Chapter two

Isabella POV

 “Drop off Matteo,” my dad tells me as we all walk out of the house, after all the birthday celebrations, crying my eyes out at all the presents I received, my dad buying me a pair of diamond earrings that I wanted so badly when we went on a trip to Paris earlier this year, my brother surprised me with a new pair of shoes for work and my mom being my mom and a fashion icon, got me a fresh custom made suit for my first day at work tomorrow.

 “But Daddy, I’m already late,” I frown, giving Matteo a dirty look, “he always finds a way to annoy me when I drive him to school”

 “Again why I can’t I get a car? I mean I’m old enough,” he grumbles running his hand through his hair.

 “My babies,” my mom responds pulling on our cheeks, “Siblings are meant to love each other and be there for each other, now drop him off, he has a test,” she says smiling at us.

 “And Isabella,” my dad says as his driver brings his car around, “I want to see you at the office later today, we need to go over some things,” he says a confused look on his face, worried about his expression I share a look with him but I know better than to act worried in front of my mom and my brother, if there's a problem a work, it stays at the office.

 I nod at him in acceptance and watch my parents enter the black SUV, “ come on loser,” I grab my keys, and enter my car, followed by Matteo, I drop him off and drive towards the saloon Bianca booked for us. 

 It takes a few minutes and I find a parking space, as soon as I’m out of the car I’m bombarded with the sight of Bee in a red mini-dress waving at me from the door of the saloon.

 I shake my head, moving towards her, as soon as I’m in close view she grabs me pulling me into a hug

 “Hey looser” “Happy birthday!! She screams again her camera in my face.

 “I hope you have nothing silly planned I roll my eyes at her” as we walk into the saloon.

 She chuckles to herself, a smirk on her face.

 We quickly finish with our hair, nails, and makeup and meet up with our other friends for brunch, and of course, Bee and her usual silly games buy us a cocktail in a gigantic glass shaped like a penis, she comes out with the waiters, balloons and, streamers in tow.

 “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU… HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU… HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR ISABELLA… HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU” The song is followed by her throwing confetti in the air.

 “I swear I will kill you one day”, I stand up hugging her, but of course, she knows how emotional I am as my eyes fill with tears.

 The afternoon is filled with us getting slightly tipsy and laughing at our jokes.

 “Did you hear?” Hannah one of our friends from my Harvard days pulls us into a conversation.

 “Hear what?” Bee asks ever so ready for good gossip.

 “I heard, Dominic DeLuca is back in the city after disappearing for months” she says hastily like she’s scared of anyone hearing us

 “Tragic,” Bee shakes her head in pity, “after canceling his wedding out of nowhere, that would have been the wedding of the century.”

 I frown, “who is Dominic?”

 “Shut up!!” Hannah says her tone dramatic, she looks around like she’s not meant to mention his name or he would appear out of thin air and spank her, “ He’s the heir of the DeLuca billion-dollar company Isa, how can you not know this?” She whispers eyes wide

 “I don’t listen to gossip” I shrug picking up the straw leading to the giant penis-shaped glass, taking a sip of the drink.

 “I heard he’s fine as hell,” Linda says, another friend of ours from high school.

 “I can't believe nobody knows what he looks like to date, just people who have met him one-on-one, with that much money in my bank account, I would be flaunting it and grabbing all the women I could” Bee giggles to herself.

 “Not everyone is as promiscuous as you,” I laugh, “why did he cancel the wedding anyway?” I ask picking on my food

 “No reason, no statement, the wedding cards were all withdrawn and he just disappeared” Hannah shrugs.

 We immediately dive into another topic, gossiping the rest of the afternoon away.

 Slightly drunk I call the driver to pick us up, and we drop off Bee at her house, “byeeeee!! I yell at her tipsy, I love you!! I say waving back at her.

 “I love you too!!” she replies waving me goodbye and entering her apartment complex.

 “Where to next mam?” the driver calls from the front seat.

 “The office” I say, but in my tipsy state I don’t think I can go, “No let's go home first” I reply to him my eyes looking out the window, New York is such a beautiful city, sky rise buildings, people from all sorts of background, art, and music at every turn, we head further into the city to Manhattan where we live.

 The car drives into the family compound and I frown when I catch my dad’s car parked haphazardly in front of the house.

 “Did Dad mention anything about coming home early?” I ask frowning at the sight, it looks like it was parked in a rush also.

 “No mam, he frowns also, Mr Rufus was meant to exchange with me though,” he says referring to my Dad’s driver, he parks the car behind my dad’s car.

 My eyes meet with a horrible sight, my father on the stairs leading to the door, choking on his blood, his eyes are swollen, his suit thorn in many places and covered in sand and mud, his body filled with open wounds, a scream erupts from my throat, my eyes filling with tears, my heart beat slows down and it feels like I’m about to pass out.

 “Call the Ambulance!!!” I scream, running to him, my purse falling to the floor, I hold his head in my lap, my eyes filled with tears to the brim, my heart pounds hard in my chest, and my view becomes blurry with more tears as I turn to him, “Daddy Daddy please wake up!!” I cry shaking his shoulders.

 “He’s alive, I hear the driver say into the phone, his fingers around his wrist checking his pulse, “please calm down mam”

 “Daddy!! who did this to you?” More tears drop from my eyes, I cuddle him in my lap, my once clean dress is covered with mud and blood

 “I’ll call Mr Rufus," the driver says to me trying to calm me down, but I’m still stuck in confusion, in heartache, 

 The ambulance makes it to us and they are fast, placing him in the ambulance a note falls from behind his suit, I pick up the paper following them into the ambulance “PAY UP YOUR DEBT”