then we move to phase two,” she said, tapping a manicured finger against the rim of her wine glass.I raised
Sarah’s POVMia stirred faintly on the bed, pulling me back to the room. I adjusted her blanket with shaky hands, forcing myself to focus on her breathing, steady and soft.But my mind wouldn’t stay quiet. Questions screamed inside my head about Matteo, about Ryan, about Isabelle’s cryptic smirk. I hated how they all seemed to hold pieces of a puzzle I couldn’t solve.The hospital’s hallway light spilled into the room when the door cracked open. My body tensed, expecting Ethan or a nurse. Instead, Alessandro’s driver stepped inside, his eyes searching for me.“Miss Sarah,” he said softly, almost hesitantly. “There’s something you need to hear… from Mr. Alessandro himself. He asked me to bring you.” His gaze was serious, almost urgent.I glanced back at Mia. Leaving her now felt wrong, but the urgency in his voice was undeniable. “Five minutes,” I murmured to Mia, kissing her hand before following the driver out.The hallway felt colder than before. My heels clicked softly against the
Matteo's POVI didn’t remember the elevator ride, or how I got to my car. All I knew was that Alessandro was alone. And Ryan had made a promise to kill.I gripped the wheel so tightly my knuckles turned white, blood draining from my hands. My eyes were fixed on the road, heart racing faster than the engine growled beneath me.Flashes of Alessandro’s face filled my head his warm laughter, his quiet wisdom, his endless support. My grandfather. The only man who ever truly stood in the gap for me when everything else crumbled.The mansion gates loomed ahead, slightly ajar. The guards were gone. That alone struck a chilling nerve through my spine. Something was wrong.I slammed the brake and jumped out, leaving the car running. My shoes echoed across the gravel as I rushed up the stairs, each step heavier with fear and dread.“Alessandro!” I yelled, bursting through the front door. Silence greeted me. Cold. Hollow. The kind of silence that tells you death has already passed through the roo
Matteo’ Pov The night pressed against my windows, a heavy, suffocating thing. I sat in my study, nursing a glass of scotch that had long lost its warmth, eyes fixed on nothing.I hadn’t heard from Sarah in hours not since Alessandro mentioned her brief visit earlier today. Every second stretched into something unbearable, like time was deliberately taunting me with silence.My phone lay beside me, dark and unmoving. I could call her. I could demand to know where she was. But something in me resisted the fear of what I might hear.Instead, I dialed a different number. My private investigator answered on the first ring. “Russo,” he said, voice clipped. “Any updates on Damian?” My words came out sharper than intended.There was a pause. “He’s been spotted… following Sarah earlier this evening.” My chest tightened. “She escaped,” the investigator added quickly, “Ethan picked her up.” The relief was sharp, but it was laced with fury.I set the glass down and stood, pacing across the study
The sky had begun to bleed into dusk, streaks of orange and violet painting the horizon. I sat in the back seat of the car I’d booked, eyes staring blankly ahead.My thoughts wandered back to the cold tension I left behind at Alessandro’s estate. Matteo hadn’t said much, but silence had screamed louder than words ever could. I pressed a hand against my chest.The driver hummed along to a soft tune on the radio, but I was barely listening. I just wanted to get back to Dr. Langston’s hospital, to Mia, to peace what little was left of it.Then the car slowed sharply. Tires screeched. I jolted forward, heart thudding. “What the hell?” the driver murmured. A sleek black car had swerved across the highway, cutting us off. We came to a stop too fast.I blinked in confusion, sitting up straighter. That car there was something familiar about it. My stomach turned. I reached for my phone, already knowing I wouldn’t like what was coming next.Before I could dial anyone, the door to the black car
I sat back, gently stroking Mia’s hand, my eyes flicking now and then to the soft rhythm of her chest. She was fighting, even in silence, and that gave me hope.The hospital room was dim and quiet, except for the occasional buzz of machines and the hushed conversations of nurses in the hallway. I’d carved a little bubble here, just us.My phone buzzed on the side table. I glanced at it without urgency, assuming it was Ethan checking in but the name that flashed on the screen made my brows furrow sharply.Alessandro.I hesitated for a moment, then picked it up and unlocked the screen. His message was brief surprisingly so. But the words sent a chill trickling down my spine instantly.“Sarah, I need to see you. It’s about the ball. Two weeks from now. You must attend to everything that depends on it. There’s something I haven’t told you.”I read the message again, slower this time. The ball? What could depend on some glamorous, high-profile event? What hadn’t he told me? And why send it