Chapter 5 — The Warning
1158 Words
The mansion had never felt so quiet.
Isabella stood frozen at the end of the corridor, staring into the darkness.
Lucian Moretti was home.
Dante’s uncle.
The man whose name had surfaced in Isabella’s fractured memories.
Lucian.
Her fingers tightened around the pendant beneath her blouse.
Dante stepped in front of her.
“Go to your room.”
“What?”
“Now.”
His voice was calm, but his eyes weren’t.
Isabella had learned enough about Dante to recognize the difference.
He wasn’t angry.
He was afraid.
“For me?” she whispered.
“For what might happen if you stay here.”
Before she could answer, footsteps echoed from the staircase.
Slow.
Unhurried.
A tall man appeared beneath the chandelier.
He looked nothing like the monster Isabella had imagined.
Lucian Moretti wore an expensive charcoal suit, his silver-streaked hair neatly combed back. His face was calm, almost pleasant.
His eyes were the only thing that unsettled her.
They studied her as though he had been waiting years to see her.
Then his gaze dropped to her hand.
To the pendant.
Something flickered across his face.
Recognition.
Dante noticed.
“Uncle.”
Lucian smiled.
“You’re still protective of strangers, I see.”
Isabella’s stomach tightened.
Dante’s expression hardened.
“She’s an employee.”
“Of course.”
Lucian looked at Isabella again.
“What’s your name?”
She hesitated.
“Isabella.”
Lucian’s smile disappeared.
“Isabella what?”
Dante answered before she could.
“Isabella Gray.”
Lucian’s eyes narrowed.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then he laughed softly.
“Gray.”
He repeated the name as if tasting a lie.
“Interesting.”
He walked past them.
But as he reached the end of the corridor, he stopped.
Without turning around, he said, “Some ghosts are very difficult to bury.”
Isabella’s blood ran cold.
Lucian continued walking.
The moment he disappeared, she turned toward Dante.
“What did he mean?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
Dante looked at her.
She expected anger.
Instead, his expression softened.
“That’s exactly what I’m trying to prevent.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
Dante remained silent.
Isabella stepped closer.
“You knew my father.”
Silence.
“You knew my mother.”
His jaw tightened.
“And now your uncle looks at me like he knows exactly who I am.”
Dante finally said, “You need to stay away from Lucian.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know what side he’s on.”
That answer frightened her more than anything else.
“You don’t know?”
“I know enough to be cautious.”
Before Isabella could respond, Maria hurried toward them.
“Mr. Moretti.”
Dante turned.
“What happened?”
“There was a package delivered to the back entrance.”
Dante’s expression changed instantly.
“Who delivered it?”
“No one saw.”
“Where is it?”
“Security has it.”
Dante looked at Isabella.
“Stay here.”
He walked away.
Isabella followed.
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
“Dante—”
“No.”
His voice was sharper this time.
She stopped.
Dante turned back.
“I need you to trust me.”
Isabella stared at him.
“That’s becoming difficult.”
Pain flashed across his eyes.
Then he walked away.
⸻
Ten minutes later, the package sat on a steel table inside the security room.
It was a small black box.
No name.
No address.
No fingerprints.
Dante stood several feet away while his head of security examined it.
“There’s something inside,” the man said.
“Open it.”
The lid lifted.
Isabella, standing behind Dante, saw a single photograph.
Her breath caught.
It was a picture of her.
Taken that morning.
She was standing outside the mansion.
The photograph had been taken from across the street.
Someone had been watching her.
Underneath the photograph was a handwritten message.
YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED DEAD.
Isabella’s hands began to shake.
Dante took the photograph from the table.
His face became terrifyingly still.
“Lock down the entire property.”
“Already done.”
“Double the guards.”
“Yes, sir.”
Dante turned toward Isabella.
“You’re not leaving this mansion.”
She stared at him.
“Someone has been following me.”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
Dante didn’t answer.
“For how long, Dante?”
“Long enough.”
Her heart sank.
“You knew.”
“I suspected.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“I didn’t want you frightened.”
“I’m already frightened!”
Her voice cracked.
Dante stepped toward her.
“I know.”
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Isabella noticed something.
There was writing on the back of the photograph.
Not the same handwriting as the message.
Only three words.
ASK ABOUT YOUR MOTHER.
Her heart stopped.
“What does that mean?”
Dante looked at it.
His face changed.
“What?”
“You know something.”
“I know that whoever sent this wants you to start digging.”
“Maybe I should.”
“No.”
“She’s my mother.”
“And she’s the reason people are trying to kill you.”
Isabella flinched.
Dante immediately regretted the words.
But before he could apologize, a loud crash came from upstairs.
Everyone froze.
A security guard rushed into the room.
“Sir!”
Dante reached for the weapon hidden beneath his jacket.
“What happened?”
“We found someone in the west wing.”
Isabella’s eyes widened.
“The west wing?”
Dante grabbed her hand.
“Stay behind me.”
They rushed upstairs.
The west-wing corridor was empty.
A window stood open.
The curtains moved in the cold night air.
One guard was unconscious on the floor.
Dante crouched beside him.
“He’s alive.”
Isabella looked toward the open window.
Then she saw something on the floor.
A small silver object.
She picked it up.
Her pendant began to vibrate against her chest.
She stared at the object in her palm.
It was a key.
And engraved on it was one letter.
R.
The same letter on her pendant.
A whisper came from the darkness behind them.
“Your mother left you more than a name.”
Isabella spun around.
Nobody was there.
Dante pulled her against him.
His eyes searched the corridor.
“Who said that?”
No answer.
Then his phone rang.
Dante answered.
His expression slowly darkened.
“Who is it?”
He didn’t respond.
Isabella watched his face.
Finally, Dante whispered,
“Alessandro.”
Her heart stopped.
“What?”
Dante lowered the phone.
“Your father is alive.”
Before Isabella could process the words, another message appeared on Dante’s phone.
One sentence.
HE HAS BEEN WAITING FOR HIS DAUGHTER.
And beneath it was a location.
ROMANO ESTATE.
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