### Chapter 8: Caught in the Middle
The dim light of my apartment did little to illuminate the turmoil inside me. I had barely processed the bombshell Evelyn had dropped when my phone rang, slicing through the silence like a knife. The caller ID made my heart race—Dante.
What did he want? My instincts told me to ignore the call, but the thought of him showing up at my door pushed me to answer. “Hello?” I said, attempting to sound casual, though my heart was racing.
“Rosella, we need to talk,” he said, his voice low and tense. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“Okay,” I replied, biting my lip as I hung up. The knot in my stomach tightened. This wasn’t good.
The minutes dragged on, each tick of the clock amplifying my anxiety. I paced the floor, wrestling with the chaos of emotions swir
