The mansion had never felt so tense.
After the gunshot earlier that night, security had doubled across the DeLuca estate. Armed guards patrolled every hallway and every entrance. Cameras were being monitored constantly, and no one was allowed to leave the property.
Yet somehow, the danger still felt closer than ever.
Isabella sat on the edge of the large bed, clutching the blanket tightly around herself. Her heart still hadn't calmed from the terrifying moment when the bedroom door had suddenly burst open.
The intruder had escaped.
But the message had been clear.
Someone inside the mansion wanted her dead.
Matteo stood near the window, speaking quietly into his phone.
"Lock down the east wing," he ordered coldly. "No one enters or leaves without my permission."
He hung up and turned toward her.
Isabella noticed the anger simmering beneath his calm expression.
"Did you find anything?" she asked softly.
Matteo shook his head once.
"Not yet."
His voice was quiet, but dangerous.
"But whoever did this made a mistake."
She swallowed nervously.
"What mistake?"
Matteo's eyes darkened.
"They tried to touch what belongs to me."
The possessiveness in his tone sent a strange chill down her spine.
Before she could respond, someone knocked on the door.
Three sharp knocks.
Matteo immediately pulled his gun again.
"Who is it?" he demanded.
"It's Enzo," came the familiar voice from outside.
Matteo opened the door cautiously.
Enzo stepped inside quickly, closing the door behind him.
His expression was serious.
"We found something."
Matteo crossed his arms.
"Speak."
Enzo hesitated for a moment before saying the words.
"The cameras in the hallway outside Isabella's room… were shut down for exactly two minutes."
Isabella's stomach dropped.
"Shut down?"
"Yes," Enzo said.
"Someone with high-level security access disabled them."
The room fell silent.
Only a few people in the mansion had that kind of access.
Matteo.
Enzo.
And Luca Romano.
Matteo's jaw tightened.
"Where is Luca?" he asked slowly.
Enzo's eyes flickered.
"That's the problem."
Matteo's voice turned deadly.
"He's missing."
Across the city, a black SUV sped through the empty streets under the cover of darkness.
Inside the vehicle, Luca Romano sat calmly in the passenger seat.
Beside him sat two armed men.
In the back seat—
Isabella.
Her wrists were tied.
A cloth was pressed over her mouth to silence her cries.
Tears streamed down her face as panic flooded her chest.
Everything had happened so fast.
Only thirty minutes earlier, she had been alone in her bedroom after Matteo left to investigate the security breach.
Then Maria had knocked on her door.
"Miss Isabella," the maid had whispered urgently. "Matteo asked me to bring you downstairs."
Isabella hadn't questioned it.
But the moment she stepped into the hallway—
A hand grabbed her from behind.
A cloth covered her mouth.
And everything went black.
Now she was here.
Kidnapped.
Terrified.
And far away from the only man who could protect her.
Luca turned slightly and looked at her.
His expression was calm.
Almost amused.
"Well, well," he said softly.
"The precious mother of Matteo DeLuca's heir."
Isabella glared at him through tears.
Luca chuckled.
"Don't look so shocked."
He leaned back in his seat.
"You didn't really think I would let Matteo have everything… did you?"
Her heart pounded.
Why would Luca betray him?
They had been friends.
Brothers, even.
"What do you want?" she managed to whisper through the cloth.
Luca sighed dramatically.
"Power."
His eyes darkened.
"For ten years, I helped Matteo build this empire."
His voice hardened.
"And yet he gets the throne."
His gaze drifted to her stomach.
"And now he gets an heir."
He shook his head slowly.
"No."
His smile returned.
"That future belongs to me."
Back at the DeLuca mansion, chaos had erupted.
Matteo stood in the security control room staring at the camera footage.
His fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles had turned white.
The screen showed Luca entering Isabella's hallway earlier that night.
Then the cameras cut out.
When they came back on—
Isabella was gone.
A terrifying silence filled the room.
Matteo slowly turned toward Enzo.
"Prepare the cars."
His voice was dangerously calm.
Enzo hesitated.
"You're going after him yourself?"
Matteo's eyes burned with rage.
"He took my woman."
A chilling pause followed.
"And my child."
The air seemed to freeze.
"Luca just signed his death sentence."
Meanwhile, the SUV arrived at an abandoned warehouse near the docks.
The men dragged Isabella out of the vehicle roughly.
Rain poured from the sky as thunder cracked overhead.
They pushed her inside the dark building.
The warehouse smelled of rust and oil.
Luca walked in behind them calmly.
"Put her in the chair."
The men tied Isabella to a metal chair in the center of the room.
She struggled desperately.
"Please… don't hurt my baby," she begged.
For a brief moment, Luca looked almost sympathetic.
Then he sighed.
"You should have stayed away from Matteo."
He crouched in front of her.
"You see, Isabella… there's a rule in our world."
His voice dropped.
"The people you love… become your greatest weakness."
Her heart pounded violently.
"You'll never get away with this," she whispered.
Luca smiled.
"Oh, I already have."
Then suddenly—
Gunshots exploded outside the warehouse.
Everyone froze.
Another shot rang out.
Then another.
Luca's men rushed toward the windows.
"What's happening?" one of them shouted.
Before anyone could answer—
The warehouse doors burst open.
And Matteo DeLuca stepped inside.
Rain dripped from his black coat.
His gun was raised.
His eyes burned with pure fury.
Several of Luca's men already lay unconscious outside.
The room went silent.
Luca slowly stood.
"Well," he said casually.
"That was fast."
Matteo's voice was ice.
"Let her go."
Luca laughed.
"Or what?"
Matteo didn't hesitate.
He pulled the trigger.
The bullet struck the man standing beside Luca, dropping him instantly.
Chaos erupted.
Gunfire exploded throughout the warehouse.
Men shouted.
Bullets ricocheted off metal walls.
Isabella screamed as she tried to shield her stomach.
Matteo moved like a predator.
Precise.
Deadly.
Within seconds, two more men fell.
The remaining guards fled.
Finally, only Matteo and Luca remained standing.
Luca held his gun toward Isabella's head.
"Take one more step," he warned.
"And she dies."
Matteo stopped instantly.
The silence was suffocating.
"You always were emotional," Luca mocked.
"That's your weakness."
Matteo's voice dropped to a lethal whisper.
"You're wrong."
His eyes flicked briefly toward Isabella.
"She's my strength."
Then suddenly—
A gunshot echoed.
Luca cried out.
The gun fell from his hand.
Enzo stepped into the warehouse behind Matteo, lowering his weapon.
"Sorry," Enzo muttered.
"Couldn't resist."
Matteo rushed forward instantly.
He untied Isabella and pulled her into his arms.
She clung to him desperately, shaking.
"I thought I'd lost you," she whispered through tears.
Matteo held her tightly.
"You'll never lose me."
His voice was fierce.
"I swear it."
Behind them, Luca lay on the floor bleeding but alive.
Matteo slowly turned toward him.
His eyes were colder than death itself.
"You betrayed me."
Luca coughed weakly.
"You were never meant to rule, Matteo."
Matteo's voice was quiet.
"You're right."
He picked up Luca's fallen gun.
"I was meant to conquer."
Then he fired.
The gunshot echoed through the empty warehouse.
And just like that—
The traitor was gone.
Matteo turned back to Isabella and gently placed his hand over her stomach.
"From now on," he said softly,
"No one touches what's mine."
But neither of them realized something terrifying.
Luca hadn't been working alone.
And somewhere in the shadows…
A much bigger enemy was still watching.