Chapter 24 Couldn't Tell
Isabella POV
My life was no longer the same. I was back in my apartment, but the four walls that surrounded me didn’t make me feel safe anymore.
Romano had broken in and smacked me around, and now a viler man had turned me into a prisoner in my own home. What the hell was I going to do?
I’d witnessed this man’s savage ways, and I knew he wanted nothing more than to torture my parents and kill them. The only thing stopping him was his obsession with my pussy. I wanted to protect my family by keeping my mouth shut, but if they knew my freedom had been stripped away like this, they
would be devastated. I only had one choice.
I had to kill Dante myself. I could get a gun from my father. All I had to do was say I wanted it for protection. He’d always encouraged me to have one for safety, but I always insisted I didn’t need one. Looks like I was wrong about that.
I had knives, but stabbing Dante wouldn’t be so easy. He was a huge man. It would be easy to miss, especially when I was that close to him.
My only option was a gun. After he dropped me off, he left. He said he had work to do, and he would be gone for a few days. But before he left, he inserted a tracker into my ankle.
That way he could see where I was at all times. I fought him hard when he pushed the needle into my skin, but there was no use. He was too strong. He was the strongest man I’d ever encountered. Definitely stronger than my father and my uncle. Even stronger than Varos.
Fuck, how did I get into this?
I tried to keep calm by remembering Dante didn’t kill me. I could be dead and that video sent to my parents. I escaped that threat, so I had something to be thankful for. Not all hope was lost. I would find a way out of this.
Because I was a Conti and we don’t give up easily. I missed nearly a whole week of school because Dante had me hidden away, and the day I finally went to class was the last one before school ended for the winter break.
Christmas was around the corner, and I hadn’t even considered shopping. I was broke anyway. I usually made things for my family, and hopefully, I had enough time to pull something together. The painting I’d been working on for class was never finished, so I wrapped it up and carried it home through the snow.
I returned to the warmth of my apartment and set it on the easel. I bought some other supplies, so I could do some artwork during my break. I considered making a painting for my whole family, an image of us gathered
together for the holidays. But if I were to finish it, I would have to start now. I set my things down and then heard my phone ring. It was my mom.
I hadn’t spoken to her since Dante captured me. She had no idea what I’d been through. I had to hide it from her, but she could usually tell when I was trying to hide something. And now that I knew what had happened to her, I’d
have to keep that bottled up too.
Every time I thought about what happened to her, I wanted to cry. My mama. I cleared my throat then answered the phone. “Hey, Mama.”
“Hey, Bella. How are things? I’m sorry I haven’t called sooner. We’ve just been busy with the house.”
“No big deal. I know you guys are busy. Getting ready for Christmas?”
“Yep. Your father hung up the lights and everything is looking nice. Gabriel can’t get around as easily as he used to, so we’re working together to get the house in shape. Your Aunt parents are coming too, so we want them to feel welcome.”
“Oh great. I love seeing them.” I sat on the couch, thinking about the small tracker planted inside my ankle. “So when are you coming home?”
“Probably in a few days. I need to finish up some stuff around here.”
“How did the end of your semester go?”
“Great.” I missed the last few days and took my finals without studying…so I hoped I passed. It didn’t really matter if I didn’t. “Just glad it’s over.”
“Your father and I figured you were busy. I remember how that used to be.” “Yeah, a million years ago,” I teased. “Oh, shut up,” she said with a laugh. “I’m not that old.”
“You certainly don’t look it.”
“That’s much better. Well, I’ll let you go. Love you, sweetheart.”
It killed me that I couldn’t tell her what was really going on in my life, that I had been trapped with the biggest enemy to our family. But if I said anything and he found out about it, he would strike them first before they had a chance to do anything in retaliation.
And I wanted to tell her that I knew what
happened to her…and that I was there if she ever wanted to talk about it. But I kept my mouth shut. “Love you too, Mama.”