Chapter 1 - The Woman Who Refused to Run
“Luca... Vincent already knows she left.”
For several seconds, I said nothing.
Marcus Hale was still on the other end of the phone.
I could hear the faint sound of traffic behind him.
“What exactly did you say?”
“I said Vincent knows.”
“How?”
“I don't know.”
I looked toward the elevator.
The woman who had just left had been terrified.
But she had also been brave enough to return five thousand dollars.
That meant someone had crossed a line.
Someone had decided I deserved to know.
“What's her name?”
“Isabella Grant.”
“Find her.”
“I already sent two men.”
“Not armed.”
Marcus hesitated.
“Luca—”
“I said not armed.”
“Understood.”
I hung up.
For the first time in years, I felt something I couldn't identify.
It wasn't anger.
It wasn't fear.
It was curiosity.
Twenty minutes later, Marcus called again.
“We found her.”
“Where?”
“A coffee shop on Division.”
“Bring her here.”
“She won't come.”
“Then I'll go.”
Marcus was silent.
“You're going personally?”
“Yes.”
“That's not wise.”
“I've spent eleven months letting other people tell me what I should believe.”
I grabbed my coat.
“I'm done with that.”
The coffee shop was nearly empty when I arrived.
Isabella sat alone near the window.
She looked nothing like the frightened woman from my bedroom.
She looked exhausted.
When she saw me, she immediately stood.
“I didn't want trouble.”
“I don't either.”
She stared at me suspiciously.
“You're not angry?”
“I should be.”
“You have every right.”
“I don't want apologies.”
She sat down slowly.
I took the chair opposite her.
“Tell me the truth.”
She looked toward the window.
“Your uncle paid me.”
“How much?”
“Five thousand.”
“To do what?”
“Reject you.”
I already knew that.
“What exactly did he tell you?”
“That you were dangerous.”
My jaw tightened.
“What else?”
“That you had a medical condition.”
My hands curled into fists.
“Did he show you medical records?”
“No.”
“Did he tell you what the condition was?”
“No.”
“Then why did you believe him?”
“He showed me photographs.”
“What photographs?”
She pulled her phone from her purse.
There were several pictures.
Me leaving private clinics.
Me speaking with doctors.
Me entering hospitals.
None of them showed anything illegal.
But they had been arranged to make me look like someone hiding a terrible secret.
“Who gave you these?”
“Vincent's assistant.”
I stared at the screen.
“Did you meet Vincent?”
“No.”
“Did anyone threaten you?”
She swallowed.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
She hesitated.
“Your father.”
I froze.
“My father died twelve years ago.”
“I know.”
“Then explain.”
She lowered her voice.
“The man who approached me said he worked for your father.”
My heart began pounding.
“My father is dead.”
“I know.”
She looked terrified again.
“But whoever controls your uncle has access to your father's old security network.”
I leaned back.
“What are you saying?”
“I think your uncle isn't working alone.”
She reached into her purse.
“This was given to me after I left your building.”
She placed a photograph on the table.
It showed three men standing outside a hospital.
One was Vincent.
The second was my father.
The third man was someone I didn't recognize.
Until I turned the photograph over.
A handwritten name was on the back.
Dr. Adrian Cross.
I knew that name.
He was the physician who diagnosed me at seventeen.
The same physician Vincent had insisted I trust.
I looked at Isabella.
“Why did you come back?”
She met my eyes.
“Because I realized something.”
“What?”
“If Vincent could pay me to make you believe you're incapable of being loved, how many other women did he pay?”
I thought of seven women.
Seven rejections.
Seven disappearances.
Seven years of believing something was wrong with me.
Then Isabella said the words that changed everything.
“I don't think you're broken, Luca.”
She stood.
“I think someone worked very hard to convince you that you were.”
Before I could respond, the lights in the coffee shop flickered.
Marcus called.
“Luca.”
“What?”
“Don't leave the building.”
“Why?”
“There are two Volkov cars outside.”
I looked through the window.
Black SUVs had stopped across the street.
Isabella turned pale.
“Are they here for you?”
I looked at her.
“No.”
May you like
I stood.
“I think they're here for you.”
