Chapter 7 - ISABELLA'S PRICE
Dante confronted Isabella in the conservatory the following morning, with Rebecca present at Isabella's request. He showed her the corridor footage and the shipping schedule. Isabella's composure cracked.
"My father borrowed money from Victor," she said. "Not ordinary money. The kind that comes with photographs and threats."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because he said your brother learned the truth and ended up dead."
Dante went still.
Isabella twisted the ring on her finger. "Victor told me to find the seal. I photographed it. Later he demanded I use it on blank wax sheets so he could make impressions. He said if I refused, my father's people would come for my younger cousin."
"You could have come to me."
"You were the man Victor raised. How was I supposed to know which side you were on?"
The question hurt because it was fair.
Dante asked whether she knew about the threats against Sophia. Isabella shook her head, then stopped. "Victor said the child had seen me. He told me not to worry. I should have understood what that meant."
"Yes," Dante said. "You should have."
She began to cry, the first time he had ever seen her do so. He felt pity, but not absolution.
"The engagement is over," he said.
Isabella closed her eyes. "I know."
Rebecca explained how Isabella could speak to investigators through counsel. She agreed to provide her messages and the account through which Victor directed her. Her cooperation did not erase her part in the fraud, but it created a path toward the truth.
When Elena heard the engagement had ended, she felt no triumph. She remembered Isabella's contempt and the threat to Sophia. But she also knew fear could make people cruel, especially when they believed they had no other choice.
That evening Sophia asked whether the pretty lady was coming back.
"Not for a while," Elena said.
"Is she sad?"
"I think so."
May you like
Sophia hugged Mr. Whiskers. "Then she needs a cat."
Elena held her daughter close, struck again by how differently children and adults understood punishment. Sophia saw unhappiness and imagined comfort. Elena saw danger and imagined a locked door.
