Finding Isabella was like chasing a ghost. Her name was buried deep in the cracks of the criminal underworld, whispered in hushed tones as someone who disappeared years ago. But if my father trusted her, she was my only chance. I needed answers.
The rain was relentless as I stood outside the crumbling townhouse she called home, tucked away in the farthest corner of the city. I knocked twice, my heartbeat thundering in my ears, half-expecting her to refuse me.
Instead, the door creaked open, revealing a woman with sharp, tired eyes and streaks of silver in her dark hair. She studied me for a long moment before speaking.
“You’re him, aren’t you? His daughter.”
“Alyssa,” I confirmed, my voice steady despite the nerves twisting in my gut. “I need your help. My father left me a letter. He said you were someone I could trust.”
She hesitated but eventually stepped aside. “Then you’d better come in.”
Inside, the place smelled of old books and jasmine incense. Faded photographs lined the walls-images of my father in his prime, smiling and free-a version of him I never knew. Isabella noticed me staring.
“He was a good man, your father. Flawed, but good,” she said softly. “But good doesn’t survive in our world. That’s why he’s gone.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I need to know what happened. Xavier told me one thing. Ethan told me another. I don’t know who to believe anymore.”
Isabella’s lips curled into a bitter smile. “Neither of them. They’re both liars, Alyssa. And your father’s death? They were both involved.”
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut, leaving me reeling. “Both?” I whispered, disbelief thick in my voice. “Why? What did they want?”
She gestured for me to sit, lighting a cigarette with practiced ease. “Power. Control. Your father’s empire was the prize, and those two-Xavier and Ethan-they played their parts perfectly.”
She exhaled a plume of smoke. “Xavier wanted control of the operation, and Ethan wanted leverage. Your father got caught in the middle.”
My head swam with the weight of her words. Everything they’d told me was a lie.
“So Xavier killed him?” I asked, anger burning in my chest.
Isabella gave a slow nod. “Yes. But not without Ethan’s help. Ethan knew what was coming and did nothing to stop it. He let your father walk into a death trap because it suited his plans.”
A cold knot tightened in my stomach. Ethan had claimed he wanted to protect me from Xavier, but now I saw the truth-he wasn’t my savior. He was just as guilty.
Isabella stood and reached for a small lockbox hidden beneath a bookshelf. She opened it with a key hanging around her neck, pulling out a worn envelope.
The edges were yellowed with time, but I could feel the weight of its contents even before she handed it to me.
“This is everything,” she said. “Proof of what Xavier and Ethan did to your father. Bank transfers, meeting logs, surveillance footage-enough to burn them both to the ground.”
I stared at the envelope, my hands trembling slightly. It was all here. All the answers, all the power I needed to dismantle both of their lives.
But Isabella’s gaze darkened. “There’s a catch, Alyssa.”
I looked up sharply. “What catch?”
She stubbed out her cigarette and leaned forward, her eyes heavy with warning. “Using this evidence will bring them down-but it will also drag you down with them.
Your name is all over those documents. Your father’s crimes, your family’s connections… You’ll lose everything if this goes public.”
My heart pounded painfully in my chest. The envelope felt heavier in my hands, like a ticking time bomb. This was my chance to take control-to destroy both Xavier and Ethan before they could destroy me.
But at what cost?
“If I walk away from this, what happens?” I whispered.
Isabella shrugged. “You survive. But you’ll always be running-living under their shadows, forever caught in their game.”
Her words settled over me like a shroud. There was no clean escape. Every path I took led to danger, to betrayal, to sacrifice.
“And if I use it?”
“You become powerful, but you lose yourself. This game… it doesn’t leave anyone untouched, Alyssa. Not even someone as clever as you.”
The room felt suffocating, the walls closing in as my mind raced. What was I supposed to do? Use the evidence and risk everything? Or walk away and let them win?
“I don’t want to be a pawn anymore,” I whispered, more to myself than to Isabella.
She gave me a sad smile. “Then don’t be. But remember-power comes with a price. Are you ready to pay it?”
I clenched my jaw, staring at the envelope in my hands. This was my chance to change everything. To stop running. To take control.
But deep down, I knew the moment I opened that envelope, there was no turning back.
Just as I stood to leave, my phone buzzed. The sound was sharp, cutting through the thick tension in the room. I pulled it from my pocket, my heart sinking as I saw Xavier’s name on the screen.
Xavier: Where are you?
My fingers hovered over the screen, indecision clawing at me. I couldn’t let him know where I was-not yet.
I shoved the phone back into my pocket, ignoring the message. But even as I did, I knew time was running out. Xavier wasn’t the kind of man who waited patiently.
“You need to be careful, Alyssa,” Isabella said quietly, watching me with a knowing gaze. “They’ll both come for you, and when they do, you need to be ready.”
I nodded, tucking the envelope into my coat. I would be ready. Or at least, I’d have to be.
As I stepped out into the cold night air, the weight of the evidence pressed against my chest like a secret I could barely contain.
Every step I took felt heavier than the last. There was no right choice-only the one I could live with.
Just as I rounded the corner, a shadow stepped into my path. Xavier’s man. His eyes were sharp, his expression cold.
“He’s waiting for you, Alyssa,” the man said, his voice low and threatening. “Don’t keep him waiting.”
My heart skipped a beat, but I kept my face blank. He couldn’t know about the letter. He couldn’t know about Isabella.
I gave him a tight smile. “I was just taking a walk. Lead the way.”
As we walked toward Xavier’s waiting car, the envelope burned against my skin, a silent reminder that my time was running out.
And soon, I’d have to make a choice that would change everything.