His Ruthless Redemption (Isabella and Dominic) novel Chapter 17

Isabella’s POV

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I hadn’t even finished my first sip of coffee at the office when the knock came.

Sharp. Too urgent for a normal workday.

My heart stuttered.

I opened the door to my office, expecting Luca. Instead, it was the PI we had hired only yesterday.

“Ms. Bianchi,” the PI said, slightly breathless. “I need a moment.”

The investigation was supposed to take forty-eight hours.

It hadn’t even been fifteen.

“Did you find something?” I asked, stepping aside.

He didn’t wait for the door to close before he laid a folder on my desk, flipping it open with fingers that weren’t entirely steady.

“This is the registration on the vehicle that’s been following you,” he said. “And confirmation of ownership.”

At the top of the page, stamped in stark black letters, was a name I had hoped not to see.

Vitelli.

The world dropped out from under me.

My knees actually buckled, and I gripped the desk to keep from collapsing.

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“They’re a criminal syndicate,” he continued, unaware that the blood had drained from my body long before he spoke. “Very dangerous organization. If they’re trailing you, it’s not by accident.”

I swallowed hard, the sound scraping like glass.

“What do they want?” My voice barely existed.

“That’s what concerns me,” he admitted. “If they only wanted to observe, they’d be less obvious. You and your son need to be extremely cautious until-”

“I have to go,” I choked out.

I snatched my bag, ignoring the look he gave me as I fled. The hallway blurred, my pulse roaring in my ears.

Mateo.

I had left him at school like everything was fine.

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Chapter 17

…

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Like I wasn’t being hunted.

I sprinted across the street and down the block, nearly tripping over uneven cobblestones, for once thankful that the school I’d picked for Mateo wasn’t too far from my office. Pedestrians stared, but I kept running, lungs burning, heart slamming against my ribs.

When I burst into the school, Mateo’s teacher blinked at me in surprise.

“Is everything alright? He’s doing so well today—”

“I need him,” I gasped. “Right now. Please.”

Something in my expression must have terrified her, because she hurried to get him. Mateo ran out moments later, backpack bouncing, eyes bright.

“Mamma! Did you come to see my rocket again?”

I crushed him to me before he could take another breath. His tiny arms wrapped around my neck in confusion.

“We’re going home,” I whispered, voice raw.

“Okay…” he murmured, sensing the fear in me. “Is it another storm?” he asked, probably remembering the only other time I’d come to get him in a hurry like this when there had been forecast for a storm coming up in a few hours.

“Yes,” I lied, because the truth was so much worse.

When we reached our apartment, it was too quiet. Every creak made my nerves scream.

I paced the living room with Mateo glued to my side, holding a mug of untouched tea. I had texted Luca, begging him to hurry.

But even with him here, where was safety now?

I couldn’t run again. Not easily. Not without destroying everything Mateo knew.

Yet staying felt like sitting on a ticking bomb.

My phone buzzed. My entire body jolted.

It was an unknown Number.

“No,” I whispered.

I declined the call.

A second later-

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

21:44 Wed, Jan 14 d

Chapter 17

The intercom.

I froze.

…

“MammA?” Mateo asked, voice trembling slightly.

The buzzer sounded again.

And then-

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BOOM BOOM BOOM

Pounding on the door.

My breath nearly stopped.

“Isabella!” A voice snarled from the other side. Male. Loud. Not Dominic.

No, no, no.

“Open the door!”

I grabbed Mateo, dragging him back, my heartbeat pounding so violently I thought it might crack

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