ISABELLA POV “Where to Mam?” The driver says to me as I slide into the car “The boutique,” I say first having an idea in mind, there is no way I will barge into the office and ask and he will immediately give it to me. There was a different look I needed to achieve. The car comes to a stop In front of the boutique but I find it closed. “Closed!! It is 10 am in the morning, how is mom keeping her boutique closed by this time?” I frown deeply worried. I slide back into the car instructing the driver to take me home as I still had a full batch of clothing from the last time I went shopping with Dominic’s card The car comes to a stop In front of the house, I don’t spot his cars, “Great he’s not in” I walk up the entrance but I’m surprised to find a figure there already. “Rafaelle?” I frown walking towards him, “What are you doing here?” I say but pull him into a half-hug “Well, it’s been a while since we hung out so I thought I could come see you and take you out” He smiles movi
ISABELLA POV “What?” I pause not turning around to listen to him. “Turn around,” he says his voice deep and smooth I turn around my eyes meeting with him, “I never really see you on some mornings recently but is this what you wear around and for your errands?” He raises a brow at me moving forward, his face filled in anticipation of hearing my answer I look down at my dress, nervously patting it down, “No, I had an outing with Bianca” I lie. There is no way he will know I did all of this for him. “I thought Bianca was in Dubai?” He says with a coy smile on his face. I don’t even know how he knows that but I don’t answer him, quickly turning around I push the doors open, walking out into the receptionists still gossiping about me and probably Grace's appearance here today at almost the same time. “Such coincidence” I shake my head heading back home. I quickly send Rachel the message and she decides she will tell me at the party then. I sigh looking down at the lump of work I h
ISABELLA POV “Bella!!” She says in surprise standing up, her lips quivering and the tears running down her face. “You are trembling, oh my gosh” I walk forward gripping her and seating her back down on the floor. I spot the piece of paper she was looking down at, I turn my head to her phone in her palm with a call ending immediately at the sound of the closeness of my voice. I sigh heavily looking at the test strip as she breaks down in my arms. “You are pregnant” I sigh shaking my head at her recklessness but I don’t say anything. “Rachel, you have to tell me what’s wrong okay?” I turn to her holding her upright, her teary eyes meeting with mine. She swallows sitting back down on the marble floors. Okay, this is happening, I take a seat along with her, grabbing a piece of towel to wipe her face. “What’s wrong Rachel?” I hold her chin wiping her face, the mascara staining the white towel. “I think-“ she hiccups “I think I am pregnant,” she says and the waterworks start again
ISABELLA POV “What.was.that?” Rachel asks with wide eyes “Bang!!” We hear another gunshot making us scramble to the corner in shock. “I have to lock the door,” I whisper turning to Rachel. “No No no, don’t go!!” She whispers and yells, I calm her down, turning back to the doors, I click the door quietly, my fingers trembling and sweat dripping down my back. “Urgh” I hear Rachel moan In pain, I turn back to her to find her now on her knees, vomiting her guts into the toilet bowl I rush towards her pulling her hair into my trembling fingers but I stop them trying not to show my fear around her. “Rachel, where is your phone?” I turn to her, “we need to call Dom,” I whisper, “We have to get to him immediately if we want to get out of this safely.” I heave a heavy sigh She pulls her hair up wiping her mouth with the back of her Palm, her eyes widen at the question In shock. “It’s in the bathroom Bella,” she says her voice trembling and her lips quivering in fear, her eyes immedi
ISABELLA POV “Sir?” A deep voice filled with worry calls from the open door, a piece of envelope in his grasp “I think they came for Mrs De-Luca Sir,” he says with a frown “We will discuss this later,” Dominic says through his teeth turning around to the man and grabbing the envelope “Are you all okay??” We hear a loud screech “Francesca,” I say my eyes meeting with hers. I don’t expect her to thank me for calling Dominic and saving our lives. So when she runs towards Rachel only making sure she’s alright I don’t mind. “Did you receive a letter before this Bella!!” Dominic turns to me, his nose flaring and eyes narrowed at me in anger. My mouth dries up, the answer hangs in my throat “Well say something? You ruined Rachel’s party and now you suddenly can’t speak!!” Francesca goes off behind me. “She actually saved us” Rachel mumbles but under her older sister’s gaze, she retreats into the shadow. “Can we talk about this when we get home?” I say quietly my eyes m
DOMINIC POVMy fingers tremble as I read over the letter again, my heart pumping in my chest, I bit my lip, gripping my glass of drink and throwing the hot liquid down my throat“Hey man, what was so urgent?” Rafaelle taps my back sliding into the bar seat next to me, “I mean it’s 2 am, this has to be good” he signals the bartender to also pass him a drink.I wince at the hotness of the drink, “This happened” I pass the letter to him, “She got threatened again” I shake my head, my eyes filled with panic.Again, being such a feared man, I never northerner about having a weakness before but since Isabella's entry into my life, this has been the most disturbing thing I have experienced.Yes, our family got threats when I was younger but they all stopped once my father left and I took over the gang, I bit my lip, my thighs shaking as Rafaelle reads over the letter with shock on his face.He laughs, sliding the letter to me, “You have to be joking right? This can’t be real!!” He exclaims g
DOMINIC POVMy feet hit the gravel floor, looking up at my mother’s house where my sisters reside too.I sigh heavily rethinking Rafaelle's words from before. He is right.The girls hate Isabella with all honesty, and my mother? Even worse, I spoke to them multiple times but there was nothing I could say to change their mind, they were all attached to Grace when we were together but I never told them the reason for our breakup.I wanted to keep the drama out of my life, and due to me not saying anything, they loved Grace till this date, even sometimes, I think they loved her more than me.I sigh, they were the only ones who would have the right amount of balls to go after me or Isabella, especially for such a petty reason.I push the door open, and the butler immediately comes to my side, the familiar scent of roses and cinnamon in the air, my mom’s favorites.I decided I would talk to my sisters first, if they admit it, I will simply tell them to stop threatening my wife, and all of
ISABELLA POV The morning sun blinds me immediately my eyes pull open, the main door cracks open and Thelma walks in with a tray in her hand. “Thelma” I mutter a slight frown on my face, my eyes move around the room not sensing Dominic, “Where is Dominic?” I ask as she walks to my bedside with the tea, “And when did you start serving me tea so early in the morning?” I frown at her Her smile is bright and wide, filled with a tease, “Mr Dominic told me about your condition, congratulations mam” she smiles widely, grabbing my feet and helping me into my slippers “Woah, is that why I’m getting all this special treatment?” I laugh, my eyes refusing to meet hers and conform to this lie Rachel and I have started. “Drink this, it will help with the morning sickness” She passes me the tea glass, the smell of ginger filtering into my nose. I thank her, drinking as much as I can and playing into the facade. “Do you know when Dominic will be back?” I frown I am sure he is still angry over
ISABELLA POV Their receding footstep fills my ears and immediately the door bangs close, my brain starts to crank with ideas on what to do. I struggle with the ropes around my wrist, tears staining my face as I try to scream, move anything but Francesca tied me tightly, enough to not allow me to escape. I pant trying to stand up from the fetal postion she tied me in, but with no such luck. I take a deep breath thinking this through, they said pirates boarded the ship which means they would want some sort of settlement, I could talk to them and convince them to take me in exchange Dominic would give them whatever they request. I sigh, I would rather take my chances with them than with Rafaelle. I look down at the ropes struggling against them once more, but nothing, I decide to jump to the door, if I can bang on it with my body, then they could hear me scream or hear me fall. I roll towards the direction of the door, the chair from earlier smacking me in the side causing pain bu
RAFAELLE POV “What?” I turn around to Francesca on the floor, that was all the money we had in the ship, if she gave them everything we would be forced to stop the ship in some city giving Dominic the opportunity to find us. “She doesn’t mean it,” I say shakily turning back to the head pirate “I mean it,” Francesca says her voice strong as she turns her eyes to the Pirate, her voice is cold and tempting, nobody would deny that huge amount of money. “No..No” I turn to the pirate, “She is clearly out of her mind in fear, don’t listen to her,” I say trying to convince them “You shut up!” He turns to me, the barrel of the gun hitting my arm as I stumble to the floor in pain. I frown gripping my hand tightly as he approaches her, looking down at her form, she no longer looks scared, instead, she looks like she has some plan up her sleeve “Now I know who the real boss is, not this pitiful idiot Gideon” he turns to me with a smirk My racing heart calms down at the name, of course,
RAFAELLE POV My feet hit hard on the ship floorboards, Francesca shutting the door right behind me as she follows me up with urgency. “What are we going to do Rafaelle?” She almost yells but turns down her voice at the sharp look I send her “Dammit, our plan will be ruined!!” She says again but this time with anger on her face “I will resolve this and remember you are here for one reason,” I say pausing and turning to her, my chest rises and falls, “You are here to provide as much money as you can, we need to be able to buy off these men if it comes to worse,” I say turning around She grips my arm, “You know I don’t have that much access, Dominic controls everything” she says her voice bitter “And I don’t get my trust fund till I’m married,” she says a deeper frown taking over her features “We’ll figure it out, I’m going to deal with this shit now,” I say pushing her to the side and walking past her. My heart jumps in my chest as I reach the docks, my eyes land on several men
Rafaelle POV I pause anger in my veins at what she just did, my fingers grip her neck, ready to choke her and leave a mark in the blindness of my anger She coughs, wincing at my grasp when a thick engine sound fills my ears and the once-moving ship stops. I frown releasing her my eyes moving around the room, why did we stop? “I will deal with you later!” I spit out my voice cold. My footsteps are heavy on the floorboards, I reach the door, deciding if I should leave Bella alone. I curse under my breath banging the door, “Hey!!” I scream at the top of my lungs, “What's going on? Why did we stop?!” I yell out into the hallway. I pause waiting for a reply but only silence follows. I turn my eyes to Bella on the chair sitting calmly with an air of defiance, I needed to break her soon to get her to do what we want for the plan but she was proofing stubborn with each passing day. I sigh, “Fuck!” I curse, my eyes darting back to Bella, I didn't want to leave her alone for ev
ISABELLA POVRafaelle walks into the room, his footsteps booming as he shuts the door behind him.His eyes find Francesca while I silently chew on my food; I somehow feel Rafaelle is much more dangerous than Francesca, and he shouldn't hear me pleading with Fran for help.His fingers land on my shoulder, sending a cold shiver down my back.I scarf down the food as much as the ropes can allow me.“Ah Fran, I can see you are enjoying the company; she is the only other female on the ship.” He shrugs, a wide, creepy smile on his face.Francessca turns to him, a sly smile on her face, “Just having a quick chat with Bella here; you know how much I enjoy torturing the brat.” She rolls her eyes, standing up.Annoyance fills me. “I am not some brat for you to torture,” I say, my eyes narrowed and voice filled with anger.She pauses, her sharp gaze meeting with mine, “How dare you!!” she yells moving forward as Rafaelle moved to the kitchen.“You are nothing but a bitch Fran, that's all I see,
ISABELLA POV“Here, freshen up before I come do it for you!” Rafaelle's voice booms across the hallway, pushing the door open and dragging me inside.I stand frozen in the bathroom, thinking he is about to do something to me; he smirks, his eyes burning with intensity.“I will see you in a few minutes. There's someone right outside the door watching, so you can't run, Bella,” he spits, rubbing his beard. “Unless you want your baby dying with you,” he smirks, knowing that's what he had over me.My pregnancy.I rub my belly, happy to have the restraints removed for the meantime. I look down at my wrist, red marks staining it from being tied up these past few days.Rafaelle spits on the floor like some rabid animal before heading outside, slamming the door shut.I wince at the sound, but my heart races as I scramble around the bathroom, trying to find a weapon or anything to help me defend myself.I slam the wooden cupboard open for anything, but only toiletries are littered around.“No.
ISABELLA POVI stand frozen watching the pair as their eyes meet with each other.They quickly turn back to my shocked face.“You have got to be kidding me; this has to be some sort of joke, right?” I raise a brow at them.“Francessca?” I call out her name faintly, trying to process what is happening.A sly grin spreads on her face. “You didn't expect it, did you?”“Francesca has been truly helpful in bringing Dominic down,” Rafaelle smirks next to her, placing his arms around her.Before I can respond, they both laugh loudly together, like old-time friends.“Ah Bella, don’t be surprised,” he says, his voice dripping with amusement and laughter.My heart races and my anger boils over, my eyes narrowed at the pair, “This can't be.” I shake my head, my voice heavy with emotions.“I know you hated me, Fran, but Dominic? He is your brother!!” I yell out, my voice laced with anger at her sudden betrayal. “Dominic has been weak since he met you; our mafia gang has been suffering under his
ISABELLA POVI gaze out through the port hole, still strapped to the bed when my stomach grumbles in pain.I sigh, “Don’t worry Baby, we will be fine” I rub my tummy my eyes meeting with the doorBang... It opens with a push, Rafaelle following through the doors.“Breakfast will be served outside, but only if you respect yourself,” he says softly, his eyes following mine “You have to do as I say. You can't run or escape. We are in the middle of the sea, so there is no escape,” he smirks, moving closer to the room.“I hate you, Rafaelle. No matter what you do, I can never pity you,” I spit, my voice filled with anger.He laughs, “You will learn to love me and live with me, we will be a happy family soon, I know it,” he says sitting on the bed, his fingers moving through the ropes slowly“You are delusional Rafaelle,” I say my voice cracking in pain.“Let us go, I will introduce you to my team, the people who made everything possible, hid me away, and made sure, you or that bastard Dom
ISABELLA POV My eyes turn to Rafaelle as he yells at Grace, “This is not the time for this Grace” he says his eyes wide “What do you mean? This was the plan, to torture her and kill her!!” she yells her eyes still blazing with anger “We can't go ahead with the plan,” he says his voice filled with urgency, “we have to leave here immediately” he turns around heading towards the boxes quickly filling them up with everything he bought “What do you mean?” she frowns, her eyes filled with concern as she watches him I laugh, my voice vibrating in the room as they both pause turning to me, “He caught you, he knows his best friend betrayed him” I continue as they watch me “And he is coming for you, he will kill you Rafaelle, he will hunt you, and you won't find any escape” I laugh deeply Grace's face scrunched in anger, fear, and anxiety on her features, “You have got to be kidding me, you can't be serious right now Rafaelle” She turns to him “Is this true? Is Dominic coming h