CHAPTER 50: Dante's Shocker

CHAPTER 50: Dante's Shocker
Long after night had fallen around the estate with an ominous silence, Isabella stood alone at the far end of the east corridor, just outside the small sitting room that overlooked the gardens. There was very little light here, and she had chosen this spot carefully because it was far from Luca's study and the prying eyes of his guards.
Her phone rang again for the millionth time, and she swore horribly within her as she stared at Dante's name on the screen. She let it ring out once more, then lifted the phone to her ear.
“Are you insane?” she snapped the moment she answered, struggling to keep her voice down even though she was alone. “What part of don’t call me repeatedly did you not understand?”
Dante on the other hand didn’t even bother pretending to be calm.
“I’ve been calling you all day,” he snapped back at her. “Do you have any idea what that looks like?”
“What does it look like?” she shot back. “What it only looks like from my end is you trying to get me killed.”
Dante seemed to relax a bit again. “I'm really sorry, Bella, but you're not giving me much choice here. You ignore me for days and send no feedback, how exactly am I supposed to know when you’re in a… compromising situation?”
“That’s the point,” she said coldly. “You’re not supposed to know. You’re not supposed to be involved at all unless I reach out first.”
“But you don’t reach out!” he yelled. “You just disappear for days until I call.”
Her fingers squeezed tighter around the phone as she muttered back into it. “Because I have to. Because I’m surrounded by people who would slit my throat if they even suspected anything fishy.”
There was a thick and volatile silence, then Dante's time changed completely, with the rage disappearing as quickly as it had come.
“…I shouldn’t have yelled,” he said. “That wasn’t fair.”
Isabella closed her eyes briefly, exhausted by the fact that it always came to this in the end. “Why are you calling, Dante?”
There was another pause. A longer one this time.
“I’m in New York.”
The entire world suddenly seemed to spin dramatically around Isabella. Her heartbeat suddenly spiked, pounding painfully against her chest.
“You’re what?”
“In New York,” he repeated as calmly as if he hadn't just dropped a news that was bound to throw her life into chaos.
“Why would you come here?” she asked, trying to make sense of the whole thing. Was he really that desperate to police her?
“I have business to conduct,” he replied with an amused chuckle.
“What kind of business?” she demanded, not wanting to let it go despite having no idea what she was doing.
“It’s a private business that shouldn't bother you, Isabella,” he said softly. “Unless you’re no longer sticking to the plan.”
“Don’t you dare question my loyalty,” she hissed as anger boiled in her, but then again guilt quietly mocked her inside her soul.
“I wouldn't be questioning anything if you didn't give me reason to,” Dante replied coolly. “If everything is going as it should, then my presence shouldn’t bother you in any way.”
Isabella let out a sigh of frustration as she paced around the room. “You have no idea where I am or who I’m dealing with, do you?”
“I know exactly who you’re dealing with,” he said. “And Luca Moretti is not a man who tolerates uncertainty.”
Hearing him mention Luca's name like that seemed to strike at something in her heart, but she pushed it down and sighed.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she said firmly. “This wasn’t part of the arrangement.”
“Arrangements can be adjusted at any time, my dear,” Dante countered. “People evolve.”
Isabella paused in her movements. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t start implying things you don’t understand.”
A humorless laugh followed from Dante. “I understand hesitation when I hear it.”
“I’m not hesitating,” she snapped. “I know exactly why I’m here.”
“Good,” he said. “Then you’ll find a way for us to meet.”
Her stomach dropped at what she thought was a ridiculous and inconsiderate request. “That’s not happening, Dante.”
“Oh it's happening, my dear,” he said with a wicked chuckle. “You will find a way to make it happen.”
She stopped pacing. “I’m not free, Dante. I’m always being watched constantly.”
“You’ve always been resourceful, haven't you? Now would be a pretty good time to put that resourcefulness to good use.”
Her voice hardened in irritation. “I said no.”
There was another pause, a very short one before he lowered his voice and spoke with a cold and sinister edge attached to it.
“If you don’t find a way for us to meet and restrategize,” he said quietly, “I will do it myself.”
Isabella felt chills spreading over her body. “Is that a threat?”
“It’s a contingency,” he replied softly. “One I’d rather not use if I can help it.”
Her chest felt tight and her breath became shallow. If Dante acted recklessly, he could expose everything before she figured out what she wanted…her presence, her purpose, her duplicity.
“Fine,” she said coldly. “I’ll figure something out, but you have to let me work it out on my own.”
“Good,” he replied, with satisfaction evident in his tone. “Call me when you do.”
She ended the call abruptly without response and sighed in relief.  For several minutes, she couldn't move. She simply stood there with the phone in her hand, while her brain worked furiously to try and make sense of the situation. Dante being in New York could change everything she had been doing because it was a variable she hadn’t prepared for…one that threatened to collapse the careful balance she had been maintaining, or pretending to maintain.
She turned toward the doorway to head to her room and then suddenly stopped cold.
Riccardo stood a few feet away, partially hidden by shadow, while his posture was relaxed. But his eyes…those eyes were sharp and assessing.
“So we finally came around to taking that call?” He asked with a wicked grin.
Isabella's heart almost exploded with fear, but she decided to put on a bold front. “You shouldn’t be listening to private conversations.”
“You shouldn’t be having them at all,” he said evenly.
They stared at each other for a while, each daring the other to make the first move or give something away.
“Who was that?” Riccardo asked.
“None of your fucking business,” she shot back coldly.
A slow, knowing smile formed on his lips. “He sounded very concerned about you.”
She stepped closer, refusing to retreat. “You didn’t hear what you think you heard.”
“I heard New York,” he said. “I heard threats. And I heard Luca’s name.”
She remained silent.
Riccardo’s smile became bolder.  “Careful now, Isabella. Luca may be fond of you now, but I doubt he'll be very considerate when it has to do with treachery.”
“What treachery?” A deep voice suddenly answered behind them.