Chapter 4
“I saw your men asking questions. They went to hospitals, churches, shelters. One of them came to the apartment where I had been staying.”
“Why didn’t you come forward?”
“Because the men who attacked you saw me.”
My body went still.
Isabella looked toward the door before continuing.
“One of them followed me from the alley. I managed to lose him in the subway, but I understood what it meant. If I stayed, they would use me to reach you.”
“You should have told me.”
“I didn’t know who I could trust.”
“You could trust me.”
A sad smile touched her lips.
“You were unconscious, Alessandro. And even while you were burning with fever, you kept reaching for a gun.”
Lily’s eyes widened.
“You had a fever?”
“A bad one,” Isabella said.
“Did Mom give you soup?”
“She gave me stitches.”
Lily nodded solemnly.
“She’s good at fixing things.”
The simple statement cut deeper than it should have.
Isabella looked away.
“I left New York before sunrise,” she continued. “I changed my name twice. For almost a year, I moved every few weeks. Then someone found me.”
My fingers curled against the table.
“Who?”
“Your sister.”
The room seemed to tilt.
May you like
“Elena?”
Isabella nodded.
