The news came at noon: the release was set.
Nancy would be freed by sunset.
“See?" Aaron said when he arrived, trying for lightness. “You demanded, I delivered."
“You bargained because you had to," Isabella said, watching him over the rim of her cup. “That's not generosity. That's leverage."
He sighed. “You make everything a negotiation."
“It's how I've survived you."
---
They didn't speak of the real plan—the one Nancy had whispered before the arrest. It was safer unspoken.
The maid Samantha trusted would bring the baby to the villa gate for one hour on his first-month blessing.
No witnesses. No trace.
Isabella prepared like it was a siege.
She scrubbed the cradle twice, laid out the soft wrap Nancy had mended, set water to heat for washing. She hummed a lullaby until her throa
