Chapter 7 - The Secret Isabelle Kept From Luca
“You're not going alone,” Theo said.
“I know.”
The message demanded it.
Isabelle had no intention of obeying Damien blindly.
Police organized surveillance.
Her brothers argued over who would accompany her.
Luca said nothing until Isabelle looked at him.
“You think I shouldn't go.”
“I think you already decided.”
“Yes.”
“Then I'm going to help you come back.”
At the clinic, Isabelle entered carrying copies disguised as originals.
A wire was hidden beneath her coat.
Damien waited inside.
He looked exhausted.
“Where's Vanessa?”
“Safe.”
“Sofia?”
His confusion seemed genuine.
“What does Sofia have to do with this?”
Isabelle stopped.
“You didn't send the messages?”
“What messages?”
A door slammed upstairs.
Damien looked toward it.
Fear crossed his face.
“Isabelle, leave.”
“Why?”
“I didn't ask you here.”
The trap was for both of them.
The lights died.
A woman screamed upstairs.
Vanessa.
Isabelle ran despite Damien shouting after her.
She found Vanessa tied to a chair.
Sofia was beside her.
Alive.
Unharmed.
And holding a gun.
Vanessa sobbed.
“Sofia, please.”
Sofia looked at Isabelle.
“You should have stayed away.”
The truth emerged in fragments.
Sofia had worked at the clinic in 2019.
She had discovered Damien’s payment.
She had also discovered something else.
Isabelle’s miscarriage had occurred naturally.
But the doctor had concealed it from her at Damien’s request.
Sofia kept copies.
Years later, she approached Damien for money.
Blackmail.
Damien paid.
Then Vanessa discovered the payments and assumed her sister was in trouble.
Sofia had become the mysterious G.V., using Gabriel’s initials to manipulate Damien.
“You wanted the trust documents,” Isabelle said.
“I wanted proof.”
“Of what?”
“That Damien stole from you.”
“Why?”
Sofia laughed bitterly.
“Because my sister thought he was going to marry her.”
Vanessa closed her eyes.
Sofia had been trying to force Damien into exposure so Vanessa would finally see him clearly.
But it had spiraled out of control.
“Put the gun down,” Isabelle said.
Sofia’s hand trembled.
“I wasn't going to shoot anyone.”
“Then prove it.”
After a long moment, Sofia lowered the weapon.
Police entered.
Nobody died.
Nobody needed to.
Outside, Damien was arrested for financial fraud and obstruction connected to the clinic payment and forged documents. Sofia was arrested too.
Vanessa watched her sister being taken away.
“I ruined everything.”
Isabelle looked at her.
“No. Damien made his choices. You made yours. Sofia made hers.”
There would be no easy absolution.
Only consequences.
As morning arrived, Luca stood beside Isabelle.
“You're shaking.”
“I'm cold.”
He gave her his coat.
For a moment, they stood silently.
Then Isabelle said, “There’s something I never told you.”
He waited.
“The night before my wedding, I came to your apartment.”
Luca stared.
“You weren't there.”
“I was at the airport.”
“I know.”
She had stood outside his door for twenty minutes.
She had almost called him.
Almost canceled the wedding.
Almost admitted that his warning frightened her because she had feelings for him she did not want to understand.
“I chose Damien,” she said.
“Yes.”
“But not because I didn't feel anything for you.”
Luca looked away.
Six years of restraint cracked slightly.
“Don't tell me this because you're hurting.”
“I'm telling you because I'm done letting other people rewrite my past.”
He nodded.
“That’s fair.”
“I don't know what happens with us.”
“There doesn't need to be an us.”
That hurt unexpectedly.
Then he added:
“Not until you're free enough to choose it.”
Her eyes filled.
He touched her hand.
Nothing more.
No kiss.
No promise.
Just warmth.
Then Adrian called.
His voice sounded strange.
“Bella, get back here.”
“What happened?”
“We found Dad’s complete trust.”
“And?”
“There’s a clause none of us knew about.”
Isabelle looked at Luca.
“What clause?”
Adrian inhaled.
“It names the person who takes control if anything happens to you.”
“Who?”
A pause.
May you like
Then Adrian said the name.
“Your unborn child.”
