"Miss Isabelle, you need to leave now before he comes!" the nanny pleaded, voice tight with panic. Her eyes were fixed on Isabelle, who knelt over her father's lifeless body, tears streaking her cheeks.
"No… this cannot be real!" Isabelle's hands trembled as she pressed against his pale, cold face. His skin was ghostly, lips tinged purple. She refused to accept the truth, that her only family had been taken from her in an instant.
"Miss Isabelle… Sebastian will come for you next. We cannot let him take you. You have to leave now," the nanny urged again, desperation thick in her tone. One thought hammered in her mind: the Don of the Moretti household was dead, and the one responsible for the chaos could strike at any second. Sebastian was already in the mansion. They had no time. She grabbed Isabelle's shoulder, but Isabelle jerked back violently. "No!" she shouted, spinning toward her father.
"Papa… please… just open your eyes!" Her cries echoed off the walls, her body shaking with grief.
"Isabelle, listen to me!" The nanny shouted, all formality gone. Fear for the young miss's life overrode everything. She seized Isabelle's arm and spun her to face her. Isabelle's chest heaved as she struggled to steady her breathing, eyes blurred with tears. "You have to leave. For the sake of the Moretti house, you must survive. Your father, Alessandro wouldn't want you like this. He would want you to be strong. You to survive and honor him" the nanny pressed, her eyes misty as she held Isabelle's gaze.
"I promise everything will be fine… but you have to go first," the nanny added, bending down to press a quick kiss to Isabelle's forehead. Then she pulled Isabelle to her feet, guiding her through the halls. Isabelle's gaze kept flicking back to her father's body lying motionless on the floor.
The nanny's heart raced as they moved, her every step urgent, when they reached the secret passage, she pressed the pin. The hidden wall slid open, revealing a narrow, dark tunnel leading underground. "Once you go through this tunnel, you'll be out. Don't look back. Just go," she ordered, shoving Isabelle gently but firmly into the shadows.
"What about you? Aren't you coming?" Isabelle's voice trembled, fear tightening her chest at the thought of leaving alone.
"I can't. Someone has to pay the price," the nanny said with a faint, grim smile.
Before Isabelle could process what her nanny had just said, the woman had entered the pin again and the wall was starting to close. "No! You can't leave me, Grace!" she screamed, pounding against the wall. All she could see was the nanny's eyes and that small, sorrowful smile before darkness swallowed her. Grace had chosen to sacrifice herself instead of coming along and the thought of it shattered Isabelle. "No…" Isabelle cried, pressing against the wall, hoping it would reopen. But it wouldn't.
The sound of gunfire erupted not very far away from them. Sebastian moved through the halls with precise, terrifying efficiency.
"Search every corner! Bring her to me!" He barked, voice sharp and commanding. Shoes clicked against polished floors as guns were readied.
Sebastian's gaze fell on Alessandro, sprawled on the floor, pale and lifeless. "Things wouldn't have ended like this if you'd just handed her over," he sneered, stepping over the body. His lips twisted into a cruel smirk.
"Isabelle… my woman… where are you?" His voice was low, sing-song, and menacing as he advanced deeper into the mansion.
Soon, the men returned empty-handed. "We couldn't find her," one reported, voice quivering.
"What did you say?" Sebastian's eyes darkened.
"We couldn't-" The man's words cut off as a gunshot silenced him instantly. He crumpled to the floor, lifeless and blood painting the floor red.
"Bring Isabelle to me, dead or alive! I must see that girl!" Sebastian barked, and the men scattered immediately.
They returned with a woman afterwards but it was not Isabelle. Sebastian's eyes landed on her, Grace and he recognised her instantly. A dark smile crossed his face. "Where is Isabelle, my wife?"
"She will never be yours, and don't you dare utter her name after what you've done," Grace spat through clenched teeth.
Sebastian raised an eyebrow, stepping closer and Grace spat in his face. "Stupid bitch," he hissed, his hand shot forward to slap her and she fell to the ground. Blood trickled from her lip as she hit the floor.
Wiping his face with a handkerchief, Sebastian tossed the dirty cloth away before crouching and grabbing Grace by the hair. "Where is she? Tell me, or you will die."
Grace chuckled, defiant. "Kill me if you want… you'll never find Isabelle." He humoured her with a wicked laugh before striking her head against the tile until she went limp. Then Sebastian rose to his full height, he scanned his men. "If you don't find her, I'll feed your bodies to the dogs!" He fired a warning shot into the ceiling, sending them running.
Isabelle froze at the sound. Her heart pounded in her chest. That couldn't be Grace... The thought of the woman's lifeless body on the ground made her heart clench but she pressed forward through the dark tunnel, her only thought was survival. Revenge for her father and Grace would come later.
She arrived at the point where the tunnel split and without hesitation, she chose the right path, groping along the walls in near darkness. A faint light glimmered ahead. She sprinted toward it, bursting through into the night. The cold air slapped her face, but she kept running, heedless of everything behind her. Isabelle turned to look at the mansion, looming in the distance, the only home and family she had ever known, gone in one night.
Just then, a black van roared in front of her. Isabelle skidded to a halt, she attempted to flee from there but two men leapt out, grabbing her arms. "Let me go!" she screamed as they tightened their hold on her. A black sack was thrown over her head, and she was tossed into the vehicle. The van sped into the night.
When Isabelle regained consciousness, her vision was blurred by a cloth tied around her head, and her mouth was gagged. She realized, with mounting panic, that she was bound to a chair, her arms and legs were secured tightly.
"Hmm… hmm," she grumbled, muffled, in the dark room. A single light hung overhead, casting shadows across damp, cold walls. The air smelled musty and oppressive. Isabelle recognized the place instantly: one of those punishment rooms used for offenders, she just didn't know where this was and she never imagined that she would one day sit bound and terrified, waiting for someone to hurt her.
Chains rattled as she struggled. She couldn't even hope to break free; the metal clanging made her stomach churn. And then it hit her. It had to be him. Sebastian. He was the one who had brought her here.
Isabelle screamed, muffled by the gag. She took a deep, shaky breath as she heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Her body stiffened. She twisted in the chair, trying to see, hoping it wasn't him. Please, she thought, it can't be him. No good intentions had ever come from him.
The gag was yanked away. "Sebastian… Sebastian… is that you?" she asked, voice trembling. There was no response.
"Release me immediately, Sebastian! After everything we've done for you, this is how you repay us? You killed my father, Grace… and now me?" she demanded, desperation sharpening her words.
"Why aren't you answering me, you son of a gun! What are you going to do to me?" she shouted, straining to look around, twisting her head left and right. The suspense gnawed at her, dread pooling in her stomach and yet, silence answered her again.
He couldn't have gone, she thought. He had entered, she heard his steps, and she hadn't heard him leave. He must be somewhere nearby, watching her make a fool of herself before striking.
"Please…" Isabelle's voice finally broke. "Please just let me go! You can have everything you want… just release me from this damn chair!" She tugged at her bonds again, chains rattling.
Fortunately, footsteps came closer, breaking the silence and someone stepped in front of her. "I am not Sebastian," the voice said, his voice low and calm. Isabelle's eyebrows pulled together, she recognized that voice. She just couldn't remember it exactly. "And if I were you, I'd be far more afraid of this person."
Hands reached behind her head, loosening the rope. The cloth fell away. Isabelle blinked as her gaze met a pair of terrifying black eyes. But they didn't frighten her as he might have thought they would. Instead, recognition struck her like a lightning bolt. "Dante?" she whispered.