The Escape

The calm of the night was shattered by the sound of gunshots. A dry, deadly sound. Screams. Broken glass. The air was filled with the smell of gunpowder and burnt wood, choking the soft music that had been playing in the background at the party. Everything turned into chaos.

Isabela felt her heart pounding in her chest, almost as if it were about to break through. Her eyes filled with panic when she saw her five-year-old son, Mateo, clinging to her leg with a lost look, not understanding what was happening.

— Mom, I'm scared! — Mateo screamed, his voice full of terror.

— Shh, my love, don’t cry, don’t look — Isabela whispered, holding him tightly. She felt tears beginning to slide down her face, but she didn’t dare let her son see them. With a swift motion, she picked up Lucia, her two-year-old daughter, who was crying inconsolably, and cradled her in her arms.

Amid the chaos, the voices of the men echoed through the mansion, cold, determined, with a terrifying authority.

— Find the boss’s wife! No one gets out alive!

Desperation took over her in an instant. Her world, which just moments ago had been a safe place, had turned into a deadly trap.

This wasn’t a robbery. It was war. A war in which she and her children were trapped without even knowing it.

Panic paralyzed her for a moment. Just hours ago, the mansion had been full of laughter, animated conversations, and joy. They had celebrated Alejandro’s birthday. The same joy that now crumbled, like a house of cards.

Alejandro had smiled by her side all evening, kissing her, whispering promises of eternal love. "Nothing and no one will separate us," he had told her in the intimacy of her ear, while wrapping his arms around her in a gesture that made Isabela feel as if everything was fine, as if nothing bad could happen to them.

But now, she was fleeing from her own house. Fleeing from armed men, not knowing if her husband, the man she trusted, was safe or if betrayal had taken over him as much as the world she thought she knew.

With trembling hands, she hurried to the wine cellar, the place where she knew there was a secret passage that could save their lives.

The security code was only stored in her memory. Her pulse was frantic, sweat sliding down her forehead as she pressed the keys with hands that seemed not to obey her. Finally, the door slid open with a soft beep.

She quickly entered the dark passage, hearing the heavy footsteps of the men getting closer and closer. Panic made her move with agility, as if her legs could carry her faster than her fears allowed her to think.

As she closed the door, the sound of the footsteps ceased, but Isabela did not dare relax. The danger was still lurking. And she still didn’t know what had happened to her husband, Alejandro. Was he in danger? Was he involved? The thought overwhelmed her.

The air in the underground tunnel was dense and humid, and the sound of her own footsteps echoed off the walls. With Lucia in her arms and Mateo pressed to her side, Isabela moved forward without knowing where this darkness would lead them. The fear of the unknown invaded her, but the instinct of a mother, the desire to protect her children, pushed her to continue.

It was then that she heard the sound of heavy boots approaching the passage she had just crossed. Her body tensed, and she quickly looked around for something to defend herself with. A thought crossed her mind: What would I do if they found us?

A sharp voice broke the silence of the darkness.

— Where is the queen of the Moretti empire?

The voice in the dark was cold and mocking. Isabela froze. That voice sounded as if it came from the very depths of hell.

She wasn’t sure if those men knew what was really happening in that house, but something in the tone of that voice told her they weren’t just looking for her husband. They were looking for her and her children.

They called me queen, she thought. But I was never more than a prisoner in a golden cage...

Suddenly, she remembered Alejandro. The man with whom she had shared so many moments, her life companion, the father of her children.

Alejandro Moretti, the man who, with just one look, had made her feel like the most important woman in the world. The man who had won her over in Greece, in the beautiful streets of Santorini, under a sky painted with impossible colors.

Memories of that time flooded her mind. The stolen kisses between the ancient ruins, the promises of eternal love.

But now, all that was fading before the dark reality she had just discovered.

FLASHBACK – Two Years Earlier

The sun dipped below the horizon of the Aegean Sea, painting the sky with a palette of warm tones that only an artist could imagine. The wind gently blew through the white buildings of Santorini, where Isabela wandered the narrow cobbled streets, enjoying the cool breeze.

Isabela had dreamed of being there for years, and in her trip to Greece, she never expected that this beautiful place would be where everything would change for her.

There, amid the hustle and calm of the island, she saw Alejandro Moretti for the first time.

He stood on the balcony of an elegant villa, a glass of wine in hand. His dark eyes watched her intently, as if he had been waiting for her.

— Sei bellissima — he said, with a charming smile that made her heart beat faster than it should have.

He was an attractive man, with such an imposing presence that it seemed to dominate everything around him. And despite his elegance, there was something about him that conveyed a sense of danger. But Isabela didn’t see it then.

That night, under the stars of Santorini, Alejandro captivated her, and with his captivating smile, he promised her eternal love. A love that, at that moment, she believed was real.

But all that was now vanishing in the face of the dark reality she had just uncovered.

Isabela was about to take another step into the darkness of the passage when the sound of a gunshot rang above her head. Her instinct made her hold her children tight and hide her face against the stone wall.

A fierce scream, then the unmistakable sound of a body falling, echoed behind her. The door behind her was violently thrown open, and in a whisper, a familiar voice, broken, called her name.

— Isabela... — Alejandro’s voice.

She spun around quickly, not understanding. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Was Alejandro there, in the same place where he had promised to keep her safe, with a lantern?

— Don’t come closer... — she whispered, although her hands trembled with fear and a crazy desire to believe that all of this was just a nightmare.

Her little children trembled with fear, clinging to her, afraid to cry. The blurry image in the darkness was unimaginable.

A sharp scream interrupted the moment, and at that instant, Isabela understood that the battle had just begun.

The real question in that moment was... Who was behind all of this? And why was Alejandro there now? He seemed more involved than ever in what was happening.