Chapter 5 - The Confession
Isabella sneaked back into the bedroom hours later, soaking wet and shivering.
She froze when she saw Aleandro sitting in the armchair in the dark.
"Where did you go?" he asked, his voice softer than velvet but sharper than a blade.
"I couldn't sleep, I took a walk," she lied, avoiding his gaze.
Aleandro stood up, walking toward her with deliberate, terrifying slowness.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small black listening device.
He dropped it onto the marble floor between them.
The tiny clatter sounded like a bomb going off in the silent room.
Isabella stopped breathing, the last drop of color draining from her face.
She collapsed onto the floor, burying her face in her hands, waiting for the bullet.
"Why didn't you tell me about Sofia?" Aleandro asked gently, kneeling beside her.
Isabella’s head snapped up, her eyes wide with shock and terror.
"You... you know?" she whispered, her voice cracking with raw agony.
"I know Lorenzo has her, and I know why you did this," he said, wiping a tear from her cheek.
"I thought you would kill me," she confessed, breaking down into violent sobs.
"I kill traitors, Isabella," he said, pulling her trembling body into his arms.
"I do not kill the woman I am going to marry."
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"We are going to get your sister back, but you have to trust me completely."
She clung to his shirt, nodding against his chest as the storm finally broke.
