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
ISABELLA POV A scream erupts in my throat when my father's body comes into view, beaten and bruised, after my birthday party this is not how I expected my birthday to end. My instincts screamed at me as I approached the house, screaming at the driver to call the emergency service, my trembling fingers pulled him closer to me wondering what I would tell the rest of the family as he barely took shallow breaths. The hospital room becomes a blur of fear and anxiety, my mother running into the hospital from her closed boutique store, tears running down her eyes as she moved to his side without question, A love I’ve always admired and wanted for myself “Isabella, your father wants to see you” My mom walks towards me pulling me into the hospital room, my father's weak eyes meet mine. “My Bella” he mutters his eyes filled with love and concern. “Papa” I cry moving to his side as he pulled me closer, coughing slightly but his eyes held worry, a secret he had been keeping from me for years
ISABELLA POV I followed him up the stairs, determined to make him listen, “Look Mr DeLuca, please listen to me” I say firmly reaching the top of the stairs, my eyes meeting with a man wearing a suit. “I am in no way interested in being in some marriage with you” I focus my eyes on him as he grabs a file from the table. He pauses, turning to face me, his bright blue eyes meet with mine, and I feel a shiver down my spine, “Again Miss Isabella, you are only a deal, a means to an end” he says a smirk playing on his lips as he turned to me fully. “This is only an arranged marriage of convenience, not fairytale love, I wondered, the women in your class, did you think you were going to marry for love?” He raises a brow at me, walking forward as the light blinks on his full form. I ignore his condescending tone, “We want to spread the payments over three years” I say “Give us three years and we will pay you back in full” I gulp my eyes meeting with his as the room charges with tension. H
ISABELLA POV I quickly leave the penthouse and head back home, my mind racing with the thoughts of the proposal. The entire road home is a blur as I think through every detail of the deal. His money, his rules, the consequences of marrying a man I barely know especially with such a fear-induced reputation. What would our marriage be like? I shake my head, “At least he doesn’t plan to be a serial cheater” I mumble “Goodnight, ma’am,” the driver says as I exit the car. “Goodnight Rupert” I reply to him, my eyes coloring with my brother who is pacing the foyer. “Where is everyone?” He asks frowning, “Nobody was home when I got back, it’s been hours” he sighs coming to my side immediately. I sigh, not wanting to divulge the full details of what is happening as he is too young to get involved. “Dad is in the hospital. He had a small accident, he is fine, though, he will be discharged in a few days” I sum up my day, my face filled with tiredness. Matteo's expression changes from
Dominic POV “Isabella Mariano?” why her? Rafaelle pulls up next to me in the bar where I settled after my squabble with the Mariano girl at the penthouse. I shrug turning to him, “Why not her?, Her father owes me a shit ton of money, so she has no choice but to do only what I say” I take a gulp of my drink “And at least she won’t betray you” he smirks turning to me knowing he stroked a cord in me with that statement I mean what woman would betray the richest, most influential, and the number one bachelor in the country? My Ex Grace Rossi was a woman who could do that and possibly more, and she did it when I was about to propose “Chin up man, who knows? You might fall deeply in love with her?” He mocks “Yeah right” I snort, “I am never falling in love with any woman for the rest of my life, never again” I bit my lip downing the rest of the drink. “Finishing your drunk so fast? Work? Or Work? He raises his brows at me refreshing to the dangerous part of me, the mafia part of me”
Isabella POVIt is 7 pm by the time I’m finally done with work for the day, I remove my glasses, massaging the nape of my neck from bending over files for hours, I look around me and the entire office is empty and dark, the only illuminated room is my office, my phone ringing brings me out of my reverie.“Hey girl” Bianca’s happy voice fills my ears“Where are you? I came over to your house, and the only one here is Matteo, say hi to your sister Matteo” she says happily which comically is followed by a frustrated Hi from Matteo“You stress that boy a lot” I laugh into the phone“Oh he loves it, so where are you?” “did you immerse yourself in work and forget our plans for tonight madam CFO?” she giggles into the phone“Of course not,” I yawn, “I’ll be there in 30 minutes I’m on my way right about now,” I say while I’m packing up my bag, grabbing my lunch plate and water bottle and haphazardly throwing it into my bag.“Yeah I believe you” she laughs slightly, she probably knows I’m not
Isabella POV“Oh my gosh_ that’s Mr De-Luca” Bianca almost screams to herself.“Don’t act like a fan girl Bianca, he’s different from what you think” I reply sipping on the glass of wine“Oh my gosh,” her eyes turn from the flowers to me and then him again “Wait, what’s going on??” “Long story” I reply about to relay everything that has happened in the last 24 hours but I’m stopped by a strong smell of earthy perfume filtering into my nose, followed by black shoes stopping right in front of us.“Isabella,” he says, voice deep, enough to make any woman go crazy“De-Luca” I reply looking up at him“Baby girl, it’s Dominic, I told you this already” he smirks turning to Bianca leaving me a blushing mess“Dominic De-Luca” he stretches his hand forward, grabbing Bianca’s hand in a hold and placing a peck at the back of her palm. “Bianca Greco” she smiles widely, “And how do you know Isabella?” She questions looking between the both of us.He turns to me raising a brow at me, “Should I go
Isabella POVIn shock, I turn around to the deep voice my eyes meeting with Dominic again, but everything becomes blurry and I stumble falling forward but he grabs me in his arms on time.“Hmphh” he makes a sound grabbing me, he sees my legs are unstable on the floor and he carries me in his arms princess-style “Are you the Prince Charming coming to rescue me?” I say drunkenly to him, giggling to myself after the statement “Hmm,” he says, his chest vibrating“You have quite a wide chest you know” I mumble as a car comes to a stop in front of us “I do?” He replies fixing me into the car and following me inSoon the car comes to a stop and again I’m carried bridal style in his strong arms, he’s quick and efficient, I hear an elevator door ping and the rise and fall of the elevator which makes my eyes spin.I feel vomit come up in my throat “I think I’m about to puke,” I say drunkenly “What” he says watching the elevator door ping open, we enter the room and he places me on my feet.
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