His Merciless Redemption novel Chapter 136

Chapter 136

Isabella’s POV

Mateo groaned dramatically and buried his face into his pillow.

“No.”

“Yes,” I replied, pulling the curtains open just enough to let morning light spill in.

“Nooooo,” he repeated, louder this time, stretching the word as if it might magically cancel the school day.

I bit back a smile. “You enjoyed your birthday too much.”

He popped his head up. “Exactly! I’m still tired from fun.”

I sat on the edge of his bed. “That’s not how it works.”

“It should be,” he muttered.

!

He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. “Can’t I just stay home today? Just one day? We didn’t even finish playing with the rocket.”

“You know school is important,” I said gently. “And you know you have to go every day unless you’re sick.”

He sighed heavily.

“I’m sick,” he tried.

“Oh really? What hurts?”

He hesitated. “…my happiness.”

I laughed before I could stop myself.

“Nice try.”

He flopped dramatically again. “I just want one more day of birthday.”

“I know,” I said softly, brushing his hair back. “But that’s what makes it special. You can’t have birthdays every day.”

He peeked at me.

“You can play after school,” I added. “But we have to get ready quickly, or we’re going to be late.”

Reluctantly, he sat up.

“Fine,” he grumbled.

I helped him into his uniform while he complained under his breath about math homework and early mornings. But even sulking, he leaned into me without thinking. Let me fix his collar. Let me smooth his hair.

Downstairs, he was still a little storm cloud.

Caterina noticed immediately.

“Oh, what is this face?” she asked gently, setting down her teacup.

Mateo crossed his arms. “School.”

Caterina gasped theatrically. “Ah. The great tragedy of education.”

He almost smiled.

She beckoned him closer. “Come here.”

He walked over reluctantly, and she cupped his face.

“You know,” she said softly, “when Dominic was small, he tried to escape school by hiding in the olive trees.”

Mateo’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Dominic, entering the dining room at that exact moment, froze. “Mama.”

Caterina waved him off. “He thought we wouldn’t find him.”

ateo burst into laughter.

Dominic shook his head. “I was six.”

“And stubborn,” Caterina added sweetly.

Mateo’s mood visibly lifted.

“You will go to school,” Caterina continued gently. “You will learn. And then you will come home, and tell us all about it.”

Mateo nodded slowly.

Dominic crossed his arms. “Nonna is very persuasive.”

“She always has been,” I murmured.

Dominic leaned down towards Mateo. “So. No hiding in trees.”

Mateo grinned. “We don’t have olive trees.”

“Good,” Dominic replied solemnly.

The normalcy of it made something warm bloom inside my

chest again.

This. This was what I wanted for Mateo.

A house full of laughter.

Not tension.

Not fear.

Just life.

I glanced at Dominic. “Can you take him to school today?”

He looked surprised. “Of course.”

“I’m going with Alessia to her appointment.”

He nodded. “Alright.”

Mateo grabbed his plate of eggs and toast and began eating happily.

“Have a good day,” I said to them.

Dominic paused briefly, meeting my eyes.

“Text me,” he said quietly.

“I will.”

to go upstairs, I exhaled once.

as important.

If there was any chance to gather information about Alessia’s pregnancy, it would be at the doctor’s office. Nurses talked. Records existed. Slips happened.

And I would be watching everything carefully.

I climbed the stairs and knocked on Alessia’s door.

She opened it almost immediately.

She was already dressed in a soft cream sweater, her hair loose hair and her makeup light.

“Ready?” she asked, smiling faintly.

“Yes.”

She stepped out, closing the door behind her.

“You didn’t have to come,” she said as we began walking towards the staircase.

“I wanted to,” I replied evenly.

She studied me briefly. “You’ve been quite attentive lately.”

“I care about the baby,” I said.

That much was true.

One way or another, I cared about the truth.

We walked slowly towards the stairs.

“Dominic worries too much,” Alessia said lightly.

“He worries about responsibility,” I answered.

She hummed in agreement.

We reached the top of the staircase.

She placed one hand on the railing.

“Sometimes,” she continued softly, “I feel like I don’t deserve all this attention.”

I looked at her.

“That’s not your decision to make.”

She turned slightly to look at me, and in that small shift, something changed.

Her foot slipped.

Or missed.

It happened too fast.

Her body tilted backward.

“Alessia-!”

I lunged forward instinctively, grabbing for her arm.

For one split second, our fingers touched.

Then she fell.

The sound her fall made was sickening.

Her body tumbled down the staircase, hitting wood and railing in a blur of movement and fabric.

Time fractured.

She landed at the bottom with a thud.

The silence that followed for a moment was louder than anything I’d ever heard.

Then, crying.

Sharp. High. Pained.

I stood frozen at the top of the stairs, my heart hammering violently in

my

chest.

“Oh my

God.”

Blood.

There was blood.

It spread beneath her slowly, staining the floor.

My hands were shaking.

“I tried to grab you,” I whispered to no one.

Footsteps thundered from the hallway.

“Isabella?!”

Dominic’s voice.

He appeared seconds later, taking in the scene instantly.

Alessia on the floor. Crying. Bleeding.

Me standing above her.

Frozen. Shocked.

The world narrowed into that single, horrific image.

And Dominic ran towards Alessia.

“Alessia!”

The sound of panic in his voice made everything worse.

I couldn’t move.

Couldn’t breathe.

All I could see was red spreading across the marble.

And the terrible, sick realization that everything had just changed.