Chapter 5
1215 Words
Chapter 5: BLOOD OAT
The first scream cut through the mansion just after dusk.
Isabella was standing by the window, watching the sky bleed into shades of purple and black, when the sound tore through the quiet. It was sharp. Male. Full of panic.
She froze.
Her heart began to pound as footsteps thundered in the halls beyond her room, running, shouting, orders barked in rapid Italian. The house, which had felt eerily controlled all day, suddenly erupted into chaos.
Another scream followed.
Closer.
Isabella backed away from the window, dread crawling up her spine. She rushed to the door and rattled the handle. Locked, as always.
“What’s happening?” she shouted.
No answer.
The sounds grew louder, furniture scraping, something shattering, the unmistakable crack of a gunshot echoing through the walls.
She gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth.
This wasn’t a lesson.
This was an attack.
Her door burst open.
Valentina strode in, her calm fractured for the first time since Isabella had met her. “Stay away from the windows,” she ordered. “Now.”
“What’s going on?” Isabella demanded.
“Rival family,” Valentina said tersely. “They’re testing the perimeter.”
Testing.
Like this was a game.
Another gunshot rang out, followed by a scream cut short.
Isabella’s stomach twisted violently. “People are dying.”
“Yes,” Valentina replied. “That’s what happens when men challenge Alessandro De Luca.”
As if summoned by his name, Alessandro appeared in the doorway behind Valentina, already wearing his jacket, a gun in his hand. His expression was lethal calm, eyes burning with focus.
When his gaze landed on Isabella, something shifted.
“Move her,” he said sharply.
“I’m fine,” Isabella protested.
“You’re not,” he snapped, crossing the room in long strides. He grabbed her wrist, not gently this time, and pulled her toward the door.
“Alessandro, you’re hurting me.”
He loosened his grip slightly but didn’t stop. “This isn’t about you being comfortable.”
They moved fast through back corridors she hadn’t seen before, down narrow staircases and into a reinforced room deep within the mansion. The walls were steel. The door thick and heavy.
A panic room.
Alessandro ushered her inside and turned to leave.
“Wait,” she said, fear cutting through her anger. “You’re leaving me here?”
“Yes.”
“You could get killed.”
His jaw tightened. “So could you. And I won’t allow that.”
The words stunned her.
Before she could respond, Valentina pressed something into Isabella’s hands, a small phone.
“If you hear three knocks,” Valentina said, “you open the door. Only three.”
Then they were gone.
The door sealed shut with a heavy clang.
Isabella stood alone in the reinforced silence, her heart racing, the echo of Alessandro’s words replaying in her mind.
I won’t allow that.
She slid down the wall and hugged her knees to her chest, trembling.
Minutes stretched.
Gunfire echoed faintly through the steel walls, muted but still terrifying. Isabella pressed her palms to her ears, trying not to imagine Alessandro out there, bleeding, falling, dying.
She didn’t understand why the thought made her chest ache.
Then, three sharp knocks.
She scrambled to her feet and unlocked the door.
It wasn’t Alessandro.
It was one of the guards.
Blood soaked through his shirt.
“We need to move you,” he said urgently.
“Where’s Alessandro?” she demanded.
The guard hesitated.
Her heart sank. “Where is he?”
“He’s handling it.”
That wasn’t an answer.
They moved quickly through smoke-filled corridors, past shattered glass and bodies lying still on the marble floors. Isabella’s breath came in shallow gasps as the reality of this world crashed down on her, this was violence, real and final.
They reached the courtyard.
And there, Alessandro stood over a man on his knees.
Blood spattered the stone beneath them.
The kneeling man was sobbing, begging in a language Isabella didn’t understand.
Alessandro’s face was carved from ice.
“What did he do?” Isabella asked hoarsely.
The guard swallowed. “He crossed the gate. He had a knife.”
Isabella’s gaze flicked to Alessandro’s arm.
Blood ran down his sleeve.
Her chest tightened painfully. “He’s hurt.”
The guard nodded. “It’s not deep.”
Isabella didn’t think.
She broke free of the guard’s hold and ran forward.
“Isabella!” Alessandro barked.
She skidded to a stop inches from him, her eyes fixed on the blood staining his shirt. “You’re bleeding.”
He stared at her like he couldn’t believe she was there. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“You’re injured.”
The kneeling man looked up, eyes wild. He lunged.
Everything happened at once.
Alessandro moved faster than thought. He shoved Isabella behind him and fired.
The sound was deafening.
The man collapsed, lifeless.
Isabella screamed.
She clutched Alessandro’s jacket, her whole body shaking. “Oh my God.”
Alessandro turned immediately, his hands gripping her shoulders. “Are you hit?”
She shook her head frantically. “No, no, I’m fine.”
His relief was instant and unguarded.
Only then did she realize, his blood was dripping onto her hands.
“You’re bleeding because of me,” she whispered.
“Because I chose to,” he replied.
He turned to his men. “Clear the bodies. Lock down the perimeter.”
They moved with brutal efficiency.
Alessandro guided Isabella back inside, into a quiet room away from the chaos. He sat her down and knelt in front of her, inspecting her like she was something precious.
“You disobeyed orders,” he said.
“I know,” she whispered. “I’m sorry.”
The word slipped out before she could stop it.
His eyes snapped to hers.
“You’re apologizing?” he asked softly.
“I thought you were dead,” she said. “I didn’t,” He reached out and cupped her face, his hands warm, steady, stained with blood.
“I’m right here,” he said.
The intensity of his gaze stole her breath.
She swallowed. “You could’ve let them kill me.”
“I would burn this city to the ground first.”
The words settled between them, heavy and terrifying, and unmistakably sincere.
A medic entered to treat his wound. Isabella watched silently as Alessandro barely reacted to the stitching, his focus never leaving her.
When it was over, Alessandro stood and dismissed everyone.
They were alone.
“You saw what this world costs,” he said quietly. “Do you still think escape is worth it?”
She hesitated.
“Yes,” she said.
His mouth curved faintly. “Good.”
She blinked. “Good?”
“I don’t want obedience born of fear,” he said. “I want you to choose to stay.”
Her heart skipped. “Why?”
He leaned closer, his voice low and raw. “Because the moment you choose me… I’ll destroy anyone who tries to take you.”
She stared at him, shaken to her core.
This wasn’t just possession anymore.
This was a promise written in blood.
And she wasn’t sure she wanted to run from it.
- Writer
