Chapter 3 - The Footstep from the Shadows
Panic completely hijacked Isabella’s nervous system. If the Don ever saw that gold button, her luxurious life—and her actual life—would be over in a heartbeat.
"Where did you get that, you little rat?!" Isabella hissed, her voice dropping into a frantic, terrified whisper. She lunged forward, her white silk robe billowing behind her as she desperately reached out to snatch the gold button from the toddler's hand. She fully intended to strike the child and hide the evidence forever.
Rosa screamed, twisting her body to take the blow for her daughter.
But Isabella’s hand never made contact.
From the very top of the grand marble staircase, hidden entirely in the dim shadows of the second-floor landing, a figure moved.
There was no sudden shouting. No dramatic entrance. Just the echoing, terrifying sound of one slow, deliberate footstep on the stone.
The temperature in the vast corridor seemed to plummet to absolute zero. Isabella gasped, yanking her hand back as if she had just touched a hot stove. She looked up, her blue eyes wide with pure, unadulterated terror.
Standing at the top of the stairs was Don Moretti.
The tall, commanding mafia boss wore a sharp, tailored dark suit that perfectly contoured his muscular frame. His dark hair was impeccably styled, but his face was a mask of cold, lethal observation. He had been standing there in absolute silence, watching the entire horrific interaction unfold.
May you like
"No one touches her," Don Moretti said.
👉 The mafia boss's voice was deadly quiet, and his slow descent down the staircase was about to unravel a three-year-old lie.
