Chapter 7 The Queen's Gambit

BELLA'S POV

"Did you send the picture?" I asked eyes glued on the map spread across the table. The maps are pretty colourful but old, territories marked out with colors.

Lucia paused mid-pour. "Which picture, principessa?" She asks with her thick Italian-russian accent. I glanced up briefly

"The one of me in Sicily." Realization crossed her face, she smiled, chuckling quietly.

"Sì. It reached him yesterday. His men have been scrambling since." She nodded satisfied

Good, I nodded repeatedly, returning my attention to the map.

I traced the territorial lines with my pen. Red for Caruso. Blue for what used to be Sovereign. So much red, all meant for Dante currently. Most are mine.

"He'll come looking for me in Sicily," I said, still focused on the paper.

"And find nothing." Lucia sat across from me, laughing wholeheartedly, she is in her element- deceiving people.

Of course, I'm no longer in Sicily. The safehouse was two hours north, now isolated.

It's been three weeks here already, learning and training, something Dante would never be prepared for. Before I enter the real world, I have to learn how the real world works.

"Tell me about the five families," I said.

Lucia leaned back, she was always ready to answer me like a robot. "Caruso, Vitale, Romano, DeLuca, Moretti. Your father's Sovereigns made six. After the massacre, Dante absorbed your territories. Made Caruso the strongest."

"Until now." I said tapping on all of Dante's territories.

"Until now," she agreed.

Pathetic.

"Lorenzo killed fifteen of my men, during the warehouse attack" I said to Lucia, concealing the rage that filled my heart as I remembered that day, that kind of mistake won't happen again.

I promise.

I stared at the map with a new found determination. "Lorenzo thinks I'm dead." That's the best for now... I need him distracted.

"For now. But word spreads." Lucian said, shrugging, gently sipping her coffee, watching me keenly with some kind of amusement. I'm used to it now but I can't help but wonder why she stares at me amused.

She slid a picture to my side, a photo of Dante in his office, looking like he hadn't slept in weeks.

My chest tightened. He looked unkept, why cant he just shave his beards, or get some sleep.

Shameless! isn't it?

I mean I'm shameless, I still feel for this pathetic man. My chest tightened even more, my hands tightened as I glared at the picture of the man who still has this much effect on me even one month post divorce.

I hope he dies suffering.

"When was this taken?" I managed to ask.

"This morning" Lucia narrated everything, how the picture got to him through Gianna – his sister.

"He's obsessed," Lucia concluded. "Won't sleep in your bedroom. Watch footage of you leaving. Over and over."

Good. Let him suffer.

A knock echoed in the hall, making us turn our attention towards the sound.

Tommaso entered, face grim, that expression...... isn't always good.

My heart skipped a bit, what again this time?.

"Principessa. We have confirmation."

My pulse quickened. "The attack?" I asked, ignoring what he said.

"Successful." He nodded firmly "Three explosions at the Caruso building. Twenty-seven casualties. Dante survived, but his empire felt it." He started walking to stand beside Lucia.

I sighed. Thank God.

I walked to the window, staring at the reflection in the mirror beside the window. My white suit and my burgundy hair makes me look like a completely different person. I have changed, maybe it's for the good or bad, I don't know. My younger self won't recognize me currently, but I know it's for the best.

I would play this game well,

Chess, not checkers.

"Casualties on our side?" I turned to face Tommaso.

"Two. Minor injuries. Already extracted."

Perfect. The plan worked.

I smiled suddenly, for a while though.

"Media?"

"Gas leak cover story. But the families saw Dante Caruso get hit in his own building."

Good.

Isabella Sovereign was coming for everything he stole.

"Double security," I ordered. "Eyes on all Vitale holdings. If Lorenzo moves, I want to know."

"Sì, principessa." Tommaso bowed slightly, walking towards me.

"We have an issue" he whispered, handing over a phone

Unknown number.

Nicely done with the explosions. But you're playing a dangerous game, little Sovereign. Dante's not the only one watching. – L.V.

My blood went cold. He knew I'm alive, and Lorenzo knew about the attack.

Oh no!

I showed Lucia, who walked up as she saw my pale face.

Her face paled. "Merda. If Lorenzo knows you're alive..."

"Then the timeline moves up." I grabbed my father's gun, hidden in my thigh. "Tommaso!"

He was instantly alert.

"Lorenzo knows I'm alive. We accelerate everything. My training, the reveal, everything."

"You're not ready..."

"I don't have time to be ready." I checked the chamber. "We have two enemies. They both want me dead."

"What do you want to do?"

"I want war," I said, thinking about how far I have come and what I need to achieve. "And I want them both to know exactly who they're fighting."

Tommaso smiled. "How?"

"By making an entrance they'll never forget." I looked at the map. "It's time for Isabella Sovereign to rise from the dead."

Give me a few months.