Chapter 4

Robin caught the pillow, pausing for a second.

Then he walked to the wardrobe, grabbed my trench coat, and strode back, draping it over my bare shoulders.

"Get dressed," he said. "You're coming with me."

I blinked. "What?"

"I'm not breaking my promise," Robin said, grabbing my hand. His palm was burning hot. "If I don't go, I'll have the family elders on my back. But I swear to you, once we confirm she's alive, I'll let you deal with the rest."

He added, "And you're right. This mess is on me. When we get back, I'm all yours."

That sounded more like it.

I put on my clothes, my face a cold mask. If this was the game he wanted to play, I'd see it through.

Robin held my hand tightly as we rushed out of the mansion with a team of guards.

The butler handed him a note. "Don, Miss Isabella left this."

Robin scanned it and passed it to me. In neat, delicate handwriting, it said: Robin, I can't be a burden to you anymore. I'm going to be with my father. Don't look for me.

"Split up," Robin ordered immediately. "Check the river and the rooftops first."

The guards scattered.

I didn't say anything, but I had to hide a smirk. Knowing Isabella, there was zero chance she'd actually kill herself. This was just another pathetic play for sympathy and a way to ruin our night.

We searched the riverbank and several abandoned high-rises. Nothing.

"Don, what about the old warehouses by the docks?" one of his men suggested.

An idea sparked in my mind. For Isabella's plan to work, she'd need a place that was both "hidden" and easy to be found in. A warehouse was perfect.

"I'll check it out," I volunteered.

Robin frowned. "It's too dangerous."

"Trust me. I'm a professional."

Ten minutes later, I found Isabella in a dusty, remote warehouse. She was perfectly fine, perched on a stack of cardboard boxes. When she saw it was me, the damsel-in-distress look vanished from her face.

"You?" she stood up, her eyes filled with hate. "Where's Robin?"

I walked toward her, a cold smile on my face. "Great performance. The suicide note was a nice touch."

Isabella's face paled. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Cut the crap," I said, stopping in front of her. "You think if I hadn't shown up, you'd be the one who's the lady of the Kane family, right? Too bad for you, he didn't choose you."

The mask was completely off now. "That's right!" she snarled. "If it wasn't for you, you bitch, Robin would have married me! I've been by his side for years! Why should some outsider like you get everything?"

"Because Robin is my husband, and you're just a pathetic charity case," I mocked. "Get a grip, Isabella. Even without me, he would never love you."

I turned to leave, done wasting my breath on her.

Suddenly, she lunged forward and grabbed my arm. She leaned in and whispered venomously, "Let's see if Robin still wants you when he finds out what a vicious monster you are."

Before I could react, Isabella slapped herself across the face—hard. Then she pulled a small dagger from her purse and dragged it across her own arm, drawing blood.

It all happened in a flash. I never thought she'd be that ruthless with herself.

Before I could even process it, she screamed toward the warehouse entrance behind me.

"Help! Robin, help me! Zora's trying to kill me!"