The Don`s Only Weakness

Chapter 1: The Girl Who Saw Too Much The rain had been falling for almost two hours. Isabella Romano pulled her coat tighter around herself as she hurried along the nearly deserted street. Her shoes were soaked, her umbrella was beginning to turn inside out, and her phone had only six percent battery left. Normally, she would have called a taxi. Tonight, she couldn't afford one. Not after paying the pharmacy bill that afternoon. She glanced at the message on her phone. Mamma: The medicine is finished. Don't worry about me. We'll manage somehow. Isabella's chest tightened. That was what her mother always said. We'll manage. They had been managing for two years. Since her father's death, Isabella had become the person holding their small family together. Her mother couldn't work consistently because of her health, and Isabella's younger brother, Matteo, was still in school. Every euro mattered. The little art gallery where she worked barely paid enough to cover rent, groceries, and her mother's medication. She had been saving every extra coin because Matteo's university application fees were due in three weeks. That was why she couldn't quit. Why she couldn't lose her job. Why she couldn't afford trouble. And tonight, trouble had found her anyway. Isabella lowered her umbrella and looked at the empty street ahead. Twenty minutes. Just twenty minutes and she'd be home. She could make tea for her mother. She could check Matteo's homework. She could pretend everything was normal. Then she saw the cars. Three black luxury cars were parked outside an abandoned warehouse. Their engines were running. Their windows were tinted. Isabella slowed. A strange feeling crawled through her stomach. She should have kept walking. Instead, she remembered her father's final warning before he died. Stay away from men who make people afraid to speak. She had never understood what he meant. Until tonight. The warehouse door stood slightly open. Voices came from inside. Men. Angry men. Isabella moved closer without thinking. Through the opening, she saw a group of men standing around a long wooden table. Black suits. Expensive watches. Weapons hidden beneath jackets. Her stomach twisted. Then she saw him. The man standing at the head of the table. Tall. Impossibly calm. Dark hair slicked back from his forehead. His expression was unreadable. Everyone else in the room looked nervous. He looked bored. One of the men slammed a folder onto the table. “You broke the agreement.” The tall man looked down at the folder. Then up. “I gave you an opportunity.” “You gave us a threat.” “No.” His voice was quiet. “I gave you a choice.” Silence. The man nearest the table swallowed. “And if we refuse?” The stranger's eyes hardened. “Then you deal with the consequences.” A whisper came from behind Isabella. “It's Moretti.” Her eyes widened. Alessandro Moretti. The Shadow Don. The name was familiar. Everyone in the city had heard rumors about him. Power. Violence. Money. Disappearances. Isabella slowly backed away. She didn't belong here. She had never belonged anywhere near people like this. She turned. Her heel struck an empty glass bottle. Crash. The warehouse fell silent. Every head turned. Alessandro's gaze locked onto the doorway. “Who's there?” Isabella ran. She didn't think. She just ran. Her umbrella fell behind her. Footsteps followed. “Stop!” She sprinted down the street, her heart pounding. She thought about her mother. About Matteo. About the medicine waiting on the kitchen counter. She couldn't disappear. They couldn't take her. Her family needed her. She turned into an alley. Dead end. Isabella stopped. “No…” Two men appeared at the entrance. “Miss Romano.” Her blood ran cold. “How do you know my name?” Neither man answered. One moved toward her. She stepped back. “Stay away from me.” “You're coming with us.” “No!” She tried to push past him. He caught her wrist. “Let go!” Then a black car rolled slowly into the alley. The rear door opened. Alessandro Moretti stepped out. Rain ran down his coat. He looked completely unaffected by the storm. His eyes settled on Isabella. She suddenly understood something. This man wasn't afraid of anything. And that made him more dangerous than every rumor she'd heard. He approached her. “The girl who saw too much.” “I didn't see anything.” His gaze sharpened. “Liar.” “I was just walking home.” “Then why were you watching?” “I heard voices.” “And stayed.” She swallowed. “I was curious.” Something almost like amusement flickered in his eyes. “Curiosity gets people killed.” Isabella's heart hammered. “I won't tell anyone.” “I believe you.” “Then let me go.” “I can't.” Her voice broke. “I have a family.” Alessandro's expression changed slightly. “Mother?” Isabella stared at him. “How do you know?” “You checked your phone three times after you left the warehouse.” She said nothing. “You're worried about someone.” “My mother.” “Anyone else?” “My brother.” Alessandro studied her. “Names?” “Why?” “Because you're asking me to believe you have nothing to lose.” Isabella's eyes filled with tears. “I have everything to lose.” For a moment, neither spoke. She reached for her phone. “My mother is waiting for me. Her medicine—” Alessandro's gaze dropped to the phone in her hand. Then back to her face. “You won't be going home tonight.” Panic shot through her. “No.” “Get in the car.” “No.” She shook her head violently. “You don't understand. My mother needs me.” “I understand perfectly.” “Then please.” She stepped toward him. “I'll stay quiet. I'll forget everything I saw. Just let me go home.” Alessandro looked at her for a long moment. Then his eyes moved to the men beside him. “Find out everything about Isabella Romano.” Isabella's breathing stopped. “Wait.” He turned away. “Please!” He paused. She forced herself to speak. “My brother has school tomorrow. My mother will think something happened to me.” Alessandro looked back at her. For the first time, something unreadable crossed his face. “Call them.” Hope flashed through her. “What?” “You can make one call.” Isabella grabbed her phone. Her hands shook as she dialed her mother. One ring. Two. No answer. “Please…” Three rings. Then voicemail. Her stomach dropped. “Mamma?” Nothing. She called again. Still nothing. She looked at Alessandro. “Something's wrong.” His expression became unreadable. “Or she's asleep.” “She never sleeps without telling me.” Alessandro's gaze moved to one of his men. “Check the address.” The man immediately nodded. Isabella stared at him. “Why?” Alessandro didn't answer. Her phone rang. She nearly dropped it. It was Matteo. She answered immediately. “Matteo?” Her brother's voice came through, frightened and breathless. “Bella…” Her heart stopped. “What happened?” “I heard someone outside.” The line went silent. “Matteo?” Nothing. “Matteo!” The call ended. Isabella stared at the screen in horror. She looked at Alessandro. “What did you do?” His expression hardened. “Get in the car.” “No.” “This is no longer about what you saw.” He stepped closer. “Someone already knows you're connected to me.” Isabella felt the world tilt beneath her. “What?” Alessandro's voice dropped. “And now they know exactly what your family means to you.” She finally understood. She wasn't simply a witness anymore. She was leverage. Alessandro opened the car door. “This is your last chance, Isabella.” She looked toward the dark street. Then at her phone. Then back at him. Her family needed her. Whatever waited for her inside that car, she had no choice. She climbed inside. Alessandro followed and shut the door. As the car pulled away from the alley, Isabella stared through the rain-covered window. She had always believed that her greatest responsibility was protecting her family. She was wrong. Because tonight, protecting them meant entering the world she had spent her entire life trying to avoid. And she still didn't know the most terrifying truth. Alessandro Moretti hadn't chosen Isabella because she had witnessed his secret. He had chosen her because of her last name. Romano. A name connected to a betrayal that had nearly destroyed the Moretti family years ago. And Alessandro had not forgotten.