CHAPTER 47: Caught In The Middle.

CHAPTER 47: Caught In The Middle.

Isabella sat at the edge of the mattress, holding her clothes to her chest and staring blankly at the door. Her rapid heartbeat still refused to slow down long after Luca had left. If anything, it had only grown louder and more insistent, drumming against her ribs like a warning she didn't want to hear.
She should have been relieved about the whole encounter. Luca had actually stopped himself. He had walked away from the temptation. He had done the responsible thing…the honorable thing.
So why did it feel like a loss?
She sighed and pushed to her feet, moving towards the bathroom where she hoped a cold shower would shake him away from her thoughts. But it was already looking impossible…Every step she took still echoed with fragments of him…his restraint, his words, and the way his eyes had darkened when he pulled away.
You deserve to choose me with a clear mind.
When the hell did he become so damn noble?
Her phone vibrated on the bed, and she almost jumped out of her skin. Could it be him? Was he about to change his mind?
She hurried over to the phone, but irritation flared instantly inside her when she saw the name glowing on the screen.
Dante…What the fuck was he calling for at this dramatic time.
She turned away from the phone as if ignoring it would make it disappear. Let it ring. Let him wait. She didn’t have the patience for him tonight…not when her emotions were still still under siege. Tangled, and dangerously exposed.
The phone stopped finally, and she let out a breath of relief.
Good riddance.
Then it rang again.
Isabella swore in languages she couldn't even understand. She knew Dante could be persistent, but this was now too much. He was fond of it…calling not once or twice, but for a third, a fourth, and a fifth…until she answered or exploded.
The phone went silent once more.
She counted to five.
It rang yet again.
“Damn it,” she muttered under her breath, then snatched it up on the fourth ring.
“What!?”
There was a brief silence on the other end…just long enough for her to know that she had spooked him and most likely just walked into a storm.
“Do you have any idea how long I’ve been calling you?” Dante snapped at her in a pained voice.
“I was busy,” she muttered coldly, giving no damn about whatever was going on in his mind. Not when she had her own problems to deal with.
“Busy?” His voice rose immediately. “You simply vanished and stopped reporting back to me, Isabella. You've not been returning my messages for days, and that’s all you have to say?”
Isabella felt like screaming at him through the phone, but she forced herself to remain calm. “I don't owe you hourly updates, Dante.”
“You owe me something,” Dante shot back with an annoyed tone. “You went to New York for a reason. Or have you suddenly forgotten why?”
The frustration that had been building up inside her almost exploded yet again, but she pushed it back at the last moment.
“No,” she said coldly. “I haven’t forgotten anything, Dante.”
“Then why haven’t I heard from you?” he demanded. “It’s been fucking days, Isabella. Fucking goddamn Days.”
She closed her eyes briefly, and Luca’s face easily intruded where Dante’s voice should have been.
“Because I didn’t have anything worth reporting yet,” she replied calmly, trying to push Luca away from her mind.
“That’s some bloody bullshit,” Dante snapped at her.
Isabella frowned and her voice became even more icy. “If you called to insult me by calling me a liar, then I don't think there's any need for this call anymore. The message has been received successfully.”
There was a tense exhale on the other end of the line, and Dante's voice suddenly became a little bit sober. “So you expect me to believe that you haven't found any dirt on him in all this time? When you’re actually living under the same roof as Luca Moretti?”
Isabella tightened her grip on the phone. “And so?”
“What the fuck do you mean by that?” He roared at her. “Are you telling me that the stupid bastard hasn't said anything or slipped up even once?”
Isabella ignored his ranting and replied in the calmest voice she could muster. “This isn’t a movie, Dante. He’s not an idiot.”
“Or maybe,” Dante hissed darkly, “he’s just good at charming you.”
Her blood went cold at the sudden accusation, and a surprising wave of panic shot through her. What the hell did Dante know? Had he been spying on her? It was not like it was beneath him to do something like that with the way he had been sounding.
“What did you say?” she asked quietly.
“I asked if that bastard, Luca, has been whispering sweet things into your head,” Dante continued, with his anger clearly visible in every word. “If he’s been playing the grieving ex husband, or the misunderstood don, making you forget why you’re there in the first place.”
That did it…She wasn't going to let him talk to her like that anymore.
“Don’t you fucking dare, Dante,” she snapped. “Don’t you even dare talk to me like that.”
“So it’s true,” Dante pushed further. “He’s getting to you, isn't he?”
“Not even a chance,” she shot back furiously. “He’s not.”
“Then why are you defending him?”
“I’m not defending anyone,” she hissed again. “I’m simply telling you to stop making baseless assumptions.”
There was a short, humorless laugh. “You sound irritated. That’s usually a sign my dear Isabella.”
Her chest tightened with anger. “So you've taken it upon yourself to start analyzing me.”
“I’m only being concerned,” he fired back. “This mission matters a lot to me and so do you. I won’t sit here while you…”
“While I what?” she interrupted harshly. “Do my job?”
“While you get distracted,” Dante said bluntly.
Her voice dropped, cold and emotional. “I know exactly why I’m here, Dante.”
“Then say it.”
She didn’t hesitate. “I’m here to find out the truth about what happened to my family, and destroy the Moretti empire.”
There was a brief pause.
“And Luca?” Dante asked. “What is he to you right now?”
Isabella blinked back the tears that were slowly gathering in her eyes, and her gaze drifted toward the door Luca had disappeared through earlier.
“A variable,” she said finally. “Nothing more.”
Dante scoffed. “You don’t sound convinced, Isabella.”
She was getting sick of his insistence. “You have no right to police me, Dante,” she said, and each word came out ice cold and unrestrained. “I don’t want you questioning my resolve just because I didn’t report on your schedule.”
“I’m not policing you,” he insisted. “I’m only trying to protect you.”
“From what?” she shot back. “Myself?”
From the silence, she knew she’d hit something close to the truth.
“You’re emotional,” Dante said carefully. “That alone makes you vulnerable.”
“And you’re patronizing,” she replied. “That makes you quite annoying.”
His breath hissed through the line. “Isabella…”
“No,” she cut in. “You listen to me, Dante. I haven’t forgotten who I am. I haven’t forgotten what was taken from me. And I certainly haven’t forgotten why Luca Moretti is relevant to any of this.”
“Then prove it,” Dante said. “Give me something. Anything.”
She closed her eyes, and all the exhaustion of the day suddenly caught up with her.
“I will,” she said. “When I have something solid.”
“And until then?”
“Until then,” she replied, “I need space to work.”
Dante sighed finally. “I shouldn’t have come at you like that.”
Her shoulders loosened a little, though her guard remained firmly in place.
“I know you’re under pressure,” he continued. “I just… I worry, Isabella. Especially when you go quiet.”
She said nothing.
“I’m sorry,” he added. “I didn’t mean to accuse you.”
The apology landed, but it didn’t erase the damage it had already done.
“Accepted,” she said coolly.
There was a brief pause again, then Dante’s tone changed into something lighter and almost teasing. “So… New York. Big city. You must be turning heads.”
She frowned in irritation. “Dante.”
“What?” he asked. “I’m trying to make conversation.”
“Don’t,” she said flatly.
“You always shut down when I try to lighten the mood,” he chuckled. “You used to like it.”
“That was a long time ago,” she replied.
“Well,” he said carefully, “just don’t forget I’m on your side.”
“I haven’t,” she said.
“And Isabella?”
“Yes?”
“Be careful with Luca.”
Her grip tightened again. “I don’t need reminders.”
“I know,” he said softly. “I just… I don't want you getting hurt.”
She didn’t answer.
“Call me when you have something,” Dante said finally.
“I will,” she replied. “Goodnight.”
She ended the call before he could say anything else. Then her mind went into turmoil as she replayed everything over and over again.
She had denied it.
Deflected it.
Refused to admit it.
But Dante had touched a nerve she couldn’t ignore.
Because the truth was far more dangerous than anything she had said out loud.
Luca wasn’t just a variable anymore.
He was a complication.
And Isabella already knew that the greatest threat to her mission wasn’t Luca Moretti.
It was what she was starting to feel for him when he wasn’t in the room.