Chapter 2 - The Diagnosis Was a Lie
The first bullet shattered the coffee shop window.
I pulled Isabella to the floor.
“Stay down.”
Another shot struck the wall.
People screamed.
Marcus's men rushed through the rear entrance.
Within seconds, they had surrounded us.
“Move!”
I grabbed Isabella's hand.
She followed me through the kitchen.
We reached the alley.
Three SUVs waited.
Marcus opened the rear door.
“Get in.”
We drove.
Isabella was shaking.
I noticed her hand was bleeding.
“Are you hurt?”
“Glass.”
I took a clean handkerchief from my pocket and wrapped her palm.
She looked at me.
“You're bleeding too.”
I touched my cheek.
A thin line of blood.
“Nothing.”
She smiled faintly.
“You always say that?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because people expect powerful men not to feel pain.”
She looked away.
“I don't think that's true.”
“What?”
“I think powerful men just learn to hide it.”
I studied her.
For some reason, her words affected me more than they should have.
At the safe house, Marcus locked every door.
“Who were they?”
“Volkov men.”
“Why would they target her?”
Marcus looked at Isabella.
“They're not.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“They were after you.”
“Why?”
Marcus placed a file on the table.
“Because someone leaked your location.”
I opened it.
The leak came from inside my company.
Someone had accessed my private security records.
Only four people had authorization.
Marcus.
Me.
Vincent.
And my personal physician.
Dr. Cross.
I looked at Isabella.
“Tell me everything Vincent told you.”
She did.
He had paid seven women.
Not seven random women.
He had chosen women who had recently gone through financial trouble, women with debts, women with family emergencies.
He offered them money.
Then he gave them instructions.
Make Luca believe he was dangerous.
Make him believe intimacy with him was impossible.
Make him retreat.
Make him remain unmarried.
I stared at the floor.
“Why?”
Marcus answered.
“Your father's succession agreement.”
I looked at him.
“Explain.”
“When your father died, the Vale empire was placed into a trust.”
“I know.”
“You inherited control at twenty-five.”
“I know.”
“But there was a condition.”
I remembered.
A clause I'd never paid much attention to.
Marriage.
I had to marry before turning thirty-five.
Otherwise, voting control would be transferred temporarily to a trustee.
I looked at Marcus.
“Vincent.”
He nodded.
“If you remain unmarried until your thirty-fifth birthday, Vincent becomes temporary trustee.”
“How long?”
“Five years.”
I laughed bitterly.
“That's enough time to destroy everything.”
“Exactly.”
I looked at Isabella.
“When is my birthday?”
“Eight months.”
Marcus corrected me.
“Seven.”
I stared at him.
Seven months.
Vincent had spent years keeping me alone.
But why?
Marcus opened another folder.
“There's more.”
Inside were financial transfers.
Millions of dollars had been moved from Vale companies into accounts connected to Vincent.
I felt something inside me go cold.
“He's stealing.”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Approximately four hundred million.”
Silence.
Isabella stared at the documents.
“Then he doesn't just need you unmarried.”
I looked at her.
“He needs me financially weak.”
Marcus nodded.
“And dependent.”
Suddenly everything made sense.
Every business decision Vincent had recommended.
Every investment he had encouraged.
Every relationship he had sabotaged.
He hadn't been protecting my empire.
He had been preparing to own it.
Then my phone rang.
Vincent.
I answered.
“Luca.”
His voice sounded calm.
“Are you safe?”
I stared at Isabella.
“Perfectly.”
“Good.”
“Why wouldn't I be?”
He laughed.
“Because people are becoming careless around you.”
I clenched my jaw.
“Who?”
“Women.”
Silence.
Then Vincent said,
“You should be careful whom you trust.”
I smiled coldly.
“That's exactly what I'm learning.”
He hung up.
Marcus stared at me.
“What did he say?”
I looked at Isabella.
“He knows she's here.”
Her face went pale.
Then my phone buzzed again.
A message.
May you like
One sentence.
You have seven months to learn why your father was afraid of love.
