Chapter 5 5

Isabella POV

The real, unadulterated terror in Giuliana's eyes was a beautiful thing to witness. For a fraction of a second, the sterile hospital room was completely silent, heavy with the weight of her crumbling facade.

Before Damien could process the shift in her demeanor, the heavy door swung open. Two Moretti Soldiers stepped inside, their expressions grim. One of them leaned in, whispering urgently into Damien's ear.

I watched Damien's broad shoulders stiffen. The confusion that had momentarily clouded his icy blue eyes vanished, replaced by a renewed, lethal certainty. He turned his murderous glare back to me.

"You think you're clever, Isabella?" Damien's voice was a deadly rasp. "You think you can orchestrate a hit and keep your hands clean?"

Right on cue, Giuliana let out a pathetic whimper. With trembling fingers, she reached for her phone on the bedside table and held it out to Damien. "She sent this... right before it happened."

Damien snatched the phone. I didn't need to see the screen to know what it said. The puppet master was playing their hand.

"A text," Damien snarled, turning the screen toward me. "Read it."

Disappear or else.

I glanced at the glowing screen, my eyes immediately dropping to the timestamp. 2:00 PM. A faint, mocking smile touched my lips. It was almost too easy.

"Two o'clock," I noted aloud, my voice echoing calmly off the pristine walls. I slowly turned my head to look at the hulking figure standing rigidly by the door. "Rocco, you can vouch for me, can't you?"

The Underboss flinched as if I had shot him. Damien's head snapped toward his second-in-command, his eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.

"After all," I continued smoothly, relishing the absolute trap I had just sprung, "at exactly two o'clock, you were busy carrying my hundred-and-fifty-thousand-dollar handbags out of Bergdorf Goodman."

The silence that followed was deafening. Damien stared at Rocco, waiting for a denial. Rocco's jaw clenched so hard a muscle ticked violently in his cheek. He looked at his Don, then at me, trapped between his absolute loyalty and an undeniable truth.

"Yes," Rocco ground out through his teeth.

Damien's expression fractured. The humiliation of having his own Underboss provide my airtight alibi was a physical blow to his pride.

"You're the Don of the Moretti family, Damien," I said, stepping closer to him, my voice dropping to a lethal whisper. "Use your vast resources to trace that text. See who is actually playing games on your turf."

I didn't wait for his response. I turned my attention to the Soldier who had just delivered the report. "Where exactly did this tragic ambush happen?"

The Soldier hesitated, glancing at Damien before answering. "An industrial access road near the old shipyards in Queens."

A genuine, dark laugh escaped my throat. I looked back at Damien, my eyes cold and unyielding. "A surveillance blind spot. A road used exclusively for running contraband and dumping bodies. Damien, do you honestly believe your precious white rose was sightseeing there?"

"I-I got lost," Giuliana stammered from the bed, her voice pitching higher in panic. She swallowed hard, her eyes darting nervously.

"In an era of private drivers and GPS?" I mocked, not even looking at her. "Don't insult my intelligence."

I saw the subtle shift in the room. The two Soldiers exchanged a brief, uneasy glance. Even they could see the glaring holes in her story. But Damien, blinded by his twisted need to be a savior, stepped protectively in front of the bed, shielding Giuliana from my logic.

"Get out," Damien roared, his voice vibrating with a desperate, cornered fury.

I elegantly adjusted the collar of my combat shirt, brushing away an invisible speck of dust. I looked at him with nothing but pity.

"I'm leaving because this performance has become boring, Damien," I said, my tone dripping with aristocratic disdain. "Not because of your command."

I turned on my heel and walked toward the door. As I passed the two Soldiers, I stopped. I didn't look at Damien. I looked directly at his men, channeling the absolute authority of my bloodline.

"Check the skid marks," I ordered them, my voice crisp and professional. "See if it was panic braking or a controlled maneuver to initiate a drift. And pull the telemetry data from the car's black box. A professional ambush and a botched staged event leave entirely different data signatures."

I didn't wait to see their reactions. I walked out of the room, the heavy door clicking shut behind me, leaving the Moretti Don alone with his fragile liar and a truth he was too terrified to face.