His Ruthless Redemption (Isabella and Dominic) novel Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Isabella’s POV

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Mateo came running into the living room, clutching a paper with excited energy vibrating through him.

“Mommy! Look! I made a rocket!”

The drawing was crooked and colorful and perfect, a sharp reminder of why I was enduring all of this.

“It’s amazing,” I said, smiling because he needed me to smile.

“I want to show it to Dominic. I know he will love it!” Mateo said eagerly before grabbing my hand and pulling with all the strength his five year old body could muster. “Come with me! Come!”

I let him drag me down the hall, past the framed portraits of a family I barely knew, and towards Dominic’s study door.

But before Mateo could knock, Dominic’s voice filtered through the wood, low, controlled, and laced with

tension.

“We knew the Vitellis were the strongest in Florence,” he said. “It’s their home base. They have numbers, resources, allies, everything in their favor there.”

Alessia responded, calm and businesslike. “We planned for that. We came to Florence ready to attack. To eliminate them.”

“Yes,” Dominic agreed. “But when they found out about Isabella and the child, everything changed.”

My chest tightened.

“I couldn’t risk anything happening to them,” Dominic murmured. “Not with the Vitellis on their own territory. Every step I took became defensive instead of offensive.”

Alessia exhaled sharply. “You didn’t have the manpower to protect them and attack at the same time.”

“No,” Dominic said. “Not in Florence. Not when they held all the advantages and now had leverage.”

Leverage. Me. Mateo.

“So moving them was necessary,” she said. “Now that they’re here safe, you can put everything back on

offense.”

“Yes,” Dominic said, firm. “Now we can finish what we went to do there in the first place.”

I froze.

My blood ran cold.

We weren’t here because he wanted us here. We were here because we were liabilities.

19:09 Thu, Jan 15

Chapter 32

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Mateo, unaware of the hurricane twisting inside me, pushed the door open cheerfully. “Dominic! Look what I made!”

Dominic turned, startled, and Alessia’s smile appeared instantly, false and sweet.

“Oh Mateo, what a wonderful rocket!” she chimed, but she was looking at Dominic, not Mateo.

Dominic’s attention shifted fully to his son, regret and relief mixing in his expression.

“It’s incredible,” he said softly, taking the paper with careful fingers. “You did all of this?”

Mateo puffed out his chest proudly. “Yes! All on my own!”

Dominic gave Alessia a look, as if telling her silently that they would continue their talk later.

Alessia’s gaze flickered between us, sensing the shift, then she offered a syrupy smile.

“I’ll let you guys talk,” she said, voice dripping faux innocence. “Dominic, we’ll continue going over the plan later.”

She turned towards me with a tiny smirk, and glided out.

“And I made planets too!” Mateo exclaimed, barely paying attention to Alessia as she left. “But they’re in the other book. I’ll go get it!”

Before either of us could stop him, he dashed out of the room with a happy squeal.

The door swung shut behind him.

Silence pressed like a weight.

Dominic looked at me, mouth parting to speak, but I beat him to it.

“So that’s what this is,” I said, voice brittle.

He blinked. “What?”

“Us being here,” I clarified sharply. “This house. This city.”

Confusion creased his brows, until realization dawned on him.

“You heard,” he murmured.

“Yes,” I snapped. “I heard everything.”

He took a cautious step towards me. “Isabella-”

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