CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 8
The Child Between Two Worlds
The first thing Isabella Romano did when she entered Villa Moretti was smile.
Not because she was happy.
Not because she felt welcome.
Because she wanted everyone in the room to understand something.
She was not afraid.
The gates opened at midnight.
No announcement.
No warning.
Just a single black vehicle moving slowly through the estate.
Every guard raised their weapons.
Every camera followed.
Every person inside Villa Moretti knew exactly who had arrived.
Isabella stepped out wearing a long white coat.
Not black.
Not dark.
White.
A strange choice for someone whose name had been connected to death for fifteen years.
Her silver hair was tied neatly behind her head.
Her expression was calm.
Almost gentle.
And that was what made her dangerous.
Alessandro stood at the entrance.
Between him and the woman who had haunted their lives.
"You have courage coming here."
Isabella looked at him.
"No."
A small smile.
"I have a reason."
Her eyes moved past him.
Toward the staircase.
Toward Emma.
Clara immediately stepped forward.
"No."
Isabella looked at her.
"Still protecting her."
"Stay away from my daughter."
The words carried a mother's fury.
Not fear.
Isabella tilted her head.
"Your daughter?"
A pause.
"That is the problem, Clara."
The temperature seemed to drop.
"Everyone keeps calling her theirs."
Alessandro's voice became cold.
"Choose your next words carefully."
Isabella looked at him.
"You sound like Lorenzo."
Alessandro's expression changed.
"You knew my father."
"Of course."
A faint smile.
"He was one of the few men who understood what the Thorn Circle truly meant."
"Then why did you destroy it?"
Isabella's face hardened.
"Because people destroyed the meaning before I did."
Nobody spoke.
Emma appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Mommy?"
Clara immediately turned.
"Emma, go back to your room."
But Isabella froze.
For the first time...
Her control disappeared.
Just for a second.
Because she was looking at Daniel.
Not literally.
But enough.
The brown curls.
The eyes.
The small expression of curiosity.
The same expression Daniel had when he questioned everything.
Isabella whispered:
"He really did it."
Alessandro narrowed his eyes.
"What?"
"He hid her."
Emma looked at the woman.
"Who are you?"
Isabella stared at her.
Then slowly lowered herself to Emma's height.
"My name is Isabella."
"Are you my daddy's sister?"
Clara became tense.
Alessandro noticed.
Everyone noticed.
Because Emma already knew.
Isabella looked surprised.
"Your mother told you?"
Emma shook her head.
"No."
She hugged Mr. Bunny.
"Daddy did."
Isabella looked at the rabbit.
Her expression changed.
"What did he tell you?"
Emma thought.
"He said Aunt Isabella was sad."
The room went silent.
Isabella looked away.
For the first time, Alessandro saw something unexpected.
Pain.
Not anger.
Not hatred.
Pain.
"He said that?"
Emma nodded.
"He said you forgot something."
"What?"
Emma answered simply:
"That family is supposed to protect each other."
Nobody expected the effect those words would have.
Isabella closed her eyes.
Because those words came from Daniel.
Not Alessandro.
Not Clara.
Daniel.
For a moment...
The dangerous woman disappeared.
And Alessandro saw someone else.
A sister who had lost her brother.
But then the moment ended.
"You don't understand what you are carrying, child."
Emma held Mr. Bunny tighter.
"He's just a rabbit."
Isabella looked at her.
"No."
Her voice became colder.
"He is a key."
Alessandro stepped forward.
"Enough."
Isabella looked at him.
"You still don't know the truth."
"I know enough."
"No."
She smiled sadly.
"You know what your father wanted you to know."
She reached into her coat.
Every guard aimed their weapons.
But she only removed a small envelope.
Old.
Worn.
And addressed to one person.
Daniel Romano.
Alessandro's eyes narrowed.
"Where did you get that?"
"From the person who killed him."
Silence.
Clara looked terrified.
"Who?"
Isabella looked directly at Alessandro.
"The person standing closest to you."
Everyone turned.
Suspicion spread instantly.
Luca moved.
"Check everyone."
Alessandro raised his hand.
"No."
His eyes remained on Isabella.
"You came here to create chaos."
"No."
She looked toward Emma.
"I came here because she deserves the truth."
The envelope was opened.
Inside was a letter.
Daniel's handwriting.
Isabella,
If you are reading this, then everything failed.
You will want revenge.
I know you.
But revenge is not what the Thorn Circle was created for.
Emma is not a weapon.
She is not an heir.
She is a child.
Please remember that.
Isabella stopped reading.
Her fingers trembled.
Then another line.
If Alessandro finds her...
Trust him.
He is the only person I know who will choose her over power.
Alessandro looked at Isabella.
The woman who had spent years watching him.
The woman who had threatened him.
The woman who claimed to know Daniel better than anyone.
"You knew."
She looked up.
"Knew what?"
"Daniel trusted me."
A sad smile appeared.
"He trusted everyone."
A pause.
"That was his weakness."
"No."
Alessandro's voice was firm.
"That was his strength."
The answer surprised her.
Because it was exactly what Daniel would have said.
Later that night, after Isabella was placed under guard, Clara found Alessandro in the garden.
"You believe her?"
He looked at the stars.
"I believe Daniel."
Clara stood beside him.
"That is dangerous."
"Everything about Emma is dangerous."
A pause.
"But she is worth it."
Clara looked at him.
"You really mean that."
He nodded.
"Yes."
"Even if she isn't your daughter?"
Alessandro looked toward the mansion.
Where Emma slept.
Where a child who had lost her father had somehow changed him.
"Blood doesn't decide everything."
Clara's eyes softened.
"What does?"
He answered:
"Choice."
Inside the house, Emma sat beside Isabella.
Against everyone's orders.
Nobody knew how she had escaped the guards.
Nobody knew how she had found the room.
Children had their own kind of magic.
Isabella looked at her.
"You should be afraid of me."
Emma shook her head.
"Why?"
"Because adults like me hurt people."
Emma thought.
Then held out Mr. Bunny.
"Maybe you should stop."
Isabella stared.
"Stop what?"
"Being angry."
A tear almost appeared.
Almost.
"You sound like your father."
Emma smiled.
"Everyone says that."
Isabella touched the rabbit.
Her fingers found the hidden symbol.
The Thorn Circle.
For fifteen years, she believed the symbol represented revenge.
But Daniel had always believed something else.
Protection.
Meanwhile, far away from Villa Moretti...
A man watched the security cameras.
He saw Isabella arrive.
He saw Emma.
He saw Alessandro.
And he smiled.
"Good."
The man said.
"They are finally together."
A second person asked:
"What happens now?"
The man looked at the screen.
"Now we remove the child."
The second person hesitated.
"And Moretti?"
The man smiled.
"Let him try to save her."
Because the greatest weakness of a powerful man...
Was not his enemies.
May you like
It was the person he loved enough to lose everything for.
End of Chapter 8
