His Ruthless Redemption (Isabella and Dominic) novel Chapter 27

Isabella’s POV

The movie had just ended when chaos shattered the illusion of safety.

A loud crash. Shouts. Footsteps thundering down the hall.

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The home theatre door slammed open as Marco and another guard burst inside, weapons raised.

“Get behind us!” one barked.

Dominic was already moving, pushing Mateo and me behind the reclining seats.

“What’s happening?” I whispered, heart in my throat.

He didn’t answer. His gun was already drawn.

“Stay down,” he breathed.

Then he was gone, disappearing into the hallway with lethal precision.

Gunshots rang out. Loud. Too loud.

Mateo buried his face into my chest, trembling.

“It’s okay,” I whispered, holding him tight even as my own body shook. “I’ve got you. I promise. I’ve got you.”

Minutes or hours later, I couldn’t tell, Dominic returned, jaw clenched, blood streaked across his temple that clearly wasn’t his.

He holstered his gun and moved to us quickly, crouching.

“You’re okay?” he rasped.

I managed a nod.

Mateo reached out to him instinctively, hugging him tight around the neck, whispering, “Don’t leave again.”

Dominic closed his eyes, the relief in his expression pulling at something deep within me.

“I won’t,” he murmured, and this time, it sounded like a vow carved in stone.

Our room was crawling with security when we were escorted back. Dominic sent everyone out and locked the door himself.

“Get him ready for bed,” he said quietly.

There was something in his voice when he spoke, like a decision already made.

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Chapter 28

I didn’t have the strength to decipher it.

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Mateo clung to me through his shower, through brushing his teeth, through the bedtime story that my voice could barely handle. I stroked his hair long after his breaths softened into sleep.

Dominic stood near the door the whole time, arms crossed, gaze fixed on us like he needed proof we were still real.

When I finally slipped out of Mateo’s tiny embrace, easing the blanket higher over his little shoulder, Dominic exhaled. Just once.

“Is he asleep?” he whispered.

“Yes,” I murmured.

We stepped into the adjoining sitting room, leaving the door cracked, just enough to hear if Mateo stirred.

And the moment it closed behind us, everything that had been suppressed erupted between us.

“What happened?” I demanded.

“The Vitellis tried to get in,” he said. “They didn’t get far.”

“That’s not reassuring.”

He shook his head. “They won’t stop now that they know the truth.”

“The truth?” I whispered. “Is it about Mateo? Who he is to you?”

His jaw clenched. “Yes.”

I grabbed his arm right enough to bruise, all my protective and motherly instincts coming to the surface at once as I looked at him. “So what do we do?”

His eyes shuttered, as if preparing for a blow. “We leave Florence.”

My heart dropped straight to my feet. Leave? Run away? Mateo was just a child. How could I just uproot his entire life like it’s nothing? I couldn’t do that. Wouldn’t. There has to be another way.

“No,” I said to Dominic.

“It’s the only way.”

“This is our life,” I choked out, shaking my head. “Mateo’s school. My work. Our home. You can’t expect us to abandon everything-”

“I can if it keeps you alive.”

His voice was like steel, hard and unmovable.

“And where do we go?” I demanded. “Some bunker where Mateo never sees the sun? He misses his friends.

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Chapter 28

His school. He cried today because he wants normal!”

“And I want him breathing!” Dominic snapped.

The room pulsed with raw fear.

We both froze.

Then he stepped closer, lowering his voice to something that shook.

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