The world tilted.
Isabella's breath stuttered. "My child? He knows?"
Maria nodded. "Alessandro has been observing everything, your movements, your alliances, even the shifts in your health. He suspected it before anyone confirmed it. He wants the child protected, raised under his control. He believes only a child of Moretti and Romano blood can restore the empire to what it once was."
Isabella felt cold. Ice cold.
"My child is not a weapon," she whispered fiercely.
Maria's eyes softened. "I know. That's why I am here. Why did I come clean? I refuse to let Alessandro take another innocent life. Not yours. Not Damian's. And not the baby."
Sophia stepped between them protectively. "If Alessandro thinks he can use Isabella or that baby as some kind of symbol, I'll carve out his heart myself."
Isabella stood slowly, one hand resting unconsciously on her abdomen. Her voice trembled, but with fury, not fear.
"He killed my father.
He stole Damian.
He has spies everywhere.
