CHAPTER 178
ISABELLA
My throat felt raw. Words tumbled and clung, but the truth pushed through. “Antonio’s back,” I said, and took in a deep breath then downed the whole glass of wine.
“Fuck!” That burned. I closed my eyes, enjoying the tingling, the faintness it brought.
“You want more?” Charlotte asked, and I nodded. She smiled and I did, and in that moment I knew we were both going down memory lane. Oh how we used to do this years ago — every Friday drinking and drinking till we were tumbling down, and I was always the first to be flat out drunk. Charlotte knew how to hold her alcohol better than I did, yet I would drink more.
When I took the now-filled glass from her I took only a sip.
“He — he’s hunting me. He’s doing things again, Charlotte. And now I have others to protect. I can’t just hide. I can’t just cower again as usual. I need to stop him. I need you.” The sentence came out smaller than I’d wanted; I swallowed and forced it down. “I can’t do this alone.”
Charlotte’s face softened. For a second she looked like the friend I’d known years ago — like we were back at the bar when she told me about Mr. L. “You should never have had to fight alone, Isa,” she said.
She paused, searching for the right words. Then: “There’s someone I know who can help. He’s… powerful, and he moves quietly. He doesn’t need to make a scene to make people listen.” She watched me, gauging my reaction. “Do you want me to arrange a meeting with him?”
Relief, hot and unexpected, flickered through me. I felt my shoulders drop a fraction. “Yes,” I breathed. “If he can stop Antonio, if he can—” My voice broke. “If he can keep me safe, I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Charlotte blinked, and then a small, almost private smile curved her lips. “Good. I’ll call him. His name is Mateo De Santis. He’s a client… and a friend. The only man I know who can rival Mr. Ferrari in this city. Power for power, wealth for wealth, danger for danger.”
The name hung between us like a loaded promise — sharp, elegant, and utterly uncompromising. Just speaking it seemed to fill the room with a subtle tension, as if the very air had taken notice.
“Fine. Can I see him today? I’m afraid tomorrow might be too late.”
“You’re finally coming to your senses, Isa,” she said, not unkindly. “You’re done apologizing for surviving.”
I let out a laugh that was half sob, half relief. “I’m ready,” I said, small and fierce. “Let’s meet him. Let Antonio see that I’m not someone he can scare into silence.”
Charlotte lifted her glass. “Then we begin,” she said. “I’ll call Lorenzo right now.”
She stood and crossed to me, coming to stand next to me. “We’ll get you something to wear. You can’t exactly go to a meeting looking like you are coming from a party,” she said, and I looked up at her.
She tried to keep a blank expression, but from the twinkle in her eyes I could tell she knew.
“What!” I hiccupped.
I cackled. “Yes, I’m engaged to Levi.”
She exhaled, and I could see the weight of holding back lift from her shoulders. “Girl, you are in every blog. Every social media. You are in Vogue.”
I chuckled, shaking my head. “Yeah, and that’s why I am in fucking trouble,” I said, standing.
“Bitch, you’ve been holding that glass — finish it, what the helly.” I jabbed at the rim of her glass with a smile.
“Shit,” she cursed as she took it all in one gulp, and I did too for mine.
“I’ve forgotten what a bat influence I gave you are,” she said, and I laughed at the jumble of words and memory. We both fell into the dumb, relieved kind of laughter that comes when something wild and awful finally makes sense.
We clinked our empty glasses together. The sound was thin in the quiet apartment — a small, bright note of collusion. For the first time in a long while I felt like Isabella again.
“I’m going to call him now,” she said, then paused. “But before I do I HAVE TO warn you: Mateo is a very calculating man. He isn’t evil, but he can be demanding. Are you ready to do whatever he asks of you to protect you?”
I nodded, staring her in the eyes without even blinking. “Whatever it takes to get my dignity back, to make Mr. Antonio pay, and to get him off my back so I can have my happy ending with Levi — I will. I will fix this.”
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