Dominic ran through the dense forest for what seemed like hours. His throat was dry and his mouth was parched. The men in armored trucks were closing in on him. He took one last step, but his feet got caught in a trap and he went flying into a pit.He felt around him; he could feel hands and bodies pressed up against him. With the help of the moonlight, he squinted for a better view. The pit was full of dead bodies. A sea of faces with eyes that stared into space. Decaying flesh was all around him... And suddenly, all he could smell was death, so much death. "Oh god.Oh no.Oh god, no." "Help!" he screamed. "Somebody help me!" He could feel himself sinking deeper between the dead bodies. Just when he thought they would swallow him whole, someone called his name.Thank heavens help had come. "Dominic, wake up." Isabella shook him. With a start, Dominic opened his eyes and tried to focus on the source of the voice. When he saw Isabella on top of him, he jerked up and sat up straigh
_Isabella_It was 5 pm on the dot. And I waited patiently for Dominic to come fuming through the door any second now. I had refused to take any messages from his men and the little bag that the housekeeper had packed for me, still lay at the bottom of the stairs. Since the wedding, no one could handle me as they pleased. I looked through my clothes for the heaviest jersey I could find. If I was going to win the argument today, I needed to look the part. And I knew without a doubt that there was going to be an argument. Once I was done dressing up. I opened the bed covers and that's when I heard car tires screeching to a stop. How predictable. Dominic was probably angry with smoke coming out of his ears at the moment. But I couldn't sit and muse on that thought. I jumped into bed and ruffled my hair, then smothered it again with my hands. Within a few minutes, I heard his footsteps walking closer to my bedroom. He knocked once and opened my door. He scanned the room and then look
_Isabella_I woke up and checked the clock next to my bed. It was well after 7 am. I dragged myself out of bed, not that I had gotten any sleep the previous night. After the conversation I had with Dominic, I had spent hours tossing and turning.I wanted my freedom, that was for sure. But to have kids that I would never be able to raise? I would not go through that. It was wrong and inhumane.When I reached the breakfast table, Dominic was already sitting down, having his morning coffee and reading the paper."Morning," I said, and he looked up from his paper and gave me a once-over."You look well, not that there was anything wrong with you, to begin with," he said, looking back at his paper.In my frustration and worry about the contract, the fact that I had pretended to be sick yesterday had slipped my mind."I do feel well indeed. I told you I would be fine as soon as I had a warm shower and a good night's rest." I took the chair next to him, and he raised his eyebrows."Cut the c
_Isabella_Sorry, he was late, this man. Was that the only thing he was worried about given the state of affairs?"What do you mean, you've been shot? Were you hijacked?" I stood next to Dominic in disbelief.I was shocked but knew that in a situation like this, I needed to keep calm and not panic.He shifted on the couch with a groan."I can drive. Give me your keys and I'll take you to the emergency room," I offered."No hospitals. I want you to do it," he said, his face contorting in pain."Do what? You said so yourself, you've been shot. What is it that you think I can do?" I put my hand on my lips and shook my head.I noticed that his lips were not their usual rosy pink color.Oh my god. He was going to bleed himself to death."Dominic, you're bleeding all over the place. You can die if you don't get checked out.""Then you better start working." He lifted his arm and I took hold of it and tried to find where the blood was coming from.There was also blood on the front of his shir
_Dominic_I managed to change without bringing more pain to myself. When the doorbell rang, Joseph ushered Yuri in, and we went to my home office.No explanations were necessary because Joseph had put Yuri up to speed. The only question on everyone's mind was: "How do we stop this?" I voiced it out. "That's a tough one, given that we don't know who the enemy is here," Yuri said in his usual laid-back voice. "But I cannot let things as they are. It's clear that whoever this person is wants to see the Montego name wiped out."Yuri nodded and seemed to be in deep thought. "What is it?" barely containing my irritation. "There's been some talks recently." He said. It was visible from his features that he was fighting with himself on whether he should say whatever it was that he was thinking of or not. "I don't have all day to prompt you into talking.""Your marriage to that girl." He said simply. "What does this have to do with who I decide to make my wife.""She is not from one o
_Dominic_ The minute I walked into the lounge area, my mother pounced on me. "You look flushed, are you okay." My mother said. Looking stylish in her old age. You don't know half of it. But outwardly I said: "I'm fine mother, this is just not the best of times that's all." I sat down opposite her and looked around. "Where is your so-called wife?" her gaze looked in the direction of the stairs."She's upstairs," I said more sternly than I intended. "Do you see what you have done? Now the maid can not be bothered to come and greet me." she raised a hand. “Because I told her no to come down. Would you like something to drink, tea maybe?” I said trying to diffuse the situation I could sense was the fast approaching. "And like a little maid, she listened." I let her win this one. I didn't want to add that she was taking a nap after, well..."I cannot believe that you went ahead and married that girl. I had to see with my own eyes what a laughing stock you've turned this family int
_Dominic_The cool breeze from the crashing waves left gentle shivers on my skin as we stood at the docks, looking out into the clear blue distance.I knew it was too soon to be out in the open after what had happened. But I couldn't let whoever was responsible think that I was going to sit back and cower.Plus, this in itself was a message to the other families not to even try me.I was with Yuri and Vini. Vini was one of my trusted men. The only downside about him was that Vini had itchy fingers. He was quick to reach for his gun. If left to his own devices, he could create a bloody mess just because someone looked at him the wrong way.But in times like these, when Joseph was unable to come, he made for a good substitute. Besides, with the man I was meeting today, Vini's hothead was a perfect fit.I may have downplayed the whole shooting incident, but I knew that every step I took was crucial. Someone had it out for me. Hence, Joseph needed to keep an eye on Isabella.The fact that
Isabella. The door to my bedroom opened and closed with a bang.My heart sank. I already knew who it was, Dominic. Here to scream his unhappiness in my face. I washed my hands slower than I would normally have done, suddenly feeling drained by the confrontation I knew was coming. When I looked at my reflection in the mirror, even I knew I had taken the space cookies' situation too far. What if someone died? I sighed and closed the tap. In my defense. I so badly needed to go out. I needed to make money and fast. Maybe I should have tested the space cookies on Dominic first. Given how enormous the situation was, any excuse I came up with seemed childish. I walked into the bedroom, feeling sheepish and probably looked the part. As I braced myself for a lash-out at any minute. But nothing came. I looked up at Dominic, who was still standing by the door, holding his sho
_Isabella As Kate got dressed and modelled out of the room, I folded my arms and stared at Dominic. “What the hell is going on here?” I asked, we were both surprised at my tone. “It's nothing you should concern yourself about. There is nothing between me and her. I don't know how she got in here.” That was saying a lot for someone who seemed to know everything all the time. “You're right, you don't seem to know anything lately.” I blindly threw my weapon, and it seemed to land on its mark as he blinked twice before looking at me again. Maybe he had been right all along. Dominic was losing focus, and this was no place to raise kids. Everyone did as they pleased, any time. “The stress is unhealthy for the baby. You've had a long night and need some rest. IL sort this out.” He said as he recovered from his mini shock. Even though I didn't believe that he was thinking about the baby at that instant, I got worried as well. I felt my cheeks getting heated. I was embarras
_Isabella The mansion felt strange after my time in the cabin. Although I hadn't been there long, the tension between Dominic and me was palpable. After he picked us up from Nick's truck, he'd only asked if we were hurt before retreating to his study. I spent time with the chef, who made me a delicious steak that I devoured in seconds. If anyone noticed the tension between Dominic and me, they were too polite to mention it. "Don't mind him, he's under a lot of pressure," Joseph said from nowhere, tension must have been written all over my body, as he was speaking from behind me. "I know." there was no point in pretending that I hadn't been thinking about him. Embarrassed that I'd been caught, I got up from my chair and headed to the sink to put my plate. "You bring warmth to this place," Joseph said, He was leaning against the wall. "I thought I brought trouble," I replied, taking my sit to sip on my juice. I realized with a pang that my dietary needs had been changed; the ch
_Isabella Nick took a sharp left, switched off the pickups lights, and then we zigzagged into a country road, before coming to a stop behind an overgrown hedge. I looked behind us and our pursuers were nowhere to be seen. “How do you know they won’t find us here?” now that the adrenaline was wearing off, I felt numb and shaken. “Because not many people know about this off-ramp, it has saved me many times before.” There was a story there, but maybe later. He turned off the engine and opened his door. “Where are you going?” I asked, wanting some fresh air myself. “To take a leak, that was close.” He shut his door with a bang. I opened the passenger door and jumped out. The night was still, without a leaf rustling out of place, but the midnight air still stung. I wrapped my arms around myself and stood against the body of the pick-up. “The stars look more bright from here than anywhere else.” I said, enjoying the gulps of the fresh air, making the most of the gift that
_Dominic Once everyone had settled, the drinks started flowing and so did the conversation. Even Ludo's speaking volume had gone up another annoying inch higher. When a waiter surfaced from the back to take out orders, I could tell Ludo was well on his way from the slap he gave the young woman's behind. "As I was saying, Montego, the shipments of girls is increasing..." I fet my body tense up at the mention of the flesh business, but I made a mental note to keep my body relaxed."Which means more money for us." I said enthusiastically and took my glass to wash off the bad taste in my mouth. "Yes, it's more money." He said with a more sombre mood than I expected from him."Then why do you sound worried?" I asked and Ludo leaned back on his chair with a worried expression on his face. "The quality of girls has been dropping in recent months, it seems like someone has been taking a dip into our business." into his business he meant. I didn't want my name tainted with such."Mm..."
_Dominic Everything was set, and the chef was already at the back preparing the meal of the evening, but Ludo was nowhere to be seen. “Where is that fat bastard?” I asked Joseph, who shrugged in response. I was getting agitated with each passing second. “He will be here, calm down. Everything is ready to go.” He finally said when he noticed that I was blowing air like an angry bull. Plus, I hated the fact that he was calm, while I felt like a boiling kettle. “Stop checking your watch, it will not make the time to move any faster.” He said looking at my wristwatch, I hadn't even been aware that I was checking it. We were at the restaurant that Ludo had picked. It was empty because we had booked the entire place for the night. And now the idiot was running late. The bell on the door ding donged, to signal that someone had arrived. I fought the edge to turn my head and look, but once the door closed, I heard the sound of a women's shoes clicking against the floor. Now I had
_IsabellaNick's truck was as reliable as him. The pickup drove steadily out of the woods and towards the city.Although I watched the woods slowly fade away and the scenery change into a flat road that stretched on for miles, my mind was a few miles ahead of us, playing different scenes of what sort of outcome was going to come out from the trip. Nick kept on stealing glances in my direction, and I was very much aware of his glances, but I kept quiet. In the short while that I had known him, I knew he wanted to say something, maybe ask about the money. So I thought I would make it easier on him.“You must be wondering where I got all that money?” I said, my voice feeling croaky. “No.” he answered softly. I sat up straighter and looked at him. “What do you mean, no, I've seen the way you have been looking at me since we left the cabin.”“I'm worried about you, Isabella.” He said, looking at me before focusing on the road again. “Why?” I asked, and as soon as the words left my mo
_Isabella After Dominic and his entourage left the cabin. I prepared Cesare for his bath and sat In the lounge long after he had gone to bed. I still hadn't said anything to Dominic about Nick. And I was starting to worry that I should have said something. The way he ran out when he saw that I had a visitor was suspicious. I went into the bed and opened the only closet in the room. The bag of money was still where I had left it. If someone knew about the money…if the wrong person knew, I would be in deep trouble. Was Nick the wrong person? What if he was an investigator who knew about Dominic's extra activities on the side? I was getting tired of the uncertainties, I was going to get answers. I pulled the closest sweater and looked around the room. There was still the bag that came with my change of clothes. I took the clothes out and stacked money inside the bag before putting some clothes back. But that didn't seem like a wise idea, so I took the clothes and money out a
_Dominic"What are you planning?" Joseph asked me the minute we were safely alone in the car."Nothing fancy, just dinner with Ludo. I might even get dessert depending on my mood later on.""The only problem is that you hate the man." he pointed out the obvious."Yes, I do. It's just dinner, I'm not asking him to be my life partner." at the mention of his name my phone beeped, and I showed Joseph the message."Prepare for dinner, I need you looking your best sharp self tonight." I typed some keys on my phone, dinner plans were already in motion."Any particular plan I should be made aware of? I don't want to embarrass you in front of polite company." He looked at me with a slight smile.I liked this side of Joseph, the other sides were debatable."You catch on fast. The usual plan will be fine." I said and he nodded. "You need to get the chef in town on time, tell him he has a gig, only his best steak will do for tonight.""What about his mashed potatoes?" Joseph asked and we both sta
_DominicWe were back at the house and Joseph was standing by the doorway and wouldn’t stop looking at me. “How long are you going to play this game? Just tell her the full story.” He said softly.I paused and gave him my full attention,“I can't dump everything on her, not until I have tied up all the loose ends”. I stood up to put away the files I’d been using.When he didn’t say anything, I added, “If you have anything else, please, I have a meeting and you are welcome to join me.” I winked at him.“She seemed preoccupied, like she was expecting anyone but me.” He finally spoke up.A chuckle passed my lips at his words.“She is in a cabin in the woods, who can she possibly be meeting, the rabbits and foxes?” I asked him.“Are you going to leave her without protection all alone with your son?”“She has protection.” I sighed, Joseph was not going to let this one go until he got whatever he came for.“Not from what I saw and what Vini told me.”“Vini? what does Vini have anything to d