Chapter 5

I did not even get a chance to answer.

"Mrs. Santoro must've had something urgent to forget to knock," I heard someone say.

"Isabella, you're getting out of line. I've been too soft on you, letting you get away with too much," Matteo scolded.

I felt a rush of frustration so intense I thought I might explode, my fingers gripping the Family Withdrawal Notice so hard they turned white.

"I'm here for the divorce papers."

"Get out! If you don't know how to knock, don't bother coming in," Matteo bellowed, his voice filling the office.

At the mention of divorce papers, Elena's composure shattered as she pleaded, "Mr. Santoro, please. Mrs. Santoro meant no harm. She must've spoken out of turn in the heat of the moment."

She reached for my arm, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "Mrs. Santoro, let's not be hasty. We can talk this through."

I tried to pull away, but just then, Elena stumbled and fell, her forehead kissing the cold marble floor.

"Mrs. Santoro, I don't hold it against you. It was my own fault," she said, dazed.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Matteo was already by her side, lifting her gently into his large chair.

He tenderly brushed the hair from her bruised forehead, his face a mask of fury.

In a flash, he grabbed a folder and flung it at me. The sharp edge of the folder cut through the air and my skin, leaving a trail of blood down my face.

For a moment, the sight of my blood softened Matteo's anger.

He moved to come to me, but Elena clutched at his arm, stopping him.

"Mr. Santoro, don't hold it against Mrs. Santoro. I'm sure she didn't mean to push me."

No sooner had I spoken than Matteo's voice thundered through the room.

"Your games are getting dirtier by the minute. So, you want a divorce? Are you sure about this? You won't get a single thing from the divorce!"

"Ouch!"

I flinched as my hand, wiping away tears, grazed the cut near my eye.

"I didn't plan on taking anything anyway."

"Alright then! I'll sign it! Just don't come to regret this!"

Matteo's frosty tone, mixed with the scratch of his pen on paper, cut through the silence of the spacious room.

I quickly passed him the Family Withdrawal Notice.

Without a glance, Matteo scrawled his name across it in bold strokes.

As he set down the pen, he snapped, "You're free to go, but leave all the deals you've set up, both current and future, with Elena. She's in charge now."

Elena could not hide her glee, giving me a smug look.

Tears welled up in my eyes again. "Why should she? I've worked tirelessly on those deals. What gives her the right?"

I grabbed the divorce papers and the notice, stormed out, and did not look back.

I posted the notice on Twitter and the family chat, then left the group for good.

To my parents and brothers, I sent a simple message.

[The little Principessa is coming home. Pick me up?]

With my backpack in tow, I made a beeline for the airport.

Matteo watched the doctor treat Elena's wound with iodine, feeling a sudden surge of annoyance.

My determined exit haunted him, and the thought of the major deals I had crafted with such dedication left him feeling even more unsettled.

The success of those deals would be a game-changer for the family. With that in mind, he knew he needed to have another chat with me.

I had a knack for sensing the undercurrents in mafia deals that others just could not match. My uncanny intuition had saved their skins more than once.

Matteo was confident that I would not just walk away from the deals I had poured her soul into. He figured that with a little sweet talk, I would be back in the game, working my magic for the family.

Matteo picked up the phone, only to be greeted by a robotic voice.

"Sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service."

Then, there was a knock at the door.

The Underboss burst in, looking like he had seen a ghost. "Don, we've got trouble. Our deals for the next few years have been hijacked by the competition."

Matteo's legs gave way as he roared, "What? How could anyone outside the inner circle know about our major moves?"

Matteo lashed out, "What have you fools been up to?! Incompetents!"

Pacing the floor, Matteo snapped, "Get Isabella in here, now! She's been handling these documents. This mess is on her!"

The Underboss, still reeling from the outburst, finally managed to get the words out.

"Don, Mrs. Santoro just walked out of your office. She posted a Family Withdrawal Notice in the family chat."

Matteo was incredulous. "A Family Withdrawal Notice? Who gave her permission to leave? She wouldn't dare leave without my say-so! "

"Don, your signature is right there on the notice she sent out, saying she's leaving the family."

"No way! How could this happen?"

The office was left with only Matteo's low murmurs.

He was sure he had signed his name three times. Exactly three times.

He signed twice on the divorce papers, which meant the last one had to be the notice of her leaving the family.

'Isabella has the nerve to trick me just to get away from me. How did she dare to do that?!' Matteo thought.