~ISABELLA~ "I bought clothes for you." "You bought clothes for me? Do you think that clothes, handbags, and shoes will compensate for kidnapping me?" I asked him as one of his housekeeper's carried in the shopping bags. Dante merely offered a sly grin as he leaned towards me, prompting me to gulp. He was tall and had a presence that made me weak in my knees. His eyes were green and whenever I locked with them, I felt my throat getting dry. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I had daydreamed about him the night before we met for our first date. I couldn't take my eyes off him for hours and when he confirmed our date, I was over the moon and couldn't wait for him to be the one to sweep me off Antonio's snares. And he did. "I thought you liked clothes." "I value my freedom above all, Dante! For how long do you intend to keep me here?" I snapped while approaching the table to look inside the shopping bags. "I believed we had reached an understanding that I would gra
~ISABELLA~ Antonio: "I will find you, and when I do, you will be grounded." I looked at Antonio's text as I sat down on the toilet seat. Dante was in the dining room with his brothers. It took a minute before I decided to text Antonio back. It wasn't part of my plan to leave Dante and go back to him again. I wanted to leave them both behind for good. After my chat with Gabriele, I realized that both men were not safe for me. But here I was, desperate for Antonio to get me back. I couldn't handle being around Dante and his brothers anymore. Me: "I dare you to find me, Antonio, and in return, I will make your life hell." I smirked. I hoped that he would take my sarcasm as a joke. I was desperate for his help. I gasped when I heard a sudden knock on the door. "Bella, are you alright in there?!" Gabriele asked. I quickly turned off my cell phone and got off the toilet seat. "Yeah, I'm fine! I'll be out in a minute!" I flushed the toilet and turned the tap on. Her footst
~ISABELLA~ "Where are you taking me, Dante?" I asked as he drove out of the gate. He was driving fast, which made me anxious. I couldn't read his thoughts or intentions. For all I knew, he was probably driving me to a place where he was going to kill me. His older brother despised me, leaving me to wonder about their plans for me. As events unfolded, Gabriele's words echoed in my mind, affirming that I was precisely what they needed to take over Atlanta. They had no intention of releasing me until Antonio arrived to rescue me. He was my only hope. "Don't worry, princess, I'm not going to hurt you. Relax and enjoy the ride," he smirked as he increased the speed, passing by the lonely road in the middle of the forest. I was desperate to slip out my cell phone and turn it on so that Antonio would be able to find me more easily. But since I was his wife, I knew that he was not going to stop searching for me. Especially since he knew who took me. "Can you slow down a bit?
~ISABELLA~ When I woke up in the morning, my head was throbbing, and it felt like I had been out for a long time. The door swung open, and Dante walked inside, causing the vivid memory of what happened yesterday to sit me up on the bed. "You punched me in the face, Dante. How dare you?" I snapped as he sat down on the edge of the bed next to me. "We have to move you, princess. It seems like your husband knows where we are." "He does?" My heart fluttered. "Yes, get up. We are leaving for my safe house in an hour," Dante informed me as he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. If Antonio had found the location, it meant that maybe he was able to track my phone's location when we were talking. When I realized that I couldn't find my phone, I cursed under my breath and threw a pillow on the floor from frustration. I quickly got dressed and planned to see Dante when I walked to the door and realized that it was locked. "Oh, come on!" I snapped angrily as I
~ANTONIO~"You're not allowed to go anywhere, Bella. You wanted this, and now you got it.""You can't do that, Antonio! You can't keep me locked up in here after I have just returned from another prison! What is this? Is this why you bought me at auction?" She asked.I sighed and turned around to face her. "I didn't buy you, Bella. If you can't realize how I feel about you by now, I don't think you ever will.""If you feel anything for me, you will let me go. You would ask me on dates instead of treating me as your prisoner.""If you were responsible and kept your distance from Dante as I warned you to, we wouldn't be having this conversation!" I snapped."Forgive me, Antonio, that I won't fall head over heels for you after you bought me for millions of dollars and ruined all the plans that I had for my life!" She shot back."Name whatever that you want, and it will be yours!" I hissed as I closed the gap between us.I felt disappointed that she couldn't realize that I'd do anything fo
~ISABELLA~"Bloody shit. You will regret this, Antonio. You will regret this," I muttered to myself as I paced around the room.The door creaked open, and I turned around with a shocked expression."Who are you?" I asked the strange guy as he walked inside.Since Melo was dead, this was probably another Melo sent to keep an eye on me in case I made a run for it again."Morning, Miss Albero. I am Kyle. Mr. Rodriguez instructed me to be your bodyguard and your chauffeur," he answered."My chauffeur?" I asked as I walked toward him.He nodded. "Yes.""I want to go somewhere right now. Will you take me?" I smirked, still shocked.When Antonio left a few hours ago, he was determined to keep me locked up in the house for as long as he wanted me to be.I had no idea what had changed his mind, but I was happy he did."Yes," Kyle answered as he stood aside for me to lead the way out of the room.I already had my bath and only needed him to take me to Sarah. She and I had a lot to discuss even t
~ISABELLA~ I was startled when I felt a hand on my shoulder in the hospital. I was sitting beside my father in his wardroom. The doctors had performed an emergency surgery on him when he was admitted. Luckily, when the Conti struck him with a knife, none of his organs were badly injured. "Hey, Isa. I'm sorry about your father," Sarah said to me as I got up and wrapped my arms around her. I couldn't hold it in anymore as I wept on her shoulder. If I hadn't arrived on time, my father would have bled to death in the hands of the Conti. I was so angry that Dante and his brothers could do something like this after they killed my mother without any mercy while she was pregnant. I was angry that they had to involve him in their war with Antonio when my father had nothing to do with what was happening between them. "Thank you for coming, babe. This means a lot to me," I sobbed. "Let's go and grab a cup of coffee for you," Sarah suggested when I pulled away from her and wiped m
~ISABELLA~"No, Bella, I told you to stop messing with Antonio! He won't like this one bit!" Sarah protested on the phone."You're not listening to me, Sarah. This is my only way to get myself away from Antonio. My father is out of the picture right now," I answered as I paced around the room.On my other hand, I was holding a piece of paper with Peter's cell phone numbers written down."I am listening, and what you want to do is suicide. Abort that mission," she insisted.I took a deep breath as I stopped pacing and looked at the piece of paper in my hand.I was still convinced to call this guy. If Antonio found out that I was interested in someone else, he wouldn't have any other choice but to let me go."I am doing this, babe. I don't want to spend a week under the same roof as Antonio. It's not different than being held hostage by Dante. They are the same person with the same agenda to use me."Sarah exhaled on the other end. "Fine. I hear you, and I want you to be free from all th
~ISABELLA~A week after Antonio had brought me back home, I spent it in the garden, my mind wandering and not a clue of my next plan. I was expecting myself to be excited to be home. To be with Antonio after almost a month, I had been taken by Tom. But after finding out that I was pregnant, things changed for me, and I didn't know what to do if the father happened to be Tom since I slept with him also. I was so afraid of staying with Antonio and raising Tom's baby with him. Even though I was kidnapped and sexually assaulted, I felt like I had cheated on Antonio and didn't know how to tell him that I was pregnant and wasn't sure if we should continue living together.My father gave me the money that Antonio's contract stated that I would need to pay him to free myself from him, but I didn't know if I needed to use it or not. A week ago, before Antonio found me and rescued me, I was so sure that I wanted to be with him.I was so sure that I wanted to start my life afresh with him a
~ANTONIO~"I think we've found them. I know someone who provided me with inside information and confirmed that they left for Canada late last night," August informed me on the phone after booking in at a guesthouse in Mendoza for the evening. "They're in Canada? Where? I need specifics, August. It will take me the whole year if I look for her in every Canadian province," I sighed as I opened my hotel room and headed inside. The guys with me also booked double rooms for themselves so that they would share. There were 8 men in total.We were exhausted and had been looking everywhere for Bella and Tom without any luck.Now that August had a lead on them, there was a little hope that I was going to find her. But I also didn't want to get my hopes too high. It had been a long week looking for her, and I was close to giving up the search altogether."I'll call the guy and confirm with you. He helped them get passports and fake identity cards. If there's anything else he knows, I'm sure h
~ISABELLA~Just as I suspected he would, I woke up and couldn't remember the last thing that I did, which meant that the motherfucker drugged me. I didn't know how long I had passed out when I woke up in another different room, except this time, he was right next to me sleeping. I looked around and knew that he had moved us and we were somewhere else again. Probably in another country or continent. My stomach sank when I thought about Antonio. I thought of how he might have been looking for me but couldn't find me after Tom moved us again.I got up from the bed and went to have a look outside the window. There was all snow, causing my heart to skip a beat, and I felt like I was suddenly hyperventilating. "You're up," his voice echoed behind me. I turned around and looked at him, my face covered with tears and my heart hurting that he moved us way too far. "Where are we, Tom? Was this your plan all along? To separate me from all the people that I know and keep me hostage somewher
~ANTONIO~"Where are they, Andrea? Are you sure that I would be able to find her and bring her home?" He nodded. "Yes, but only if you go there on time. Tom has his people lay an eye on me. I think they've told him of my coming here since I was supposed to be moved to a new place after getting my things at my house. You need to hurry." "Are you sure that they've been following you?" "Tom is a very smart man. I don't think that he would release me back here and not keep an eye on me. I made a deal with him that I would keep quiet about their whereabouts if I wanted to see my daughter again. But I've risked everything by coming here because she's better off with you than with him.""Thank you, Andrea. I was starting to lose hope of ever finding her again. I'll arrange my trip to Brazil as soon as possible," I said as I turned to go to my office to make a few phone calls when Andrea stopped me in my tracks. "When she comes back, I'd like to offer you the 37.5 million dollars that you
~ISABELLA~"Don't worry, my love. You and I are going to be happy together. No one is ever going to come between us again," Tom whispered behind me in the shower. I closed my eyes and braced myself for what was going to happen.I hoped that my father was going to do what was right and lead Antonio to where we were before Tom moved us again. I was tired and didn't want to have him inside me, but I had no choice if I wanted to convince him that I was into him as well. "What's going to be my new name?" I asked, trying to distract myself from what he was doing or trying to do to me."Whatever name you choose will be yours, love," he said as he nibbled on my neck. He knew that it was my weak spot, and even though I was trying so hard not to be turned on by it, he grabbed my boobs and squeezed them while he kissed my neck. "What if I want to keep my name?"Tom suddenly stopped what he was doing, grabbed my neck, and tilted my head so that I would look at him. "What do you think Antoni
~ANTONIO~"I have a new lead on the Conti brothers," August reported as he sat down on the chair in front of me in the office. I groaned as I looked at him. "I want you to find Tom. I don't care about the Conti assholes!" I snapped as I banged my hands on the table. I was angry, and it didn't help that August wasn't fully focused on finding Tom and Isabella. I was going out of my mind thinking of the number of weeks that had gone by without me seeing her. The three weeks felt like years, and I couldn't bear it anymore. I had to find her."Yes, I get that. But we are working on it. You know that they both disappeared into thin air. His father is also missing, including Isabella's father." "You need to get more people and get them to leave no stone unturned until they find my wife," I seethed. August sighed as he stood up from the chair and looked down at me. "You know that I am doing everything I can to find her. But you also seem to forget that she and Tom were once involved, a
~ISABELLA~I was sleeping when I was woken up by a door slamming closed outside. I gasped as I woke up, my pillow drenched with tears and sweat as I sat up on the bed. I felt a horrible headache as the events of earlier flooded my memory. I hated Tom, for sure, and was never going to forgive him after what he did and put me through. My heart was broken, and nothing was ever going to mend what he had done to me. I felt violated and dirty after what he did to me.I wanted to escape and make sure that he never had a chance to abduct me again.I dressed up, and just as I was about to sit down on the bed to have a moment to think, I heard screams from the hallway, and the voice sounded very familiar.I remembered that Tom told me that he would bring my father over because I was being difficult to him, and my heart started racing as I rushed to the door. I tried to open it but realized that it was locked. "Tom, open this door!" I screamed as I banged on the door, crying.I kept bangin
~TOM~I stood near the bed and watched Bella struggle to regain her consciousness as I buttoned my shirt. I knew the consequences of what happened might backfire since she didn't consent to sleeping with me. What made it worse was that I spiked her drink. I wanted her so bad that I couldn't handle the thought of her rejection and decided to spike her drink so that I would be able to slide inside her.But now that things had gotten thus far, I decided to let it off my mind and try to patch things up with her when she woke up.When I was done dressing up, I went to my room and made a call to my father to find out how long it was going to take for Bella's father to be brought to our location.Andrea Albero was the only person who was going to give me leverage over Bella. She loved her father, and if she had to keep him alive by agreeing to be with me, then that she was going to do."Father.""Son, how are things over there? Are you both safe?""Everything's going well so far, Father.
~ISABELLA~When Tom was done making the call to have my father brought to our location, I was taken to a room and locked up inside because I wouldn't stop shouting and fighting him for what he was doing.It felt like hours when I was locked up inside, and I didn't even know how to feel or what to do. My mind was all over the place. At the back of my mind, I realized how horribly things have gone my way, and I wished that they could have gone differently.I kept thinking about Antonio, wondering to myself if he had any plan to get me back before Tom ended my life. "Are you ready to behave?" Tom asked outside the room. "I brought you food," he said as he walked inside with a tray in his hand and a bottle of water.That's when I realized how hungry and thirsty I was."You have to let me go," I sighed as he closed the door behind him and walked toward me, placing the tray and bottle of water on the table next to the bed."Why do you want to act like you, and I never wanted this? You don