Chapter Eight: The Secret in His Hands

Isabella barely slept that night.

The memory of Alessandro's kiss kept returning to her, bringing an unfamiliar mixture of happiness and guilt. She had spent three years convincing herself that the man from that terrible night was someone she needed to forget. Yet one evening with him had been enough to awaken feelings she had carefully buried.

The worst part was that she had enjoyed every moment.

She touched her lips briefly before turning toward Leonardo's bedroom.

Her son was sleeping peacefully, one arm wrapped around his favourite teddy bear. Isabella walked over and adjusted his blanket.

"At least you don't have to worry about anything, sweetheart," she whispered.

But she was wrong.

Someone was already making plans that involved her son.

At the Romano estate, Alessandro stood in front of his bedroom mirror, adjusting his watch while thinking about Isabella.

He had kissed her.

The woman he had spent three years searching for had stood in front of him, and instead of demanding answers, he had found himself wanting to kiss her again.

It was an unfamiliar feeling, and he disliked how easily she could affect his concentration.

A knock interrupted his thoughts.

"Come in."

Marco entered, carrying a brown envelope.

"We have a problem."

Alessandro turned.

"What happened?"

Marco placed the envelope on the table.

"This arrived at the estate an hour ago. Nobody knows who delivered it."

Alessandro opened it and removed several photographs.

The first showed Isabella leaving her apartment with Leonardo. The second showed her entering Romano International. The third was taken outside the childcare centre.

His expression changed.

"Who took these?"

"We're investigating."

Alessandro examined the final photograph.

It showed Leonardo standing beside his mother's car, holding a small toy.

On the back was a handwritten message.

YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR THE WRONG WOMAN, ROMANO. THE CHILD IS THE REAL REASON SHE RETURNED.

Alessandro read it twice.

"What does this mean?"

Marco shook his head.

"I don't know, but whoever sent these photographs knows about Isabella and her son."

Alessandro placed them on the table.

"Increase security around her apartment. Nobody approaches that child without my permission."

Marco studied him.

"You're becoming very protective of them."

Alessandro looked up sharply.

"Would you prefer I wait until something happens?"

Marco said nothing.

He knew better than to continue.

At Romano International, Isabella was trying to concentrate on the investigation documents assigned to her.

Unfortunately, her thoughts kept drifting toward Alessandro.

She was arranging some files when her phone vibrated.

An unknown number.

She opened the message.

You should have stayed away from Alessandro Romano.

Her fingers went cold.

Another message arrived immediately.

You have already made one mistake by returning. Don't make another.

Isabella looked around the office.

Nobody appeared to be watching her, but suddenly every movement outside the glass walls seemed suspicious.

She deleted the messages and returned her phone to her handbag.

A few minutes later, Alessandro walked into her office.

"Good morning."

She looked up.

"Good morning, Mr. Romano."

He noticed her expression.

"Something happened?"

"No."

"Isabella."

She lowered her eyes.

"It's nothing important."

Alessandro approached her desk.

"I have known you for less than a week, yet I've already discovered that you are remarkably talented at pretending everything is fine."

She almost smiled.

"Perhaps you ask too many questions."

"Perhaps you give too few answers."

He placed a small paper bag on her desk.

"Breakfast."

She looked inside and discovered a sandwich and a cup of coffee.

"You didn't have to do this."

"I know."

For a moment, they simply looked at each other.

Then Alessandro noticed her phone.

"Who's been contacting you?"

"Nobody."

He extended his hand.

"Let me see."

Isabella hesitated.

"Alessandro, please. I can handle my own problems."

His expression softened slightly.

"I am not questioning your ability to handle anything. I'm asking because I want to know whether someone is bothering you."

She looked at him, remembering the photographs.

Before she could answer, Marco appeared at the doorway.

"Alessandro, we need to speak privately."

Alessandro's expression immediately changed.

"What's happened?"

"There's been an incident at the estate."

He glanced at Isabella.

"Stay here. I'll be back."

But Isabella was already becoming nervous.

"What incident?"

Marco exchanged a brief look with Alessandro.

"Someone entered the property last night."

Twenty minutes later, Alessandro was standing inside the estate's security room.

A technician played footage recovered from one of the exterior cameras.

A dark vehicle had stopped near the estate shortly after midnight. A man stepped out, approached the main gate, and left a small package before disappearing.

Alessandro watched the recording again.

"Can you identify him?"

"Not yet, sir. His face isn't visible."

Marco picked up the package recovered from the gate.

Inside was a photograph of Leonardo.

Alessandro's jaw tightened.

On the reverse side was another message.

A SON IS ONLY USEFUL WHEN HIS FATHER KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT HIM.

The room became silent.

Marco looked at his friend.

"Alessandro, I think it's time you stopped treating this as an ordinary investigation."

Alessandro stared at the photograph.

"Find out who sent it."

"And Isabella?"

Alessandro slowly raised his eyes.

"Nobody touches her or that boy."

That evening, Isabella was preparing Leonardo for bed when he suddenly remembered something.

"Mommy, I saw a man today."

She stopped buttoning his pyjamas.

"What man?"

"The man who came to my school."

Her heart skipped.

"What did he want?"

Leonardo shrugged.

"He asked if you were my mommy. Then he asked if I knew my daddy."

Isabella felt her stomach tighten.

"What did you tell him?"

"I said I don't know where Daddy lives."

She sat beside her son.

"Did he say anything else?"

Leonardo nodded and reached beneath his pillow.

"He gave me this."

He produced a small silver pendant.

Isabella took it, and the moment she examined its design, her blood ran cold.

It was a Romano family crest.

She had seen the exact symbol three years earlier, engraved on the doors of Alessandro's private study.

But there was something else.

A tiny inscription was engraved on the back.

FOR THE HEIR WHO MUST NEVER BE FOUND.

Her phone suddenly rang.

Alessandro's name appeared on the screen.

She answered immediately.

"Alessandro?"

His voice sounded unusually serious.

"Isabella, listen carefully. Don't leave your apartment tonight."

"Why? What's happening?"

There was a brief silence.

Then he said something that made her grip the pendant tightly.

"S

omeone has discovered that Leonardo is my son."

Isabella's blood ran cold.

Before she could respond, Alessandro added:

"And Isabella, there's something else you need to know. The person who arranged our meeting three years ago has just contacted me."

"He claims he knows why we were drugged."