The steel door swung open with a slow, deliberate groan.
Damian filled the entrance, his tall frame absorbing the light behind him.
Shadows held on to his face, but his eyes, those storm-gray eyes burned like fire set loose.
Isabella froze, her back pressed to the wall, bare feet silent against the marble.
She felt like a prey cornered by a predator who had known every step she would take.
He didn't speak at first. He just stared. And that silence was worse than any shouted fury.
Luca shifted behind him, tension carved into every line of his body. "Boss, she…"
"Leave us," Damian cut him off, his voice low, dangerous.
Luca hesitated, his eyes flicking to Isabella soft, almost apologetic before slipping away. The door shut behind him.
Now, there was no one but Damian and her.
He advanced slowly, each step echoing like a countdown. Isabella tried to summon her voice, but it caught in her throat.
When he finally stopped in front of her, his hand shot out, bracing the wall beside her head. She flinched. He leaned down until his face was inches from hers, his breath warm against her skin.
"You think I wouldn't notice?" His tone was very smooth but wrapped around a knife.
"You think you can follow me into my shadows and walk away unharmed?
Her lips parted, trembling. "I… I needed to know what you were hiding."
His eyes flickered, sharp and cutting. "And did you find it?"
She swallowed, the truth clawing up her throat. "You're keeping secrets from me. You talk about trust, but you…"
The words broke as his hand closed around her wrist, not crushing, but firm enough to remind her of his strength.
"You don't get to demand my secrets, Bella." His whisper coiled around her like smoke, dangerous and intimate all at once. "Not when you still keep your own."
Her breath hitched. The way he said it like he already knew, like he was only waiting for her to break.
"Damian," she whispered, her voice fragile but fierce, "if you want me to stay… then stop locking me out."
For the first time, a crack appeared in his mask. His jaw clenched, his eyes darkened, and for a fleeting second she saw not the monster, not the boss but the man.
A man torn between possession and something terrifyingly close to love.
Then, just as quickly, the mask snapped back into place.
"You'll stay," he murmured, his grip tightening, "because I won't let you leave."
And before she could protest, his mouth claimed hers fierce, consuming, punishing.
Her knees gave in, torn between insolence and surrender. Between the fire of his kiss and the ice of his threats, Isabella felt herself unwind.She was not expecting the kiss,her first kiss… and he….
Because she knew, one thing with terrifying certainty.
Damian wasn't just caging her.
He was dragging her deeper into the darkness… and part of her didn't want to fight it.
Isabella's lips burned when he pulled away, the air between them sharp and ragged. Damian's hand still caged her wrist, his thumb pressing against her pulse as if reminding her it beat only because he allowed it.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly. "That's not love," she whispered, the words trembling but defiant. "That's chains."
His gaze softened for the briefest moment, then hardened like steel. "Better it's chains than a grave."
Before she could respond, the door burst open.
Luca stepped inside, his face grim, urgency radiating from every tense line of his body. "Boss. We've got a problem."
Damian didn't release her. His head tilted, eyes flicking toward his right-hand man, but his grip remained like iron. "What kind of problem?"
Luca hesitated, his gaze darting once to Isabella. Something in his eyes warned hervwhatever he was about to say wasn't meant for her ears.
"Say it," Damian ordered, voice sharp enough to cut.
"The Alessandros aren't waiting," Luca said finally. "They've called for a meeting. Tonight. Rumor is they've been approached by someone who wants Isabella as a bargaining chip."
Isabella's heart slammed against her ribs. A cold dread flooded her veins. "What?"
Damian's grip tightened. His eyes snapped to her, burning with fury that wasn't entirely directed at Luca.
"You see?"
His voice was low, deadly. "This is why you can't wander, Bella. You think you can pry at my secrets, but you don't realize you are the secret they're hunting."
Her throat tightened. She opened her mouth, but no sound came.
Luca's voice broke the tension. "If the Alessandros take her, it won't just be leverage, it'll be war."
Damian's jaw flexed. Slowly, finally, he released Isabella's wrist. His palm slid up, cupping her cheek instead, his touch deceptively tender compared to the storm in his eyes.
"They'll never touch you," he promised softly, though the promise sounded more like a vow of blood. "Even if I have to bury every Alessandros alive to make it true."
His words sent a shiver down her spine equal parts terror and something darker, more dangerous. Because when he said it, she believed him.
Luca shifted, his voice low. "Boss, if you're going to that meeting, she can't come."
Isabella's stomach twisted. "You can't just leave me locked away like some.."
Damian silenced her with a look so intense it stole the rest of her words.
"You don't understand yet," he murmured. "You're safer in my cage than in their hands."
And with that, he turned to Luca. "Prepare the cars. No one leaves breathing if they try to touch her name."
The order was calm, chilling.
Luca gave a sharp nod, but as he turned to leave, his eyes caught Isabella's one last time…steady, unspoken, almost pleading.
Wait. Hold on.
But the door slammed shut again, leaving her alone with the man who had just vowed war in her name.
And for the first time, Isabella realized something terrifying.
She wasn't afraid of the Alessandros.
She was afraid of what Damian was willing to become for her.
The mansion grew quieter after Damian and Luca left, but silence was the kind that screamed.
Isabella paced the length of the room, her bare feet brushing against the velvet rug, her heart still hammering with Damian's last words.
War!!!.
All for her.
The thought both warmed and chilled her.
Her hands trembled as she touched the spot on her wrist where Damian's grip had branded her.
She should have felt hatred..chains, not love, she had called it.But every time she tried to summon anger, it tangled with something far more dangerous.
Longing.
Her eyes darted to the locked door. She hated being caged. But Luca's eyes before he left they hadn't just been loyalty to Damian. They had been warned. Maybe even pity.
Something is wrong.
Isabella crept toward the window. The estate below sprawled like a fortress, guards stationed in shadowed corners, headlights sweeping across the long drive. Beyond the gates, however, the night stretched open and dark.
She pressed her forehead against the glass. If I stay here, I'm safe but at his mercy. If I run…
Her stomach twisted.
A sudden rap at the door startled her. She froze.
"It's me." Luca's voice was low, urgent.
Her pulse jumped. She rushed to unlock the door, and when it opened, Luca slipped inside quickly, shutting it behind him.
"What are you.." she started, but his hand lifted, silencing her.
"We don't have time," he said firmly. His eyes scanned the room, sharp, calculating, then landed on her.
"Damian doesn't know I came here. And if he finds out…" He exhaled slowly. "Just listen."
Isabella's throat tightened. "Luca…"
"The Alessandros aren't bluffing," he cut in. "They've already sent men sniffing near the docks.
If they get desperate, they'll come here. Damian won't admit it, but keeping you locked up only paints a bigger target."
Her pulse spiked. "So what do I do? Sit here and wait for them to break in?"
Luca hesitated, jaw tense. Then, softer: "No. You trust me."
The weight of his words settled heavy between them. His eyes dark, steady held hers, a stark contrast to Damian's burning storm. Where Damian consumed, Luca anchored.
Her lips parted. "Why are you helping me?"
For a moment, his mask slipped. "Because someone has to."
Her breath caught.
A sharp knock rattled the door. Both of them froze.
"Bella." Damian's voice slid through the wood, smooth and lethal. "Open the door."
Her blood ran cold.
Luca's jaw clenched. He stepped back, already fading toward the shadowed corner of the room, his expression unreadable. Before slipping out through the adjoining balcony door, he mouthed a single word: Careful.
The knob turned.
Damian entered, his presence filling the space like smoke. His storm-gray eyes scanned her immediately, catching the tension in her shoulders, the way she clutched her hands.
"What's wrong?" His voice was low, suspicious.
Her throat tightened. She forced herself to meet his gaze. "Nothing."
His smirk curved cold, knowing.
He crossed the distance slowly, each step deliberate, until his hand rose to her chin, tilting her face upward.
"Don't lie to me, Bella," he murmured, his thumb brushing against her trembling lip. "Not tonight."
And in that moment, with Luca's warning echoing in her mind and Damian's storm closing in, Isabella realized she was standing on the razor's edge between two men, one who owned her, and one who might just save her.
But the cost of choosing wrong could be blood.