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Chapter 4

Autor: Gemma
The next evening, the family quarterly dinner was held at our private club in Brooklyn.

But Vincent had been badgering me to go, insisting it would be perfectly safe and that I needed to get some fresh air.

So I finally caved.

The room was loud with laughter and conversation, but I sat quietly, sipping a glass of wine.

Lilian clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Let’s play Truth or Dare! It’ll be fun!”

Everyone cheered and agreed.

She won the first round, grinning triumphantly.

“I won! And I dare… number two and number five to dance the tango!”

I looked down at my card. Two.

Vincent looked at his. Five.

The room erupted in cheers and whistles.

Vincent stood up immediately, a hopeful smile spreading across his face.

He walked over to me and held out his hand, his blue eyes shining.

“Bella?” he said softly.

I looked at his hand.

I remembered all the times we’d danced together. At our engagement party. At every family event for the past ten years. I remembered how safe I’d felt in his arms.

I didn’t move.

The room went dead quiet.

Vincent’s hand hung in the air. The smile slowly faded from his face. His eyes filled with hurt and confusion.

Lilian quickly stood up, rushing over to smooth things over.

“Oh, of course Isabella doesn't feel like dancing! Her arm is still sore. That’s my fault—I should have thought of that. It’s okay, Isabella. I’ll dance with Vincent instead.”

She walked past me, reaching for Vincent’s hand. And then, very deliberately, she tripped over the leg of my chair.

She fell to the floor with a loud cry, her dress riding up her thighs.

Vincent immediately dropped to his knees next to her. “Lilian! Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?”

Lilian looked up at him, tears streaming down her face.

She shot me a quick, venomous glance before turning back to him, her voice trembling.

“I'm fine. It was my fault. I shouldn't have been so clumsy. I'm sorry I ruined everything.”

No one said a word.

But I could feel every eye in the room on me. Judging me. Blaming me.

Vincent helped Lilian stand up, brushing off her dress. He turned to me, and his face was cold. There was no anger in his eyes. Just disappointment.

He didn’t say anything. He just put his arm around Lilian and led her away.

That was the coldest thing he could have ever done to me.

I stood up and walked out of the club. No one tried to stop me.

The next day was my twenty-fifth birthday.

Vincent texted me at noon.

“I reserved the entire top floor of the Manhattan Sky Club for seven o’clock. I have something very important to tell you.”

I texted back one word. “Okay.”

Consider it our final farewell.

I showed up at seven exactly.

The room was filled with my favorite white roses.

There was a small velvet box sitting in the center of the table.

Vincent stood up when I walked in.

He looked tired, like he hadn’t slept in days. “Bella. I’m so glad you came.”

We sat down.

Before he could open the box, the elevator doors opened.

Lilian walked in with a necklace in her hand.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I took the necklace out yesterday to try it on and forgot to put it back. I came to return it. I hope I’m not too late.”

Vincent frowned. “Lilian, why would you try it on?”

“I just thought it was beautiful. I’m sorry.”

Then she walked to me and handed me the necklace.

As her fingers brushed mine, she whispered, so only I could hear, “Only what I don’t want gets passed to you.”

She smiled slightly.

“You will always come after me.”

Then she suddenly stepped back and fell to the floor.

“I’m sorry,” she cried. “I shouldn’t have tried it on. Isabella, don’t be mad. I can buy you a new one.”

The next second, her face went pale.

She clutched her chest and gasped, “Vincent… my heart…”

Vincent rushed to her side and lifted her up.

Then he turned to me, his eyes cold.

“I’m so disappointed in you, Bella,” he said. “How can you be this selfish? You know her heart is weak, and you still hurt her over a necklace?”

Then he carried Lilian toward the elevator.

Before the doors closed, he looked back at me once.

“Go home. We’ll talk after you calm down.”

The elevator doors shut.

I sat there for a moment, looking at the empty velvet box.

Then I called the waiter over. “Check, please.”

I paid the bill with cash. I left the velvet box sitting on the table.

On the way to the airport, I deleted Vincent’s number. I blocked him on every single app. I deleted every photo we’d ever taken together.

I climbed aboard, and the door closed behind me with a soft thud.

When it lifted off into the sky, I looked down at the lights of New York City growing smaller and smaller below me.

Goodbye, Vincent.

Goodbye, Lilian.

Goodbye, the girl who’d spent her whole life waiting for a man to choose her.

The plane climbed higher, above the clouds, heading toward the Swiss Alps.

And for the first time in my life, I smiled.

This time, I was never coming back.
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    Twelve hours later, Vincent finally left Lilian at the hospital after the doctors confirmed that her heart was fine and that the attack had only been caused by panic.She had spent the entire night crying in his arms, saying she should never have touched the necklace, that Isabella must hate her now, and that she was terrified I would never forgive her.Vincent stayed with her until morning.When he finally drove back to the Rossi estate, the house was already silent.The staff had been dismissed with three months’ pay, and every trace of me had disappeared.My clothes, my books, even the hairbrush I had kept since I was sixteen were all gone.The only thing left was the cold fireplace, where a thin layer of ash covered the hearth.Mixed in with the ash was a small, twisted lump of gold, the remains of the engagement ring he had once pressed into my hand.Then he called me, over and over, until his phone died. He mobilized the entire Corleone intelligence network by dawn, but it was t

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    The next evening, the family quarterly dinner was held at our private club in Brooklyn.But Vincent had been badgering me to go, insisting it would be perfectly safe and that I needed to get some fresh air.So I finally caved. The room was loud with laughter and conversation, but I sat quietly, sipping a glass of wine. Lilian clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Let’s play Truth or Dare! It’ll be fun!”Everyone cheered and agreed.She won the first round, grinning triumphantly. “I won! And I dare… number two and number five to dance the tango!”I looked down at my card. Two.Vincent looked at his. Five.The room erupted in cheers and whistles.Vincent stood up immediately, a hopeful smile spreading across his face. He walked over to me and held out his hand, his blue eyes shining. “Bella?” he said softly.I looked at his hand. I remembered all the times we’d danced together. At our engagement party. At every family event for the past ten years. I remembered how safe I’

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    Two days before my birthday, I was leaving the old warehouse where I’d stored all my research equipment when gunshots rang out.A bullet grazed my right arm.I fell to the concrete floor, white-hot pain exploding through my body. I looked up and saw three masked men running towards the getaway car.

  • The Don’s Heiress Vanished on Her Birthday   Chapter 2

    Four days later, I was back at the Rossi estate, packing away the last of my mother’s research files.The Hartmann Institute had already sent over my admission documents. My assets were being moved quietly, and my new passport was waiting in a safehouse across the city.Everything was almost ready.

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