Chapter 1: The Wedding Interrupted
1885 Words
The air inside St. Angelo Cathedral smelled of white roses, expensive perfume, and polished oak.
Sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows, painting colorful reflections across the marble floor. Every seat was occupied by influential guests dressed in designer suits and luxurious gowns. Billionaires, politicians, celebrities, and powerful business families had gathered for what the media was already calling the wedding of the decade.
Outside, reporters crowded behind security barricades, hoping to catch a glimpse of the bride before the ceremony began.
Inside...
No one knew the bride wanted to run.
Isabella Rossi stood alone in the bridal suite, staring at her reflection.
The woman in the mirror looked breathtaking.
The handcrafted wedding gown hugged her figure perfectly, its lace sleeves shimmering beneath the warm lights. Tiny diamonds were woven into the veil resting over her dark waves, making her appear almost ethereal.
She should have felt beautiful.
She should have felt excited.
Instead...
She felt numb.
Her fingers trembled as she brushed invisible dust from the front of her dress.
"This isn't your choice."
The sentence echoed inside her mind like a curse.
A soft knock broke the silence.
"Miss Rossi?" her wedding planner called gently. "We have fifteen minutes."
"I'm coming."
Her voice sounded calm.
It was a lie.
The moment the door closed again, Isabella released the breath she'd been holding.
She reached into the small drawer beside the mirror and pulled out an old photograph.
A little girl.
A young woman.
A smiling man.
Her mother.
Her.
Her grandfather.
It was taken before everything changed.
Before debt.
Before betrayal.
Before her mother's death.
A tear slipped down her cheek.
"You would've stopped this..."
She whispered to the photograph.
"You would've never let them sell me."
A sudden knock interrupted her.
This one wasn't gentle.
It was demanding.
Without waiting for permission, the door opened.
Her father entered.
Marco Rossi.
Perfectly tailored navy suit.
Expensive watch.
Cold expression.
He looked more like a businessman than a father.
His sharp eyes examined her from head to toe.
"You look acceptable."
Not beautiful.
Not wonderful.
Acceptable.
Those two words hurt more than she wanted to admit.
"You called me?" Isabella asked quietly.
Marco walked toward the window overlooking the cathedral entrance where hundreds of reporters waited.
"Do you know why all these people are here?"
She didn't answer.
"They're here because today's marriage saves the Rossi family."
His tone remained emotionless.
"Our company is six hundred million euros in debt."
Isabella looked down.
"I know."
"No."
He turned toward her.
"You know the numbers."
"You don't understand the consequences."
He stepped closer.
"If this marriage doesn't happen today..."
"Our family loses everything."
"The company."
"The houses."
"The reputation."
"Our name."
His voice hardened.
"And if our name falls..."
"So do we."
Silence filled the room.
Isabella swallowed painfully.
"So..."
"My life is the price?"
Marco didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
The answer shattered something inside her.
For a brief second...
She hoped he would say he was joking.
He didn't.
"You've always been the strongest member of this family."
"I know you'll do what's necessary."
Necessary.
What a beautiful word people used when they wanted someone else to suffer.
"I don't love Leonardo."
Her father's expression didn't change.
"Love doesn't build empires."
"It destroys them."
She laughed bitterly.
"So that's all I am?"
"A business contract?"
Marco looked directly into her eyes.
"No."
"You're an investment."
The room became unbearably quiet.
He adjusted the cuff of his sleeve before walking toward the door.
"The ceremony begins in ten minutes."
Without another word...
He left.
The door clicked shut behind him.
Isabella stared at the empty doorway.
Then...
She broke.
A sob escaped her lips before she could stop it.
She covered her mouth with trembling hands.
Why did it hurt so much?
Not because she was being forced into marriage.
Because somewhere deep inside...
She had spent years believing her father loved her.
Today...
She learned she was wrong.
Ten minutes later...
The orchestra began rehearsing outside.
Guests slowly took their seats.
The cathedral buzzed with conversation.
"Did you hear Leonardo gifted her a private island?"
"I heard the Rossi family nearly went bankrupt."
"This marriage benefits both families."
"They're the perfect couple."
If only they knew the truth.
Leonardo Moretti stood near the altar, adjusting the cuffs of his expensive tuxedo.
At twenty-nine, he was handsome, wealthy, and admired by almost everyone.
Women whispered whenever he entered a room.
Business magazines called him Italy's golden heir.
He noticed Isabella approaching from the bridal hallway.
A polite smile spread across his face.
"You look beautiful."
She forced a smile.
"Thank you."
He stepped closer.
"You seem nervous."
"I'm getting married."
"I think that's normal."
He chuckled.
"It'll get easier."
Will it?
She doubted it.
Leonardo studied her face for several seconds.
Then his smile faded.
"Tell me honestly..."
"Do you hate me?"
The question caught her off guard.
She quickly shook her head.
"No."
"I don't hate you."
He looked relieved.
"I know this wasn't your decision."
She blinked.
"You know?"
He nodded slowly.
"Our parents arranged everything."
He lowered his voice.
"I never wanted this either."
Isabella stared at him.
For the first time...
She saw sadness hiding behind his confident smile.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
"I truly am."
Before she could respond...
The wedding coordinator appeared.
"It's time."
The massive cathedral doors slowly began to open.
The orchestra started playing.
Every guest rose to their feet.
Isabella tightened her grip around her bouquet.
One step.
Then another.
Completely unaware...
That before the ceremony could end
Someone far more dangerous than fate...
Was already on his way.
The cathedral doors slowly opened.
A beam of golden sunlight spilled across the marble floor as Isabella stepped inside.
The orchestra filled the cathedral with a beautiful melody, but to her, every note sounded distant.
Hundreds of guests stood, smiling and applauding as she walked down the aisle.
Camera flashes sparkled from the back of the cathedral.
Reporters watched through the open entrance, desperate to capture the perfect photograph.
To them...
This was a fairytale.
To Isabella...
It felt like a funeral.
She lifted her eyes.
Leonardo stood waiting at the altar.
He smiled politely, though she now recognized the sadness hidden behind it.
He was trapped just as much as she was.
That realization made her chest tighten.
The priest welcomed everyone before opening the ceremony.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of two respected families..."
Isabella barely heard another word.
Her heartbeat had become strangely uneven.
Something felt...
Wrong.
Not emotionally.
Physically.
Almost as if the air itself had become heavier.
A cold shiver raced down her spine.
She instinctively glanced toward the enormous cathedral entrance.
Nothing.
Just sunlight.
Security guards.
Luxury cars parked outside.
She quietly exhaled.
Maybe it was only anxiety.
The priest continued.
"If anyone present knows any lawful reason why these two should not be joined in holy matrimony..."
Silence.
A long...
Uneasy...
Silence.
Then
BOOM!
The thunderous explosion shook the entire cathedral.
The massive wooden doors flew inward with terrifying force.
Shattered glass rained across the marble floor.
Women screamed.
Children cried.
Guests dove beneath the pews.
The orchestra stopped mid-note.
Smoke rolled through the entrance.
For several endless seconds...
No one moved.
Then black-clad men emerged from the smoke.
One after another.
Each carried assault rifles.
Each moved with flawless military precision.
Within moments every entrance...
Every exit...
Every window...
Was surrounded.
The Rossi family bodyguards immediately reached for their weapons.
They never had the chance.
Red laser sights appeared across their chests.
Dozens of them.
A single movement...
And they would die.
Complete silence swallowed the cathedral.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the smoke.
Slow.
Measured.
Confident.
Every step seemed louder than the last.
Tap...
Tap...
Tap...
Then he appeared.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Black tailored suit beneath a long charcoal coat.
His dark hair was perfectly styled despite the chaos surrounding him.
Expensive leather gloves covered his hands.
A silver watch gleamed beneath his cuff.
But it wasn't his appearance that terrified people.
It was his eyes.
Cold.
Grey.
Completely emotionless.
The kind of eyes that had watched countless people beg for mercy...
...and never cared.
A terrified businessman whispered,
"No..."
Another guest slowly backed away.
"It can't be..."
Someone near the front gasped.
"Damian De Luca."
The name spread through the cathedral like poison.
Faces turned pale.
Even the armed guards lowered their heads respectfully.
Children clung to their mothers.
Several politicians quietly looked away.
Nobody wanted to make eye contact with the man known as The Devil of Europe.
The billionaire who ruled an empire hidden behind legitimate businesses.
The mafia king no government had ever managed to destroy.
Damian stopped in the center of the aisle.
His gaze slowly swept across the room.
Not hurried.
Not curious.
Calculating.
As though he were judging every soul present.
Finally...
His eyes found Isabella.
The world seemed to disappear.
He didn't blink.
Neither did she.
Something about those grey eyes unsettled her.
Not because they were cruel.
Because...
For one impossible second...
They looked relieved.
As if he had been searching for her...
For years.
Damian took another step.
Then another.
Nobody dared stop him.
Leonardo finally stepped forward.
"This is private property."
Damian ignored him.
He continued walking until only a few feet separated him from the altar.
The priest's hands trembled so violently that the Bible slipped from his fingers onto the floor.
Damian finally spoke.
His deep voice was calm.
Quiet.
Yet it carried through every corner of the cathedral.
"Cancel the wedding."
No one answered.
No one breathed.
Leonardo clenched his jaw.
"You've made your point."
"Leave."
Damian slowly turned his head toward him.
A faint smile appeared.
It wasn't friendly.
It was dangerous.
"I wasn't asking."
Leonardo's bodyguards immediately surrounded him.
Weapons drawn.
Damian didn't even glance at them.
Instead...
He looked back at Isabella.
She felt frozen beneath his gaze.
Fear mixed with something she couldn't explain.
Why was he looking at her like that?
Why her?
His voice softened.
Almost imperceptibly.
"Come here."
The words stunned everyone.
Isabella didn't move.
"I don't even know you."
For the first time...
Real emotion flickered across Damian's face.
Pain.
Gone before anyone else noticed.
"You will."
Leonardo stepped between them.
"She's my fiancée."
Damian's eyes darkened.
"No."
He took one final step forward.
"She was never yours."
The silence became unbearable.
Then Damian spoke the words that changed Isabella's life forever.
"She has always belonged to me."
Gasps echoed through the cathedral.
Isabella stared at him in disbelief.
What was he talking about?
She had never met this man.
Had she?
Before another word could be spoken
A sharp crack split the air.
BANG!
A gunshot.
Someone screamed.
The guests scattered in panic.
Another shot echoed.
Then another.
Chaos exploded throughout the cathedral.
Damian reacted instantly.
In one swift movement, he crossed the distance between them.
He wrapped one powerful arm around Isabella's waist and pulled her tightly against his chest.
She instinctively struggled.
"Let me go!"
His grip only tightened.
He leaned close enough for only her to hear.
His breath brushed against her ear as he whispered,
"Fight me if you want..."
"...but if you stay here for one more minute"
His grey eyes locked onto hers.
"They'll kill you."
- Writer
