Chapter 2 - The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
"Alessandro..."
The voice was impossible.
My body reacted before my mind could understand.
Every instinct I had built over thirty-eight years disappeared in a single second.
Because there were only a few people in the world who could say my name like that.
Like they knew the man behind the reputation.
Like they knew the person I had buried beneath the title.
The figure stepped closer beneath the broken streetlight.
The German shepherd moved immediately.
He ran past me.
Not away.
Toward her.
The woman dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around the dog.
The moment she touched him, her face broke.
Not from fear.
From relief.
"You found him," she whispered.
Her voice cracked.
"You actually found him."
I stood frozen.
The alley disappeared.
The city disappeared.
The years disappeared.
Because the woman holding that dog was the woman I had buried in my memories.
Isabella.
The woman I had loved.
The woman I had lost.
The woman who had died six years ago.
At least, that was the story everyone gave me.
My fingers tightened into fists.
"No."
The word left my mouth before I realized I had spoken.
The woman slowly looked up.
Her eyes met mine.
And for the first time in six years, I saw the eyes that had haunted every dream I refused to admit having.
"Alessandro..."
I stepped back.
"No."
Luca appeared beside me, his hand already moving toward his jacket.
He looked from me to the woman.
Then back to me.
He didn't understand.
Nobody did.
Nobody except me.
Because I knew that face.
I knew that voice.
I knew the way she looked at the dog.
Isabella had always loved animals more than people.
She once told me that animals were honest because they never pretended to be something they weren't.
People did.
People smiled while planning betrayals.
People hugged while hiding knives.
People promised forever while preparing to leave.
Isabella had been the only person who never lied to me.
Until the day she died.
"You were there," I whispered.
The woman lowered her eyes.
A painful silence filled the alley.
"You were at the funeral."
My voice became colder.
"You watched them put your name on a grave."
Her face changed.
Pain crossed her expression.
"I know."
My jaw tightened.
"Then tell me why."
The dog looked between us.
He sensed the tension.
He pressed against Isabella's leg.
Protecting her.
Or protecting me.
I couldn't tell.
"You have to listen to me," she said quietly.
"No."
The answer came instantly.
Her eyes lifted.
"You don't get to appear after six years and ask me to listen."
The words were sharper than I expected.
But they were true.
For six years, I had lived with unanswered questions.
Six years of waking up and remembering a phone call I never wanted to receive.
Six years of wondering why the woman I loved had been taken from me.
The official story was simple.
A car accident.
A tragic night.
No survivors.
A body identified.
A funeral attended.
A grave purchased.
Everything explained.
Everything closed.
Except nothing had ever felt closed.
Because deep inside, some part of me had always believed there was something wrong.
But believing a dead person was alive was madness.
And I had built my entire life on being a man who didn't believe in impossible things.
"I tried to come back," Isabella whispered.
The sentence hit harder than any threat.
I stared at her.
"What?"
She swallowed.
"I tried."
Her hands tightened around the dog's collar.
"But they made sure I couldn't."
The alley became colder.
Luca looked at me.
"Boss..."
I lifted my hand.
Not because I wanted silence.
Because I needed time.
My mind was moving faster than I could control.
Who?
Who could have done this?
Who could fake a death?
Who could hide Isabella from me?
And why?
"You expect me to believe this?" I asked.
She looked away.
"No."
That surprised me.
She didn't defend herself.
Didn't beg.
Didn't try to convince me.
"I don't expect you to believe anything tonight."
She looked back at me.
"I only needed you to see me."
The dog suddenly moved.
He stepped between us.
Then he lowered his head and gently pushed against my hand.
I looked down.
The same dog who had torn through my restaurant.
The same dog who had crossed the city with injured paws.
The same dog who had found me.
He wasn't afraid of me.
He trusted me.
That made no sense.
Unless Isabella had told him about me.
Unless this dog knew exactly where he needed to go.
"His name?" I asked.
Isabella looked at the German shepherd.
A small, sad smile appeared.
"Shadow."
The name felt familiar.
Because I remembered something.
Six years ago.
Before everything happened.
Isabella had talked about adopting a dog.
She had laughed when I told her I didn't have time for an animal.
"You don't have time for anything that doesn't make money," she had said.
I had pretended to be offended.
She had laughed.
A real laugh.
The kind I hadn't heard from anyone since.
I looked at Shadow.
My throat tightened.
"You had him before..."
Isabella nodded.
"Yes."
The answer was quiet.
"Before they took me."
The words changed the atmosphere.
Not died.
Not lost.
Taken.
I focused on her.
"Who?"
She looked toward the street.
Fear appeared in her eyes.
Real fear.
Not the kind people showed when they saw me.
A different kind.
The kind someone showed when they knew exactly what was coming.
"We can't talk here."
Luca immediately reacted.
"Absolutely not."
Isabella looked at him.
For a second, she seemed surprised.
Then she recognized him.
"Luca."
His face changed.
Because she knew his name.
Nobody outside my inner circle knew that.
Nobody who was supposed to know.
"You remember me," Luca said.
She nodded slowly.
"I remember everything."
Those words bothered me.
Everything.
Not some things.
Not pieces.
Everything.
I stepped closer.
"What happened to you?"
She looked at me.
And for the first time that night, I saw the woman I remembered.
Not the mystery.
Not the ghost.
The woman who used to sit beside me after impossible days.
The woman who knew when I was lying.
The woman who knew when I was hurting.
"I found out something about your family," she whispered.
My expression changed.
"My family?"
She nodded.
"And when I tried to tell you..."
She stopped.
A tear formed in her eye.
"They killed the wrong person."
Silence.
Even the city seemed quiet.
"What does that mean?"
She didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she reached into her coat.
Luca moved instantly.
My hand lifted.
Stop.
Isabella slowly pulled out a small envelope.
Old.
Damaged.
The edges were torn.
She held it toward me.
"This was supposed to reach you six years ago."
I didn't move.
"Why didn't it?"
Her fingers tightened around the envelope.
"Because the person who intercepted it knew if you read it..."
She looked at me.
"...you would have destroyed everything."
I stared at the envelope.
My name was written on the front.
My handwriting.
My signature.
But I had never seen it before.
I reached out.
The second my fingers touched the paper, Shadow began growling.
Not at Isabella.
Not at me.
Behind us.
Luca turned.
The guards near the restaurant entrance immediately reached for their weapons.
Someone was standing at the end of the alley.
Watching.
Waiting.
Isabella's face went pale.
She whispered one word.
"Run."
May you like
The figure stepped into the light.
And I recognized the man holding a gun with a photograph of Isabella in his hand.
