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“Valentino my father was killed years ago,” she finally choked through her tears. “That is my evil uncle.”
A waterfall of tears began to flow down her soft, rosy cheeks. It took a minute for me to process what she was talking about. I tried to press her for more information, but as delicately as possible.
Reaching my hand to her face, I swiped my thumb under her eyes, wiping away her tears. “What do you mean?” I inquired.
“He killed my father and raised me as his own,” she sobbed, peering out the window. “He killed my dad in front of me then kidnapped me.”
15 New Revelation
My mouth fell open and I stood, immediately running my fingers through my hair in a silent panic.Joseph hurried to us after overhearing what Isabelle had just blurted. She was now curled up in her seat with her knees to her chest. Her palms covered both of her eyes.I paced the aisle back and forth, taking multiple deep breaths to calm myself down.
I ran my fingers through my hair once again, unsure if she was crying at this point or just hiding in her personal bubble.What the fuck was going on? I was incredibly confused.Joseph was better with people than I was. He knelt down in front of her, trying to calm her in the midst of my own anxiety.
“Isabelle, it’s okay,” Joseph soothed.
“Amanda!” I barked harshly. “Water!”
She scurried to the mini kitchen area, then quickly sprinted to me with two bottles of water in her hands. I snatched them from her immediately, opening one for Isabelle.
“Here, drink it,” I commanded as I lightly tapped the side of her upper arm with the full bottle. She peeked out from behind her hands to see what I was offering. Her soft, pink lips curled into a tiny, thankful smile, but she did not say a word as she took it.
Felipe was not her father. No. This could not be correct. I had to have more information. Just as I opened my mouth to speak, an announcement echoed throughout the cabin on the intercom:
Mr. Greco, we are going to be going through a bit of turbulence.It's going to get bumpy so please, for your safety, I need everyone to return to their seats and buckle your seat belts.
Nodding to Joseph, he patted Isabelle on the knee before he returned to the front of the plane.I harshly sat down in my seat, buckling my seat belt, and staring straight ahead with a clenched jaw. I did not know what to say or if I should say anything to her at the moment.She was probably waiting for answers while I was just sitting idle, consumed in confusion and anger.
“Isabelle, I--,” I muttered but froze, losing all train of thought.
Nothing I could say or ask her would help right now.She peeked out from behind her palms with red, watery eyes, meeting my gaze. Her body was stiff and tense, her lips pursed as she choked back her tears, sniffling.
I took a deep breath, regrouping, then tried once more to speak.Leaning over the armrest of the chair, I opened my mouth. Before I could utter another word, Isabelle lifted her hand into the air, signaling for me not to say anything.I sighed, sinking back, angrily exhaling as I irritably gripped the arms of my chair, my knuckles becoming white.
I was not angry at her. I was pissed off at myself. Shaking my head, I thought back to my meeting with Felipe in Spain. His words and urgency for the protection of Isabelle seemed so genuine. It was not easy to fool me, but when I saw her photo, I knew that I would not be able to turn him down.
At the bar, he maintained a level of authority as he voided the contract. I was not sure what Xavier actually had to do with it now, but I was going to find out. Me protecting Isabelle was more than likely about to become a mission that could potentially become more dangerous, especially when Felipe discovered that I took off to another country with her. It would not be long before the hunter became the hunted.
For the next hour, my plane jolted and shook as we rode out the turbulence.Isabelle was now gripping her armrests tightly, appearing nervous.I reached my hand out to comfort her, but she ignored my kind gesture.That's okay.She was possibly just as confused as I was right now, if not more, considering what I had put her through lately. I would have to contact William the moment we landed.
After dropping Isabelle off at the airport, I clutched my steering wheel tightly, speeding back to Valentino's estate.I was craving to release some anger and frustration out on something...or someone.Valentino left me to attend to Isabelle's former boss, Jesse. I was ordered to press him for more information, killing him in the end.
However, after the meeting with Felipe, I was annoyed that Valentino had run off and taken Isabelle to another country.While I respected his choice to do so and understood his need to get her far away, I was angry that I could not go with them to help protect them. I knew this would not result in anything but further complications for all of us.
As I pulled up to the front gate of the estate, I noticed Tanya's car sat off to the right side of the entrance.She had been avoiding me lately and I was upset. Isabelle triggered the anger and hurt in me by bringing her name up earlier in the car. I knew she meant no harm to me, but I was caught off guard.
Tanya and I started off with casual sex shortly after she began to work for me, but truthfully, at some point during all the time we spent together, I fell in love with her. While I had other things that I needed to get done today before Valentino arrived in London, Tanya being here was more important to me. I was glad she had come by. One of the guards stood next to the gate, by the guardhouse. I lowered my window as he approached the car.
“Let her in behind me,” I ordered.
“Yes, sir,” he nodded in agreement.
Turning around, he gave a thumbs up to the other security guy through the window of the guard house. The largewrought iron bars slowly opened, and I drove through, hoping she instinctively knew to follow me, but I had not motioned for her to do so. Peeking up into my rear view mirror, I noticed she had.
Once in front of the house, I stepped out of my car, leaning against the driver's side door, waiting for her next move. I held my keys in my hand as I folded my arms over my chest. She slowly stepped out of her car, softly closing the door.It was then that I noticed her eyes were red and swollen as she carried a stack of papers in her hand. Defensively, I huffed to myself, resting my fingers on my hips. In my world, nothing good ever came from a stack of papers.
She trudged over, coming to a stop in front of me, never making eye contact. She sighed, seeming shy and distracted. I arched a brow, wondering why she was here and what the papers had to do with it.
“Hi Liam,” she rasped.
