CHAPTER 101
CHAPTER 101
POV NOAH
I left the stadium practically running.
The sound of the crowd still echoed in my ears, distant now, as if it belonged to another world. Shouts, celebrations, my name being called… none of that mattered.
Nothing.
I ignored everything.
Teammates are calling out to me.
The coaching staff is trying to stop me.
Marketing people are asking for interviews.
Hands are trying to grab me.
I just walked past all of them.
As if they didn’t exist.
As if they were shadows.
Because there was only one thing on my mind.
Isabela.
My heart pounded hard, unevenly, as I crossed the parking lot, barely able to see where I was going. My hands trembled as I pulled my phone from my pocket.
I called.
It rang.
It rang.
It rang.
Nothing.
I hung up.
Called again.
The phone pressed to my ear felt heavier with every second.
It rang.
It rang.
Nothing.
My chest tightened.
“Answer… answer, Isa…” I murmured, running a hand over my face.
I called again.
And again.
And again.
Time started to lose meaning.
Five times.
Ten.
Fifteen.
Twenty.
Each unanswered call felt like a punch straight to the stomach.
“Fuck…” I ran my hands through my hair, pacing back and forth in the middle of the parking lot.
My breathing was already uneven.
Fast.
Heavy.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
That feeling wasn’t just worry.
It was fear.
Real fear.
I looked at my phone screen.
No response.
Nothing.
My jaw clenched.
The photos.
The headlines.
The scandal.
That hadn’t been an accident.
It hadn’t been a coincidence.
Deep down…
I knew.
My father.
He had something to do with this shit.
And maybe…
Daniel too.
I felt the anger rise, hot, burning inside me.
But this wasn’t the moment.
Not now.
Right now, only one thing mattered.
Her.
I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself.
Got into the car.
Slammed the door.
Started the engine.
My hands were still shaking on the steering wheel.
I didn’t know where to go.
But then a name came to mind.
Alex.
I hit the gas.
The car responded immediately.
The streets blurred past me.
Traffic lights.
Cars.
People.
Everything smeared together.
My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out of my chest.
I reached the building in minutes that felt like hours.
I rang the intercom.
“It’s Noah… I’m here to see Alex.”
A few seconds.
“You’re authorized, sir.”
The gate opened.
I went in without waiting.
I parked however I could.
Got out of the car, already running.
The elevator took too long.
Or maybe it was just my anxiety.
Every second felt endless.
The doors finally opened.
I ran down the hallway.
Pressed the doorbell.
Once.
Twice.
Before the third time, the door opened.
Alex appeared.
The moment he saw me, he let out a heavy sigh.
Like he already knew.
Like he was expecting me.
“You saw it…” he said.
“Where is she?” I asked immediately.
My voice came out urgent.
Desperate.
“I’ve been trying to reach her… she’s not answering…” I continued, the words tripping over each other. “Do you know where she is?”
Alex slowly shook his head.
“No… I don’t.”
My stomach twisted.
“I called her…” he said. “As soon as I saw the news.”
I ran a hand over my face.
“And?”
“She answered…” he continued, looking at me with concern. “But… she was bad, man… really bad.”
My chest tightened painfully.
“You could hear the desperation in her voice…” he added. “She said she needed to go… and hung up.”
I closed my eyes for a second.
Fuck.
“And you haven’t talked to her since?”
“No.”
Silence fell between us.
Heavy.
Suffocating.
“Knowing Isabela…” Alex continued, quieter now, “She must be destroyed.”
I knew.
Of course, I knew.
That only made everything worse.
I grabbed my phone again.
Called.
It rang.
Nothing.
Called again.
Nothing.
One more time.
Nothing.
My hands were sweating.
Shaking.
My heart is racing faster and faster.
Something was wrong.
I could feel it.
I called again.
Once.
Twice.
Three.
Four.
Five times in a row.
And then…
The call was answered.
My heart shot up.
“Isa?” I said immediately.
Silence.
I frowned.
“Isa?”
Nothing.
But there was sound.
Noise.
Voices.
Distant.
Confused.
My whole body tensed.
“Isa?!” My voice came out louder.
More voices.
Footsteps.
And then…
A sound that made my blood run cold.
A siren.
My breathing faltered.
“Isa, talk to me!”
And then…
A male voice.
Unknown.
“Hello?”
My heart stopped.
“Who is this?” I asked, feeling panic take over.
“Sir… I’m a paramedic.”
The world seemed to tilt.
Like everything had fallen out of place.
“A paramedic?” My voice came out weak.
Distant.
“The owner of this phone was just in an accident…”
My heart stopped completely.
“What?!”
The air disappeared.
Just… disappeared.
“We’re transferring her now to São Gabriel Hospital.”
My mind collapsed.
“Is she… is she okay?” I asked, barely able to speak.
There was a brief silence.
And that was worse than any answer.
“She’s unconscious, sir… but she’s being treated.”
Unconscious.
The word echoed.
Repeated.
Carved itself into my mind.
My whole body went cold.
No reaction.
No ground beneath me.
“I… I’m coming…” I said automatically, already hanging up without waiting for anything else.
I slowly lowered the phone.
Looked at Alex.
My voice came out almost inaudible.
“She was in an accident…”
His eyes widened.
“What?!”
“They’re taking her to São Gabriel Hospital…”
For a second, he froze.
But then he reacted.
Grabbed the keys from the table.
“Let’s go.”
We ran out.
The elevator felt even slower now.
The silence between us was heavy.
Dense.
Unbearable.
My heart was pounding so hard it hurt.
We got into the car.
Alex took the wheel.
He floored it.
The tires screeched.
I brought my hands to my face.
Tried to breathe.
But the air wouldn’t come in right.
My head was spinning.
She was alone.
Hurt.
Unconscious.
And I wasn’t there.
I closed my eyes for a second.
Trying to push away the images.
Trying to stop the worst thoughts.
But I could only think of one thing.
What if I was too late?
My chest tightened painfully.
“Hold on… Isa…” I murmured, my voice low, almost a prayer.
Because in that moment…
It was the only thing that mattered.
She had to be okay.