His Merciless Redemption novel Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Isabella’s POV

The moment the door latched shut, my legs gave out.

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I slid to the floor, fingers tangled in my hair as the tears I had held back finally broke free. My breath came in ragged, uneven pulls, like my lungs had forgotten how to work.

I had stood strong in front of him, chin up, voice steady, heart locked behind armor.

But inside?

Inside I was shattering.

Because everything I thought I knew, every bit of planning, every safety measure, every escape route, was suddenly wrong.

I had believed the black car trailing us was Dominic’s men.

But what if it wasn’t?

What if he was telling the truth?

And worse, what if he wasn’t?

What if… what if… what if-

My mind spiraled, fear clawing away at every rational thought.

What if my running had put Mateo in the line of fire?

What if staying here, trying to build a life, had already painted a target on his tiny back?

I pressed my hands over my mouth to smother a sob.

I had sworn Mateo would never feel the terror I had once lived with every single day. That he would never grow up surrounded by violence and shadows and blood.

He deserved better.

He deserved safety.

But he also deserved a father.

My tears fell faster, leaving trails down my cheeks as the image of Dominic kneeling before our son replayed in my mind.

He had looked like a man struck by lightning.

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Chapter 16

Like he’d found something holy.

Like Mateo was the missing piece of his heart he didn’t know he’d been living without.

And God, that hurt.

Because I felt it too.

Mateo staring up at him, curious, and trusting.

Dominic staring back, awed, and undone.

That moment had been real. Too real.

Mateo needed a father. And Dominic wanted to be one.

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But wanting wasn’t enough. Not after everything. Not when his world was violence. Not when danger followed him like a shadow.

I dragged myself up, wiping my face as I moved towards the couch, where my bag still sat.

Luca and I had met with the private investigator earlier in the evening. We had told him everything about the car, the patterns, and the license plate.

He had promised answers within forty-eight hours.

Forty-eight hours.

That was all I had to cling to now. Proof. Truth. Something solid to build a decision on.

Until then, there was nothing to do but wait.

Wait, and hope that I hadn’t already made the wrong choice.

I leaned back against the couch, staring at the ceiling as the apartment finally fell quiet again.

How was I supposed to choose?

If Dominic was lying, staying would risk Mateo.

If Dominic was telling the truth, staying might already be risking Mateo.

Either way, I was paralyzed by the fear of losing him.

I closed my eyes and whispered into the dark, “Please… let me make the right choice.”,

For Mateo.

For both of us.

***

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Chapter 16

Dominic’s POV

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I stood in the hallway outside Isabella’s apartment long after the door closed.

For years, I had practiced control. The mask never slipped. Nothing got through.

But tonight?

Tonight, seeing my son for the first time, nothing in the world could’ve prepared me for that.

Mateo had looked at me like I was just a man. Not a monster. Not a boss. Not the sum of my sins.

Just someone new. Someone unknown. Someone who could still become something to him.

That tiny, sleepy “Hi” had nearly taken my

life.

I dragged a hand over my face, grounding myself.

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The Vitellis were watching. Waiting. Isabella and Mateo were vulnerable, even if they didn’t want to admit it.

That fear I had felt earlier, that sharp, cutting panic, was still lodged deep in my chest.

I had seen death in a thousand forms. But nothing compared to the terror of losing something before you even had the chance to hold it.

I pushed off the wall, pacing the empty corridor.

I had failed them once.

I wasn’t failing them again.

I would not allow Isabella’s distrust, well-earned as it was, to become their undoing.

I understood her fear. Her anger. Her belief that I was the most dangerous man in her world.

She wasn’t wrong.

But I could be more.

I would be more.

I stared at her door, a carved barrier between me and everything I wanted in this life.

Trust wouldn’t come easy.

Forgiveness even harder.

And love?

I didn’t dare hope for that again. Not from her. Not after the wreckage I had left behind.

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Chapter 16

But protection?

That I could promise.

That I could deliver.

I turned away, forcing myself down the hallway.

Giving her space was the first step. But distance didn’t mean surrender.

I would do whatever it took to get them back.

Even if that meant placing men at every exit.

Even if it meant putting myself in the way of every threat. Even if it meant tearing down the empire I built brick by bloody brick-

So be it.

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I stepped into the night air, the city lights painting gold across the cobblestones. The calm beauty of Florence felt like mockery, because war lived here now.

My war. My family.

I took out my phone, dialing without hesitation.

“We’re increasing security,” I told Eduardo. “I want surveillance doubled. Every blind spot covered. No one breathes near that apartment without my knowledge.”

“And you?” he asked.

I looked up at the sky, the same sky Mateo was sleeping under. For the first time, the stars felt like something I wanted to reach for instead of conquer.

“I’m going to prove to Isabella that I’m not her enemy anymore.”

Because for the first time in my life, someone else’s safety mattered more than my power.

More than my pride.

More than revenge.

I walked towards the waiting car, determination settling into my bones like steel.

“I lost them once,” I murmured, voice low and unshakable. “I will not lose them again.”

Tomorrow, she would give me her answer.

But no matter what it was, I wasn’t going anywhere.

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