Chapter 47: The Call

Isabella's POV

The phone rings while Isabella is making coffee.

She almost doesn't answer. Unknown number. Could be a telemarketer. Could be someone tracking her location. Could be dangerous.

But something makes her pick up.

She hears breathing on the other end. Someone is there but not speaking. Isabella's entire body goes rigid.

"Hello?" she says cautiously.

When the voice comes through, her heart stops completely.

It's Damián.

"I could have had your location from GPS in two seconds," he says. His voice is calm like they're just having a normal conversation. Like he hasn't spent three weeks hunting her. "I didn't. That means something."

Isabella can't speak. Can't breathe. Can't process the fact that she's hearing his voice after three weeks of silence. Three weeks of believing she'd never speak to him again.

"I know you're there," Damián continues. "I know you're scared. I want you to know that I'm not angry anymore."

Isabella wants to hang up. Wants to disconnect and report this to Lu. Wants to break the connection before it pulls her back into his world.

But she can't. She just listens.

"I understand you better than I did," Damián says. "I understand why you had to leave. I understand why you couldn't stay in my world. And I respect that choice."

He pauses, and Isabella can hear the emotion underneath his controlled voice.

"I'm not going to come for you," Damián says. "I'm not going to hunt you down. I'm not going to force you back into my life. I'm giving you the freedom you chose."

Isabella's eyes are burning with tears.

"But I'm also not letting you go," Damián continues. His voice is different now. Softer but more intense. "So you'll hear from me. Eventually. When the time is right. I just wanted you to know that. I just wanted you to understand that this isn't over between us."

"Damián," Isabella says. Her voice is barely a whisper. "Don't do this."

"Do what?" Damián asks.

"Don't keep holding on to me," Isabella says. "Don't make this harder than it already is. You need to let me go completely."

"I can't," Damián says simply. "And you know I can't. Because you can't let me go either. Because what we have doesn't just disappear because you ran away."

"It has to," Isabella says. Her voice is breaking. "It has to disappear because I can't be with you. Because I can't accept what you do. Because love isn't enough."

"Isn't it?" Damián asks. There's something in his voice that sounds almost like curiosity. "Because from where I'm standing, love seems to be the only thing that matters. You left me because you love me too much to watch me torture Ghost. You gave evidence to the DEA because you love your country more than you love me. Everything you've done has been driven by love."

Isabella realizes he knows. He knows she's been in contact with the DEA. Knows she's been providing information. Knows everything.

"The DEA has arranged a meeting," Damián continues. "They want you to convince me to surrender. They think if I see you, if I hear your voice, I'll agree to cooperate with them."

Isabella's chest is tight.

"They're wrong," Damián says. "But I'm going to meet with you anyway. Because I want to see you. Because I want to hear your voice in person instead of through a phone. Because some part of me still believes that we can figure this out."

"We can't," Isabella says. The words are tearing her apart as she says them. "We can't figure this out. There's no solution where we both get what we need."

"There might be," Damián says. "But you're not going to know unless you meet with me. So tomorrow night, you're going to get in a car. You're going to drive to the location the DEA gives you. And you're going to sit across from me and listen to what I have to say."

"And if I don't?" Isabella asks.

"Then I disappear," Damián says. "I take my organization and I disappear. I move to a country where the DEA can't touch me. I take Ghost and my operation and everything I've built and I vanish. And you never see me again."

Isabella realizes what he's doing. He's giving her a choice. He's making her understand that even though he could hunt her, even though he could find her, he's choosing to give her agency. He's choosing to let her decide what happens next.

"There's something else you should know," Damián says. His voice is serious now. Carrying weight.

"What?" Isabella asks.

"Ghost is dead," Damián says flatly. "He died three days ago from infection. He suffered completely. I made sure of that. And when he died, I buried him somewhere the DEA will never find him. I destroyed the evidence of his torture. And I'm going to tell the DEA that he's missing and presumed to have fled the country."

Isabella's breath catches.

"That means they have no body," Damián continues. "They have no physical evidence. They have no proof that Ghost ever existed in my organization. They have only your testimony. And your testimony will be worth nothing because you're compromised. Because you're in love with me. Because a good defense attorney will tear apart everything you say on the stand."

He pauses.

"So when you come to meet me tomorrow," Damián says, "understand that you have more power than you realize. Understand that the DEA needs you more than I do. Understand that you could actually change everything if you wanted to."

"What are you asking me to do?" Isabella whispers.

"I'm not asking you to do anything," Damián says. "I'm just asking you to come. I'm asking you to sit with me for one hour and talk. And then you can go back to your federal handlers and tell them whatever you want. Or you can walk away and disappear completely. The choice is entirely yours."

The line goes quiet except for the sound of breathing.

"I love you," Damián says finally. "I want you to know that. Not because I'm trying to manipulate you. Not because I'm trying to convince you to come back. Just because it's true. And I think you deserve to know it."

"Don't," Isabella says. Her voice is breaking completely. "Please don't tell me that."

"I'm telling you anyway," Damián says. "Because I have nothing left to lose. Because I've already lost you. Because saying it out loud is the only honest thing I can do at this point."

He hangs up without saying goodbye.

Isabella stands in the kitchen of the safe house holding the phone and feeling her entire world shift. She thought she was safe here. Thought she'd made her choice and could move forward. Thought she was leaving Damián behind.

But hearing his voice has changed everything. His words are echoing in her mind. His offer is sitting in her chest like a weight she can't move.

He's right. She does have more power than she realized. The DEA needs her testimony. Without it, they have almost nothing. The evidence she provided is circumstantial. Ghost is dead and buried. The raids have all been empty.

She's the only thing keeping the DEA's case together. Which means she has leverage. Which means she could walk away from this entire situation if she wanted to.

Lu appears in the doorway.

"Damián called," Isabella says. It's not a question.

"We know," Lu says. "We've been monitoring your phone. We heard the conversation."

"Then you know what he offered," Isabella says.

"Yes," Lu says. "And you're not considering it, right? You're still going to cooperate with the DEA tomorrow?"

Isabella doesn't answer immediately. She's thinking about everything Damián said. About the fact that he didn't hunt her down. About the fact that he's willing to let her go. About the fact that he loves her enough to give her a choice.

"What if I don't?" Isabella asks. "What if I go to the meeting tomorrow and I tell Damián to run? What if I help him disappear completely?"

"Then you're committing treason," Lu says flatly. "Then you're going to federal prison for the rest of your life."

"And if I cooperate with the DEA?"

"Then Damián goes to prison," Lu says. "And you're free."

Isabella realizes there's no winning scenario here. No matter what choice she makes, someone she loves is going to suffer.

"Tomorrow at 6 PM," Lu says. "You're meeting him at a warehouse near the border. Don't try anything stupid."

After Lu leaves, Isabella sits alone and realizes that Damián was right about one thing. This isn't over. Because she can't let him go. Because no matter what choice she makes tomorrow, a part of her will always belong to him.

And that terrifies her more than anything else.