CHAPTER SEVEN: THE MESSAGE
341 Words
Chapter 7: The Message
As they clung to each other in silence, a message buzzed on Isabella’s phone.
She picked it up, eyes widening at the unknown number’s words.
“I know your secret.”
Isabella’s breath hitched. Her fingers trembled as she read the words again, heart slamming against her chest. The room seemed to tilt around her, Ethan’s voice muffled in the distance.
“What is it? Who is it from?” Ethan asked, stepping closer.
She showed him the screen. His face darkened, a mix of fear and fury brewing in his eyes.
“This can’t be happening,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. “Who the hell knows?”
“Could it be Dante?” Isabella whispered, dread settling like a stone in her stomach.
Ethan’s jaw clenched. “If he knew, we’d already be dead.”
Isabella swallowed hard. The message was short, anonymous, but heavy with threat. It meant someone had seen them, someone who could destroy everything.
“We can’t let this ruin the plan,” Ethan said firmly. “We’re too close, Isa. Just two more months, we take the money and disappear.”
But deep down, Isabella felt the weight of her guilt pressing harder than ever. Not just about the plan, but about the way her heart raced when Dante touched her. The way she sometimes caught herself watching him when he wasn’t looking. It was wrong. Dangerous. And now someone knew.
A knock at the door made them both jump.
Dante’s voice came through. “Isabella? Open up.”
Isabella and Ethan exchanged a look of pure panic.
“Go,” Ethan hissed, slipping into the adjoining room through a secret passage only the staff knew.
Isabella straightened her dress, wiped her face, and opened the door.
Dante stood there, a storm behind his eyes. “Who were you talking to just now?”
Her lips parted, but no words came.
And then his phone rang—unknown caller. He glanced at the screen, his brow furrowing.
- Writer
