Chapter 2 - The Secret Behind the North Gate
The estate shifted into lockdown within seconds.
Steel shutters descended over several windows.
The lights along the gardens switched to bright white beams.
Guards moved through hallways with practiced precision.
Dante seized Isabella's hand.
"Stay with me."
She pulled free.
"Where is Valentina?"
He looked behind him.
She was gone.
"Where did she go?"
Marco appeared at the end of the corridor.
"Garden suite is empty."
Dante's expression changed.
"Find her."
Isabella didn't wait for an explanation.
She heard footsteps below.
Then a voice.
"Don't shoot!"
Valentina.
Dante ran down the stairs.
Isabella followed.
They found Valentina in the library.
She stood beside the old globe near the window, one hand pressed against her ribs.
Two guards had cornered her.
"She came from the east hallway," one said.
Dante stopped.
"Lower your weapons."
The guards immediately obeyed.
Valentina looked at him.
"They were testing your response."
"Who?"
"Your north perimeter team."
Marco's face tightened.
"Impossible."
Valentina pointed at the floor.
One of the guards had muddy boots.
The other did not.
"Those two weren't outside."
Everyone stared.
The guard glanced down.
Valentina continued.
"They staged the breach from inside the house."
Marco reached for his weapon.
Dante held up a hand.
"Nobody moves."
Isabella looked from one guard to the other.
The second guard suddenly reached for his pocket.
Dante moved faster.
A gun hit the floor.
The man was pinned against the wall.
The other guard collapsed to his knees.
Marco stared at Valentina.
"How did you know?"
She answered without looking away.
"Because the same men were in my apartment."
Dante's jaw tightened.
"You said there were two."
"There were."
"Are they the same?"
Valentina nodded.
"One of them."
Silence settled over the library.
Isabella looked at Dante.
"You knew."
He didn't deny it.
"I suspected someone inside the security detail."
"You suspected?"
"You don't accuse a man without proof."
She laughed bitterly.
"Yet you'll bring your ex-fiancée into our home at midnight without telling me."
"She was being hunted."
"So was I."
He stared.
"You are not supposed to know what that's like."
"Exactly."
Valentina spoke softly.
"She deserves to know."
Dante turned to her.
"Not now."
"Then when?"
Isabella stepped between them.
"Enough."
She looked at Valentina.
"Tell me everything."
Dante objected.
"Bella."
"Everything."
Valentina took a long breath.
"I left my family six months ago."
"Why?"
"Because my uncle, Stefano Duca, wanted me to marry someone I despised."
"Why?"
"To merge what remained of our financial network with another faction."
Isabella nodded slowly.
"And Dante?"
Valentina looked toward him.
"Dante knew."
Isabella's eyes narrowed.
"Dante knew about the marriage?"
"No."
Valentina swallowed.
"He knew I had discovered an internal operation that was meant to destroy both our families."
Marco interrupted.
"Destroy how?"
"By making it look like the Rossis and Ducas had violated a longstanding ceasefire."
Dante's face darkened.
"Who?"
"I never learned his name."
"But you found something."
Valentina reached inside the lining of her coat.
She pulled out a small memory card.
"Names."
Marco looked at it.
"Where did you get this?"
"My father's private office."
Dante stared.
"Your father is alive?"
"Yes."
"Then why didn't he protect you?"
Valentina smiled sadly.
"Because he is part of it."
That revelation shook everyone.
Isabella watched Dante carefully.
He was not surprised.
"You knew," she whispered.
Dante looked at her.
"Only that her father had been compromised."
"And you never told me."
"Because I didn't know who to trust."
"You could have trusted me."
"I was trying to keep you alive."
She stepped closer.
"Stop saying that as if secrecy is the same thing as protection."
He flinched.
The words struck deeper than any accusation.
Valentina looked at Isabella.
"He isn't lying about one thing."
"What?"
"He really is terrified of losing you."
Isabella's anger softened for just a second.
Then she saw the blood on Valentina's sleeve.
"You said you were bruised. Were you hurt anywhere else?"
Valentina hesitated.
"Bruised ribs."
Dante's expression turned murderous.
"Doctor."
"No hospital."
"Why?"
"They'll find me."
"Then our doctor comes here."
The private physician arrived within thirty minutes.
As Valentina was examined, Isabella remained outside.
Dante approached.
"I'm sorry."
She looked at him.
"For what?"
"That you had to see this."
"This isn't about what I saw."
"Then what is it?"
"You keep deciding what I can handle."
He lowered his voice.
"I grew up in a world where information was a weapon."
"And I didn't."
"You don't know what I inherited."
"Then tell me."
Dante looked away.
"My father died when I was twenty."
Isabella had heard that.
But something in his tone made her wait.
"My uncle took control of the organization."
"And your mother?"
"She vanished."
"What?"
"Nobody knows where she is."
Isabella stared.
"I thought she died."
"So did everyone."
"Did Valentina know?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"Her family helped hide her."
Isabella's heart raced.
"So Valentina was never just your ex."
"No."
"Then why marry her?"
"I didn't love her."
He paused.
"But we were supposed to become the bridge between two families."
Isabella finally understood.
Their engagement had been political.
A transaction.
Not romance.
Still, it hurt.
"You could have told me."
"I should have."
The physician stepped out.
"She'll recover."
Everyone exhaled.
Later, when the house finally quieted, Isabella went back to her room.
Dante followed.
He stopped at the door.
"Can I come in?"
She nodded.
He sat on the edge of the bed.
"I don't expect you to trust me tonight."
"I trust you."
He looked surprised.
"I just don't trust what you're hiding."
He nodded.
"Fair."
She took his hand.
"Then stop hiding."
For a few seconds, he simply held her fingers.
Then he whispered:
"My mother's alive."
Isabella's eyes widened.
"Where?"
"Twenty miles outside the city."
"And why haven't you found her?"
May you like
Dante looked toward the window.
"Because the last time I tried, someone inside my family tried to kill me."
Related Stories
