The black SUV screeched to a halt outside Isabella's apartment building, its tires kissing the curb with a hiss.
Isabella didn't wait for the door to fully open before she stepped out, her coat billowing behind her as she strode toward the entrance.
Alexander was right behind her, his phone already pressed to his ear.
"I want eyes on every exit," he said sharply to someone on the other end.
"If she slips through this time, you'll all regret it."
But Isabella wasn't listening.
Her mind was laser-focused on one thing: the woman sitting in her living room, waiting for her like a queen on a stolen throne.
Katerina Volkov.
The door to the apartment was ajar.
She pushed it open slowly, her heels clicking softly against the hardwood as she stepped inside.
The room smelled faintly of roses and smoke.
And there she was.
Katerina sat in the center of the room, draped across Isabella's favorite chair as though it had always been hers.
She wore black — a simple dress that seemed to swallow the light — and in her hand, a glass of wine caught the faint glow of the lamp.
Emilia stood at her side, arms crossed, her expression a mix of triumph and unease.
"Well," Katerina murmured, swirling her glass lazily.
"You came. I wasn't sure you'd be brave enough."
Isabella didn't flinch. She closed the door behind her and stepped closer, her voice low and even.
"You've made a mistake, Volkov. Sitting in my chair. Drinking my wine. Breathing my air."
Katerina's lips curved into a slow, mocking smile.
"Oh, darling," she purred, tilting her head.
"Still pretending this is yours? Still clinging to scraps of a life that was never really yours to begin with?"
Alexander entered then, quiet but imposing, his presence filling the room like a storm cloud.
"Enough," he said, his voice a soft warning.
Katerina's eyes flicked to him — and for the first time, Isabella saw something sharp and calculating behind that mask of amusement.
"Well," Katerina murmured.
"The Devil himself. I was wondering when you'd show."
Alexander didn't smile.
"I'm not here to talk," he said coldly.
"Leave. Now."
But Katerina only laughed — a dark, low sound that sent a shiver down Isabella's spine.
"Oh, no," she said.
"I came all this way for her. And I'm not leaving until we're finished."
She set her wine glass down and stood, her heels clicking softly as she moved closer to Isabella.
"You don't even know what you're fighting for, do you?" she whispered.
"You think it's revenge. You think it's justice. But it's neither. It's survival, Isabella. And I…" — she leaned closer — "I'm better at it than you'll ever be."
Isabella's jaw tightened.
"You've been hiding behind shadows and lies," she said quietly.
"That ends tonight."
Katerina's smile widened, though her eyes gleamed cold and dangerous.
"Oh, my sweet girl," she said.
"You think this is the end? No. This is the beginning."
Suddenly, she raised her hand — and two of her men stepped out of the shadows, blocking the exit.
Alexander moved instantly, stepping forward, his hand already at his side where his weapon waited.
But before anyone could act, Emilia's voice rang out — sharp and bitter.
"She's mine!"
Everyone froze.
Isabella turned, her eyes locking on her sister — who now held a slim blade in her trembling hand, her chest heaving.
"I'm the one who deserves this," Emilia hissed.
"Not you. Not ever you!"
Katerina's smile never faltered as she stepped back, folding her arms like a queen enjoying the spectacle.
"Go on, darling," she murmured to Emilia.
"Show us what you're made of."
The room crackled with tension, everyone waiting, breathless, as Emilia raised the blade and stepped toward Isabella.
But Isabella didn't move.
Instead, she tilted her head slightly, her voice calm and deadly.
"Go ahead," she said softly.
"Try."
For a moment, Emilia froze — her eyes wild, her knuckles white around the blade.
And then —
A loud crash shattered the silence as one of the windows exploded inward.
Gas canisters rolled across the floor, hissing smoke that burned her throat and stung her eyes.
Shouts and gunfire erupted as men in black stormed the room, and Isabella felt Alexander's hand grab her arm.
"Go!" he barked.
The last thing she saw through the smoke was Katerina's silhouette slipping through the broken window like a shadow, her laugh echoing in the chaos:
"Catch me if you can."
And then everything went black.