His Ruthless Redemption (Isabella and Dominic) novel Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Dominic’s POV

(49

My penthouse office was silent except for the steady tick of the clock and the soft rustle of paper as Eduardo set a thin folder on my desk.

“That’s all we could pull in forty-eight hours,” Eduardo said, his tone careful. “She covered her tracks well.”

I leaned back in my chair, fingers steepled, jaw tight enough to ache.

Of course she did.

Isabella had always been clever, but the woman who had sat across from me in that boardroom had been something else entirely. She had been self-contained, composed, and untouchable in a way that set my teeth on edge.

“Start from the beginning,” I ordered.

Eduardo opened the file. “New identity registered five years ago under Isabella Bianchi. Moved to Florence almost immediately. Worked her way into Carvelli Designs where she started low, promoted fast. Director- level now. Well-liked, respected. No record of financial issues or connections to our rivals. Clean.”

“Too clean,” I muttered.

Eduardo hesitated, flipping to the next page.

“There’s one thing.”

My gaze snapped up.

“A boy. Five years old. Mateo Bianchi. No father listed.”

So, there was a child.

Mateo. That was my father’s middle name. It hit me like a blow to the chest that I didn’t let show. I kept my voice even, icy. “Blood?”

“Not yet confirmed.”

I closed the file slowly, fingers tightening around the edges until the paper crumpled.

She left me. She lied. And she raised a child, all on her own.

The thought pinched me like a persistent annoying splinter I couldn’t get rid of.

“I want everything on this kid and her,” I said flatly. “DNA, school records, neighbors, colleagues. Who babysits him. Who she trusts. How she pays her bills. Who she talks to when she’s upset. I want to know her life down to the brand of coffee she drinks.”

21:43 Wed, Jan 14

Chapter 10

Eduardo gave a short nod but didn’t move.

“And Eduardo,” I added, my voice quiet but dangerous, “no one breathes a word of this outside the family. Not even Alessia.”

49

Once Eduardo left, I stood and crossed to the floor-to-ceiling windows, staring at the skyline glittering below.

I’d buried her years ago, literally and figuratively. I had mourned her, cursed her, blamed myself and the world in equal measure. And now she was alive, thriving, and looking at me like a stranger.

What else don’t I know?

I rested my hands on the glass and forced myself to breathe.

The problem wasn’t just that Isabella had returned.

It was that she hadn’t come back to me.

I wanted her back.

She was always mine.

I had to talk to her.

I quickly went to my laptop and sent her an email.

***

Isabella’s POV

I woke to the faint vibration of my phone. A new email. A new meeting request.

I glanced at the sender and froze.

Dominic Russo – Requesting private discussion. Time – To be confirmed.

My fingers hovered over the screen. My sanctuary suddenly felt paper-thin.

I stared at the email until the letters blurred. My first instinct was to delete it, pretend it had never arrived. But I knew better. Dominic didn’t send messages like this unless he was already certain he’d get an answer.

My phone buzzed again, this time with a cheerful reminder from Mateo’s school about an upcoming field trip. The two notifications sat side by side, starkly contrasting. One represented everything I’d fought to build. The other, everything I’d fought to escape.

I placed my phone aside.

“Mamma?”

Mateo appeared in the doorway, dragging his toy lion behind him. His curls were mussed from sleep, and his big brown eyes blinked owlishly at me.

21:43 Wed, Jan 14

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