Chapter 103 Chapter 103
Sophia’s POV
I grabbed the door handle for what felt like the hundredth time and pulled. Hard.
Nothing. It wouldn’t budge.
“What the hell?” I muttered, yanking on it again. The handle turned, the mechanism worked, but the door itself wouldn’t open. Like something was blocking it from the outside.
Fear and frustration boiled up inside me. Was I trapped? Had someone locked me in deliberately?
“HELLO?” I shouted, pounding my fist against the door. “CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?”
I waited, pressing my ear against the wood.
Nothing.
“OPEN THE DOOR!” I screamed, banging harder now, my fists starting to hurt from the impact. “SOMEONE HELP ME! I’M LOCKED IN!”
Bang. Bang. Bang.
My hands were going to bruise, but I didn’t care. I kept pounding, kept shouting, panic rising in my throat.
Finally, I heard footsteps rushing down the hallway.
“Miss Sophia?” Louis’s voice came through the door, concerned. “Are you alright?”
“NO, I’M NOT ALRIGHT!” I shouted back. “THE DOOR WON’T OPEN! I’M TRAPPED IN HERE!”
I heard him try the handle from his side, then make a confused sound.
“It’s locked from the outside,” Louis said, surprise clear in his voice. “Miss Sophia, did you lock your own door from the outside before going in?”
“Are you STUPID?” I screamed. “How could I lock myself in from the OUTSIDE? That makes no sense!”
More footsteps approached. My grandmother’s voice joined the conversation.
“What’s happening?” Isabella demanded.
“Miss Sophia is locked in her room,” Louis explained. “From the outside. But I don’t understand how….”
“Just OPEN IT!” I yelled, still pounding on the door.
I heard the key turning in the lock, and finally FINALLY the door swung open.
I stumbled out into the hallway, my face flushed, my hands red from banging.
Isabella and Louis both stood there looking confused and concerned.
“How did that happen?” Louis asked, examining the door and lock mechanism. “Did you somehow lock it yourself before entering?”
“I told you, it WASN’T me!” I snapped, my voice rising hysterically. “Someone locked me in! Someone deliberately locked my door from the outside!”
Isabella and Louis exchanged glances, clearly skeptical.
“Miss Sophia,” Louis said carefully, “no one has access to the keys except me, and I’ve had them on my person the entire time.”
“Well, SOMEONE did it!” I insisted.
“I’ll get the door checked,” Louis said diplomatically. “Make sure the lock mechanism is working properly. Sometimes these old locks can be temperamental.”
“Don’t you dare come near my room,” I said sharply, pointing at him. “I don’t want you touching my things or examining my door. Just stay away from my space.”
Louis looked taken aback. “Miss Sophia, I’m just trying to help…”
“I don’t need YOUR help,” I interrupted.
Before he could respond, Benita appeared in the hallway, her timing perfect as always.
“Louis,” she said softly, her voice gentle and needy. “Could I have your attention for a little while? I need help with something.”
I watched Louis’s expression immediately soften when he looked at her.
“Of course, Miss Benita,” he said. “What do you need?”
“It’s in the kitchen,” Benita said. “Could you come with me?”
“Absolutely,” Louis said, already moving toward her.
And just like that, he left. Walked away from me without a second glance.
I stood there in the hallway, watching them disappear together, and felt something hot and ugly twist in my chest.
Jealousy.
Louis had always craved my attention. Ever since we were younger, ever since we’d dated briefly before I dumped him for my second boyfriend years ago. He’d always looked at me with those puppy dog eyes, always been eager to please me, always hoped I’d come back to him.
But now? Now he was different. Changed.
He looked at me with nothing. No longing. No hope. Just professional courtesy.
And he looked at Benita with… something. Interest, maybe. Concern. Attraction?
I couldn’t tell exactly. But my instincts told me that he might have a thing for her.
And Benita? She was just as seductive as Hailey in her own way. Not overtly, but with that soft vulnerability that made men want to protect her. Especially now, with Marco gone, with her grief making her seem fragile and in need of care.
Louis was falling for it. I could see it.
I wanted Louis to be all up on me, desperate for my attention like he used to be. But instead, he seemed completely over me
And it burned.
“Sophia.”
My grandmother’s sharp voice snapped me out of my spiraling thoughts.
I turned to look at her, and she was studying me with those penetrating eyes that always seemed to see too much.
“Come with me,” Isabella said. “We need to talk.”
I followed her to her room, feeling dread settle in my stomach. Nothing good ever came from “we need to talk” conversations with Nonna.
She closed the door behind us and turned to face me, her expression serious.
“I’m thinking of heading back to the family house in Italy,” Isabella announced without preamble.
The words hit me like a physical blow.
“What? No!” I said immediately. “You can’t leave me here!”
“I must,” Isabella said firmly. “The family there needs me. they’re vulnerable right now with this war escalating. Some enemies would be trying to attack the house while Damien is distracted here.”
“But Nonna….” I started.
“I’ve already discussed it with your father,” Isabella interrupted. “He approves of my return to Italy. He agrees that the family estate needs protection, and I’m the one who can provide it.”
“Please don’t leave me,” I begged, hearing the desperation in my own voice. “I need you here. You’re the only one who understands me.”
“Sophia,” Isabella said, moving closer and taking my hands. “If I don’t go, more elders of our family are going to keep dying in this war between us and the Morelli mafia family. They’re picking us off one by one. Who’s next? Your uncle in Italy? Your cousin?”
“I don’t care about them!” I said harshly. “I care about YOU! Don’t leave me here alone with her! With Hailey and her mother and everyone who hates me!”
“You’re not alone,” Isabella said, though her tone lacked conviction. “Your father is here. The guards are here.”
“Dad barely looks at me anymore,” I said, tears starting to fall. “He’s chosen Hailey over me. Everyone has chosen her over me. And now you’re leaving too?”
Isabella’s expression softened slightly, and she pulled me into a hug.
“This isn’t forever,” she said quietly. “Just until the situation stabilizes. Just until we can secure the family in Italy and eliminate the immediate threats there.”
“How long?” I asked against her shoulder.
“I don’t know,” Isabella admitted. “Weeks. Maybe months.”
Months. I’d be stuck here for months without her. Without the one person who actually seemed to care about me.
“When are you leaving?” I whispered.
“Tomorrow morning,” Isabella said. “I’ve already arranged for travel.”
Tomorrow. She was leaving tomorrow.
I pulled away from her, wiping at my tears angrily.
“Fine,” I said, my voice cold. “Go. Everyone else is abandoning me. Why should you be different?”
“Sophia, don’t be dramatic….” Isabella started.
“I’m NOT being dramatic!” I shouted. “I’m being REALISTIC! Marco is dead because of me. My father hates me. Hailey and her mother are taking over my mother’s house. Benita looks at me like I’m a murderer. And now you’re leaving too!”
“Your father doesn’t hate you,” Isabella said firmly.
“He might as well,” I said bitterly. “He looks at me with disappointment and disgust. I can see it in his eyes. I’m not his daughter anymore. I’m just a problem he has to manage.”
Isabella opened her mouth to argue but seemed to realize there was no point.
“I have to go,” she said instead. “The family needs me. But I’ll call you every day. And when this war is over, I’ll come back.”
“Sure,” I said, not believing her. “Whatever.”