His Merciless Redemption novel Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Isabella’s POV

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The jet landed with a gentle jolt. My chest tightened as I listened to the pilot announce that we have landed in Sicily. I gazed out the window.

This was not Florence. Not my home.

This was Dominic’s childhood home.

A fortress disguised as paradise.

Mateo stirred beside me, his little fists rubbing his eyes as he blinked awake.

“Mommy, are we already at the vacation place?” he mumbled.

I forced a smile. “Yes, sweetheart. We just arrived.”

His joy, pure and uncomplicated, broke me a little.

Dominic stood near the exit, waiting. He didn’t push. Didn’t demand. Just waited.

As if one wrong word might make me shatter.

I rose slowly, took Mateo’s hand, and walked past Dominic without a word.

He followed behind us quietly, and carefully.

Outside, a convoy of black SUVs waited on the tarmac. Security everywhere.

“Wow,” Mateo breathed, staring at the rows of palm trees and the sprawling coastline visible in the distance. “It’s so sunny here!”

“Yes,” Dominic said gently. “Welcome to Sicily.”

Mateo smiled.

I didn’t.

The drive through winding coastal roads was beautiful in a way that made me hate it. How dare it look like a dream when all I felt was betrayal?

We turned through towering iron gates into an expansive estate surrounded by high walls and lush gardens. The house, if one could even call it that, was huge. With sun-washed stone, arched windows, vines trailing the balconies, it was clearly a well kept family home with a history and a heart.

The door burst open before we even reached it.

And Dominic’s mother came rushing out.

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Chapter 30

“Isabella?” she gasped, voice thick with disbelief. “Madonna mia….”

She pressed both hands over her mouth as tears sprang into her eyes.

Then she saw Mateo hiding shyly against my leg.

“Oh. Oh Dio…” she whispered, voice breaking into joy. “A grandchild. My grandchild.”

Mateo peeked up nervously.

Dominic knelt beside him. “Mateo, this is Nonna Caterina,” he said softly. “She’s

Mateo blinked. “Nonna?”

His little voice made Caterina sob outright.

my

mama.”

She knelt too, slowly, carefully, and opened her arms.

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“Can I hug you, angelo mio?”

Mateo hesitated, but then stepped into her embrace.

And she held him like every prayer she’d ever made had just come true.

I bit the inside of my cheek hard to keep the tears from spilling. Because Mateo deserved this. A grandmother. Love. Family.

Dominic watched them quietly, awe and pain tangled in his expression.

He had missed this. Missed everything.

Caterina finally looked up at us again, wiping at her eyes with a laugh.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” she said breathlessly. “I have missed you so much.”

“I missed you too,” Dominic said, hugging his mother tightly.

I stepped back, giving them space, a silent spectator to a moment that wasn’t mine.

When Caterina pulled away, her gaze landed on me, soft, open and welcoming.

“Welcome home, Isabella,” she said warmly.

Home.

The word hit me like a punch.

This wasn’t home, was it?

I managed a polite nod. “Thank you.”

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Chapter 30

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She opened her mouth to say more, but her eyes flickered with sorrow. “You heard about Salvatore?”

Confusion tugged at my brow, until realization crashed in.

Dominic’s father.

Dominic looked away, jaw tight. “She didn’t know.”

“I’m sorry,” Caterina murmured, voice gentle with grief. “He passed away two years ago.”

The world faltered for a second.

Dominic’s father was gone.

The man who had welcomed me when I had no one left. Who had been stern, but kind. Who had given me shelter when my life crumbled.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, meaning it with all I had.

Dominic’s jaw worked, but he said nothing.

A thousand unspoken regrets hung between us.

Inside, the house smelled like herbs and ocean breeze and fresh bread. The place was alive with warmth. It was clearly well lived-in and loved. It reminded of my apartment back in Florence. It was small, yes, but held the same kind of warmth.

Caterina insisted on preparing food despite it being late afternoon, bustling around with renewed purpose. Mateo was glued to her side, watching with fascination. He had clearly taken an instant liking to Caterina, which wasn’t too big of a surprise given her warm, motherly nature.

Seeing Mateo seemingly settled in, I walked over to the porch at the back overlooking the private beach, turquoise waves crashing against pale sand.

It was stunning.

But it also felt like a prison.

Dominic joined me quietly.

“They’ll take good care of you here,” he said, voice low. “Everything you need is here.”

I looked at him then. Maybe if he hadn’t forced us to come here, hadn’t practically kidnapped us against our will, I wouldn’t have minded staying here for a bit. It definitely felt more like home than the one back in New York had ever felt. But now, all I wanted was to go back to Florence.

“I needed Florence,” I said. “Not this.”

“You can work remotely,” he said. “We’ll arrange schooling here. He’ll have the beach. The gardens. My

mother-”

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Chapter 30

“Dominic, stop.” I faced him fully, “This isn’t a vacation. You kidnapped us.”

He closed his eyes like the word physically hurt him.

“I gave you safety,”

“You took my freedom.”

He met my gaze, raw and unguarded.

“I would rather take your freedom than lose your life.”

“That’s not your choice to make.”

“It is,” he insisted. “If it

means you

live.”

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I laughed but the sound was broken and bitter. “You’re so blinded by fear that you can’t tell the difference between protection and control.”

His voice was barely audible. “I can’t lose you again.”

“You already did,” I whispered.

The truth seemed to slice him open.

He looked like he might reach for me, but then stopped, hands curling into fists at his sides instead.

We stood there in silence, nothing but sea wind and fury between us.

Finally, he stepped back.

“You hate me now,” he said quietly.

I didn’t deny it.

“I’d rather you hate me alive,” he murmured, echoing his words from the plane.

He turned to leave, something defeated in every step.

But at the doorway, he paused.

“I’m giving you space,” he said. “Whatever you need. However long. Just stay safe. Here. Please.”

Then he walked away.

I leaned against the stone railing, gripping it hard until my fingers ached.

Inside, I heard Mateo’s laughter, sweet and bright, as Caterina told him some story animatedly. He was already falling in love with this place.

This family.

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Chapter 30

But me?

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I was trapped between two truths:

I couldn’t stay here.

And I couldn’t risk leaving.

Because if the Vitellis found us….

I closed my eyes, breathing the salty air like it might ground me.

I was furious. Terrified. Grieving a life I’d built with my bare hands.

But beneath it all, a softer ache lingered-I had wanted a family. For Mateo. Maybe even for me. And here they were. Except I wasn’t sure anymore if they were mine.

Or if we were theirs.

Later that night, after Mateo finally fell asleep in a new bed full of stuffed animals Caterina insisted on giving him, Dominic returned to check on us.

He stayed in the doorway, not daring to cross the threshold.

“Is he okay?” he whispered.

“Yes.”

“And you?” His voice hovered on hope, fragile and trembling.

I did not give him the comfort he wanted.

“I’m here,” I said simply.

He flinched, like the neutral words were knives. Good.

“Goodnight, Isabella,” he murmured, stepping back into shadows.

I shut the door quietly.

Then I leaned against it.

And for the first time since Florence, I let myself cry.

Silent tears. For freedom. For trust. For a love I wished I didn’t still feel.

Because the most terrifying part of all?

Even after everything he’d done, I wasn’t sure I wanted to leave.

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