Chapter 11 - The Last Lie Isabella Told
When Alessandro returned to the estate, he found Isabella waiting in the main hallway.
She had changed into a red dress.
Her makeup was flawless.
A diamond bracelet glittered at her wrist.
Anyone who saw her might have believed she was preparing for a celebration.
But Alessandro noticed the tightness around her mouth.
She was afraid.
“Your father called,” he said.
Isabella smiled cautiously.
“He told me.”
“Did he?”
“He said you've agreed to move the wedding.”
Alessandro watched her carefully.
“Friday.”
Her smile widened.
“I'm glad you've decided to be reasonable.”
“Reasonable.”
“Yes.”
She stepped closer.
“We've both said things we regret.”
Alessandro thought of Rosa kneeling on the marble floor.
He thought of Lily standing in duck socks, holding out a gold button.
And he thought of the scheduled payment for her murder.
“Have we?” he asked.
Isabella hesitated.
“Alessandro, I was upset.”
“You threatened a child.”
“I was angry.”
“You called her filthy.”
She looked away.
“I shouldn't have said that.”
“No.”
He studied her.
“You shouldn't have.”
For a brief moment, Isabella seemed genuinely ashamed.
Then she noticed the expression in his eyes.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You're looking at me strangely.”
“I've been doing a lot of thinking.”
“About us?”
“About family.”
Her expression softened.
“That's good.”
“Is it?”
“Of course.”
She moved to touch his arm.
He stepped back.
Her smile faltered.
“Alessandro?”
“I have one condition for Friday.”
“What condition?”
“I want every important agreement between our families reviewed before the ceremony.”
Isabella frowned.
“Why?”
“Because marriage shouldn't begin with secrets.”
She searched his face.
Then nodded.
“I agree.”
“Good.”
He turned toward the staircase.
“Your father should bring the original documents.”
“What documents?”
“Everything connected to Meridian Crown.”
Isabella stopped moving.
The color drained from her face.
Alessandro noticed.
“Problem?”
“No.”
“Then tell him.”
He started toward his study.
Isabella called after him.
“Alessandro?”
He turned.
“Do you love me?”
The question surprised him.
He considered lying.
It would have been easy.
A convenient answer.
One more deception in a house built on them.
Instead, he said, “No.”
Her face collapsed.
“What?”
“I don't love you.”
She stared at him.
“Then why are we getting married?”
“We aren't.”
The silence became suffocating.
Isabella backed away.
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to see whether you would tell your father I knew about Meridian Crown.”
Her expression changed.
Alessandro took a step closer.
“And now I have my answer.”
Isabella's breathing quickened.
“You're making a mistake.”
“Possibly.”
“My father will destroy you.”
“He can try.”
“You have no idea what he's capable of.”
Alessandro's expression hardened.
“I know what he did to my mother.”
Isabella froze.
He watched the realization reach her.
“You know?”
“Yes.”
She covered her mouth.
“Oh, God.”
“How long have you known?”
She shook her head.
“Alessandro, please.”
“How long?”
“Since I was nineteen.”
He stared at her.
Nine years.
For nine years, Isabella had known that her father was connected to Elena Moretti's death.
She had smiled at Alessandro.
Dined with him.
Accepted his engagement ring.
And never told him.
“Get out.”
She began crying.
“Please.”
“Your attorney can arrange your departure.”
“You don't understand!”
“Then explain.”
Isabella's voice rose.
“I never wanted any of this!”
Alessandro remained still.
She continued desperately.
“My father arranged everything.”
“The engagement?”
“Yes.”
“The trust amendment?”
She looked down.
“Yes.”
“The plan to take Rosa's child?”
Her silence answered him.
Alessandro's expression turned to stone.
Isabella began shaking.
“He said the little girl would be sent away.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“Did he tell you she would survive?”
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“Alessandro—”
“Answer me.”
“No.”
He closed his eyes.
A terrible silence followed.
Then Isabella whispered, “I thought if I did what he wanted, he would finally love me.”
Alessandro opened his eyes.
There it was.
The ugliest truth in the room.
Isabella had sacrificed strangers in the hope of earning affection from a father who viewed her as another instrument of power.
He understood the desire.
He had spent much of his own life doing the same.
But understanding was not forgiveness.
“You're twenty-eight years old,” he said.
“You had choices.”
Isabella sobbed.
“He would have killed me.”
“Then you should have asked for help.”
“From whom?”
Alessandro looked at her.
“From the man you were supposed to marry.”
She went still.
Then she looked away.
For a moment, he saw not a cruel, arrogant heiress but a frightened woman who had mistaken obedience for survival.
He could pity her.
He could not trust her.
“An attorney will contact you,” he said.
“About what?”
“The evidence.”
Isabella looked up sharply.
“What evidence?”
“The recordings.”
She covered her mouth.
“No.”
“And the forged documents.”
She began shaking.
“You can't give those to the authorities.”
“Why not?”
“Because my father has people everywhere.”
“Then they'll have a chance to explain themselves.”
Isabella stepped toward him.
“Alessandro, listen.”
He stopped.
For the first time, her fear looked entirely genuine.
“If you expose him, he'll hurt the child.”
Alessandro's eyes narrowed.
“Lily?”
She nodded.
“He doesn't care about the money anymore.”
“Then what does he want?”
“To make you suffer.”
The words hung between them.
Isabella continued.
“He knows you discovered the truth about Elena.”
“How?”
“I told him.”
Alessandro went still.
She began crying harder.
“I thought he would cancel everything.”
“When?”
“An hour ago.”
Alessandro looked at the clock.
An hour.
While he had been planning to protect Rosa and Lily, Vincent Romano had been learning that his secrets were exposed.
Isabella gripped the edge of the staircase.
“He told me something before he hung up.”
“What?”
“He said you have until midnight.”
“Until midnight to do what?”
“To hand over the trust documents.”
“And if I don't?”
Isabella looked toward the east wing.
Then she whispered.
“He said the mother would watch the daughter die.”
Alessandro's phone vibrated.
A security alert flashed across the screen.
Unidentified aircraft approaching estate perimeter.
Then another.
East wing window damaged.
May you like
A third message appeared.
Rosa and Lily missing from guest suite.
