His Ruthless Redemption (Isabella and Dominic) novel Chapter 253

Chapter 253

Chapter 253

Isabella’s POV

The warehouse disappeared behind us in the rearview mirror.

For several long seconds, trone of us spoke.

I sat in the back seat with Mateo’s head resting peacefully against my shoulder, one arm wrapped securely around him as though I never intended to let him go again.

That was when I noticed the woman sitting in the passenger seat next to Dominic. Dominic had told me Caterina was coming with us, but she didn’t seem like her either.

“Caterina?”

She turned around at once, the oversized sunglasses nearly slipped down her nose. Above them was a blonde wig that looked surprisingly convincing, though not enough to disguise the warmth in her familiar smile.

“Oh, tesoro,” She reached over the seat and cupped my cheek. “You’re alright.”

The relief in her voice made my own eyes sting.

“I was so frightened.”

I leaned forward awkwardly and hugged her as best I could around Mateo. “We’re okay.”

She held me for a moment before gently kissing my forehead. “My brave girl.”

When we pulled apart, I looked between her sunglasses and the pale blonde hair framing her face. “I have to admit, the look suits you.”

She laughed, loud and genuine. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

Dominic chuckled quietly from the driver’s seat. “Mama has been criticizing it ever since she saw it.”

“It makes me look ten years older.”

“It makes you look impossible to recognize.”

She huffed dramatically. “I preferred your first suggestion.”

“The purple wig?” Dominic asked.

She groaned. “Absolutely not.”

Despite everything, I laughed. It felt strange, almost unfamiliar.

Then I looked back at Dominic. “So,” I glanced between them. “Is someone finally going to tell me what’s happening

His expression softened. “I’ve been planning this for a long time/

My smile faded. “What do you

mean?”

He was quiet for several moments before answering. “You told me that you wanted out. Thinking about it, I realised I did.

“You did?”

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OR 111

11:12 Thu, Jul 23

Chapter 258

TJ

“Yes” The sincerity in his voice left no room for doubt. “I started preparing the same day

“Preparing how?”

“I couldn’t simply disappear overnight.” He shook his head. “There were responsibilities, people depending on me I needed someone capable of protecting those who had trusted me.

He smiled faintly.

“So I started preparing Eduardo.

Realization slowly dawned on me. “You’ve been training him to take over for you.”

He nodded. “Yes, I wanted the transition to be smooth. So no unnecessary blood would be spilled.”

I stared at him. All this time, even while we’d been arguing, while I’d been doubting whether we had a future, he had already been building one.

“For us?”

He glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “For us.”

Emotion tightened painfully in my throat.

“I didn’t know whether you’d ever forgive me.” His voice had become quieter now.

“I didn’t know whether you’d still want me beside you after everything was said and done. But….” He smiled sadly. “I wanted the choice to exist. So I prepared.”

My eyes filled before I could stop them. “You were already planning to leave.”

9

“I was,” he admitted. “I know it was selfish of me, but it was why I put that GPS tracker in your locket. It was so I could come find you once I’d figured out a way to leave all this behind.”

I shook my head, slowly taking his words in. I was actually so thankful that he had done that I wasn’t even mad about it. It was because of that locket he had been able to find us tonight. It was because of that locket he would’ve found us later. How could I be mad about it when I knew I would’ve accepted him in a heartbeat if he came to me after leaving the Mafia?

“When all of this happened tonight, Eduardo and I decided it was the perfect time, the perfect opportunity to stage all our deaths and disappear. So I had someone prepare fake identities for me and Caterina and got us tickets to New Zealand like you and Mateo. Caterina got all our documents and stuff ready and brought them here while I sorted things out with Alessia,” he explained.

For several long moments, I couldn’t speak. I simply watched him, taking his words in.

This impossible, infuriating, stubborn man.

The same man I’d spent weeks convincing myself I had to leave. Because I loved him too much to keep surviving the life around him.

He’d quietly been dismantling that very life, piece by piece.

“I don’t know whether I should kiss you…..” I murmured. “…or strangle you for not telling me that you were planning on leaving already

He laughed softly. “I was hoping for the first option.”

“I haven’t decided yet.

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23 GR

11:12 Thu, Jul 23 TJ

Chapter 253

“You’ll decide in my favour.”

We’ll see

Our eyes met briefly in the mirror, and for the first time in what felt like forever, neither of us looked away,

My fingers drifted unconsciously toward the necklace resting against my collarbone.

The little pendant.

Mateo’s smiling picture tucked safely inside.

I opened it gently.

“I suppose, I should be angry about the GPS tracker.”

“You probably should.”

“I should tell you how invasive that was.”

“I completely agree.”

“But…” He glanced at me again. “…if I’d told you beforehand, I would’ve had to explain everything. And until tonight, I hadn’t had a timeline to give you. I’d already asked a lot of you by waiting for me and such. I couldn’t have possibly asked you to wait more when the future was so uncertain, specially not after everything with….with Aspen.”

I sighed. I understood where he was coming from.

“Thank you,” I whispered. For saving us. For loving us enough to leave. For being thoughtful. For always trying to do his best by us. For everything.

His expression softened. “I’ll spend the rest of my life earning that.”

Caterina cleared her throat theatrically.

“As heartwarming as this conversation is,” She reached into the bag beside her. /We should probably all stop looking like ourselves and wear our disguises.”

“Oh.” I laughed. “Right.”

One by one, she handed us small cosmetic kits.

Auburn hair for me. A neatly trimmed beard for Dominic. Different glasses. Different clothes.

Nothing dramatic but just enough that, at a casual glance, we’d blend into the countless ordinary families travelling through airports every day.

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