Sofia entered carrying a tray with a cup of coffee.
Her expression had changed completely.
She wore a bright smile that looked almost unnatural.
“Isabella!”
Isabella looked up.
“Sofia?”
“I brought you some coffee.”
Sofia approached the sofa and held out the tray.
“Here. You must be tired after your journey.”
Isabella was surprised by the sudden kindness.
“Thank you.”
She reached towards the cup.
Sofia stepped closer.
Then, as though she had suddenly lost her balance, she deliberately shifted her foot and tilted the tray.
The cup slid dangerously towards the edge.
Hot coffee splashed out, flying directly towards Isabella.
Isabella barely had time to react.
A strong hand suddenly appeared between them.
With one swift movement, the tray was knocked away.
CRASH!
The cup struck the floor and shattered into pieces.
Coffee spread across the tiles.
Before Isabella could understand what had happened, a strong arm wrapped around her and pulled her firmly against a familiar chest.
She gasped.
Her eyes squeezed shut instinctively.
For a moment, she couldn't move.
The solid chest against her felt strangely familiar, though she couldn't understand why.
The arm around her held her securely, shielding her from the broken cup and the hot coffee.
Isabella remained frozen, her fingers clutching the stranger's clothing.
She was too frightened to look up.
Sofia stood motionless.
Her eyes moved from the shattered cup to the man standing beside Isabella.
Then she looked at Isabella, and her expression changed.
The sweetness disappeared from her face.
“What is wrong with you?” Sofia snapped.
Isabella slowly opened her eyes.
She was still trying to understand what had happened when Sofia stepped towards her.
“You came back and immediately started embarrassing everyone!”
Isabella stared at her.
“What? I didn't do anything!”
“You tried to make me look bad in front of our important investor!”
“I didn't! The coffee—”
“Enough!”
Sofia's voice rose.
She looked towards the man who had rescued Isabella, then turned back to her sister.
“Do you think you can seduce the investor our family has brought here just because you have no shame?”
Isabella's eyes widened.
“Seduce him? What are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I'm talking about!”
Sofia's face twisted with anger.
“You've barely returned, and already you're trying to attract attention!”
“That isn't true! I was only sitting here!”
“Stop lying!”
Sofia raised her hand to slap Isabella.
Isabella flinched and instinctively shut her eyes.
But the slap never came.
A strong hand caught Sofia's wrist in midair.
Everything stopped.
Sofia's raised hand remained suspended.
Isabella stood frozen, her eyes still closed.
The stranger had stopped Sofia without saying a single word.
Slowly, Isabella became aware of the silence around her.
No one was speaking.
No one was moving.
Even Sofia seemed unable to understand what had just happened.
Isabella carefully opened her eyes.
She wanted to see who had stopped the slap.
She slowly lifted her head.
First, she saw the hand gripping Sofia's wrist.
Then the arm.
Then the broad shoulders of the man standing beside her.
Her gaze travelled upwards.
And the moment she saw his face, her entire world seemed to stop.
Her lips parted.
Her eyes widened.
Her body went completely rigid.
She knew that face.
She knew those cold, dark eyes.
She knew the man whose presence had filled an empty apartment for four months.
The man she had searched for desperately over three days.
The man she had cried over when she found nothing but his collar and chain on the floor.
The man she had believed she would never see again.
Dante Moretti.
Isabella stared at him in absolute disbelief.
He was standing right there.
Alive.
Silent.
And holding Sofia's wrist.
Her heart pounded so violently that she could barely breathe.
Dante?
She couldn't bring herself to say his name aloud.
She simply stared at him, unable to understand how the man who had disappeared from her life had suddenly appeared in her own house.
Around them, everyone stood in stunned silence.
Sofia's face had turned pale.
Isabella's mother stared at the investor in disbelief.
Her grandmother looked from Isabella to the man protecting her granddaughter, unable to comprehend what she was witnessing.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody dared to interrupt the silence.
And Dante Moretti?
He didn't utter a single word.
His expression remained cold and unreadable as he held Sofia's wrist, his presence alone enough to make the entire room fall silent.
Isabella continued staring at him.
Three days ago, she had searched for him until she could barely stand.
Now, he was here.
And for reasons she couldn't understand, the ruthless mafia don she had cared for over four months was the very man who had just saved her again.
"What's going on here?" her father shouted from the staircase.
END OF BOOK 3
To be continued...