(Isla's POV)
The moment Dante said the words"She's been taken"my whole body went cold.
He pressed play.
The video opened with Gianna tied to a chair in a dark room. A single dim light flickered above her. Three masked men stood behind her like shadows. One held her shoulders down. Another stood with his arms crossed. The third stood in front like he was waiting for someone to speak.
But none of that scared me as much as her face.
Gianna wasn't crying.
She wasn't shaking.
She wasn't begging for help.
She looked… annoyed.
Her eyebrows were raised like someone had interrupted her. Her jaw was tight, like she was waiting for something stupid to end. She rolled her eyes at someone off-camera.
Dante whispered, "She doesn't even look scared…"
"Why isn't she scared?" I asked, voice shaking. "Why do they have her if she doesn't care?"
The video glitched.
Static.
Then black.
That was it. No demands. No threats. No words.
Just silence.
Dante stared at the screen like it was a nightmare he couldn't wake from. "We have to go upstairs. Now."
He grabbed my hand, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. We rushed out of the wine cellar and up the hidden stairs, our footsteps echoing in the dark halls.
My mind was spinning.
Gianna tied to a chair.
Men in masks.
A dark room.
And her face…
Like she knew something we didn't.
Like she wasn't the victim.
Like this wasn't new for her.
When we pushed through the hidden panel and reentered the mansion halls, chaos hit us instantly.
Men with guns sprinted in every direction. Radios crackled. Doors slammed. Shouts filled the air.
"Search the west wing!"
"Check the back gates!"
"Seal off the driveway now!"
The wedding decorations were still up, but they looked wrong; like decorations left behind after a storm destroyed the house.
We found Luciano in the center of the ballroom giving orders like a general preparing for war. His expression was sharp and deadly. His shirt was torn. There was dried blood on his arm.
He looked up the second he saw us.
"Where were you?" he demanded, striding toward us. "I've been looking all over this place for both of you."
"Someone tried to take Isla," Dante said. "I got her out."
Luciano's jaw tightened. "How did they find the safe room?"
"They didn't," Dante said. "The attacker broke in before we reached it."
Luciano muttered a curse under his breath.
Then he saw Dante's shoulder.
"You're bleeding," he said.
"I'll survive."
"Get it wrapped before you pass out."
Dante didn't argue.
But Antonio suddenly pushed past two guards and stumbled toward us. His tie was crooked. His eyes were red. His breath smelled like alcohol.
He grabbed my shoulders. "Islaoh GodIsla, I'm so sorry."
"Dad," I whispered, startled. "What's going on?"
"This is my fault." Tears spilled down his face. "I should've told you everything. I should've"
Luciano snapped, "Not now, Antonio."
Antonio ignored him. He held my face in both shaking hands. "I'm your father, Isla. I should've kept you safe. I should've told you the truth before it came to this."
"What truth?" my voice broke.
He wouldn't answer.
He just cried harder.
Two guards rushed over and tried to pull him away. "Sir, please"
"No!" Antonio yelled. "Let go!"
But Luciano stepped in front of him, blocking him from touching me again.
"That's enough," Luciano said sharply. "You're drunk, Antonio. You're not helping."
Antonio's voice cracked. "She deserves to know"
"And she will," Luciano said, "but not from you. Not like this."
Antonio sagged to the floor as the guards gently took him aside. He covered his face with shaking hands, crying into his palms. Seeing him like that made my heart ache. He had always been strong. Always steady.
Now he looked broken.
Dante touched my arm gently. "I'm sorry you had to see that."
But I wasn't looking at Dante anymore.
I was staring at Luciano.
Because he was staring at me.
His eyes held something heavy… something he'd been holding back.
Something that scared him.
"Luciano?" I whispered. "What's going on? Why is all this happening?"
"Later," he said quickly. "We need to find Gianna first."
He turned toward the guards. "Full lockdown. No one leaves the mansion unless I give the order. I want every car checked, every room searched. Kozlov's men are inside. Find them."
Everybody jumped into action.
Dante leaned closer to me. "We'll get her back."
I nodded, but my stomach twisted. My hands trembled. I felt like I was walking through a nightmare that kept getting darker.
Gianna wasn't scared in that video.
But I was.
And I could tellLuciano was too.
After a moment of shouting more orders, he finally walked back to me.
"Isla," he said quietly. "Come with me."
His voice didn't sound like the commander from before.
It sounded… personal.
I followed him down a hall where the noise was quieter. Dante came too until Luciano stopped him with a hand on his chest.
"I need to speak with Isla alone."
Dante hesitated. "She shouldn't be alone with anyone right now."
Luciano locked eyes with him. "I'm not just 'anyone.'"
After a long second, Dante nodded, though he didn't look happy.
Luciano led me into a smaller room. Not fancy. Not guarded. Just empty.
He turned toward me.
And something in his face finally cracked.
"Isla," he said softly, "there's something you need to know."
My heart pounded. "What?"
"It's about your parents."
My breath hitched.
"The night they died," he said, "was not an accident."
My knees almost gave out. "W-what are you talking about?"
"The warehouse fire," he said. "Your family. The truth Antonio never told you."
I covered my mouth, tears stinging my eyes. "Luciano… please… tell me."
He took a slow breath.
"When Viktor Kozlov took Gianna… that wasn't a message to the Virelli family."
I stared at him, trembling. "Then who was it for?"
Luciano stepped closer, his voice deadly calm.
"It was a message for you."
My heart dropped.
"Because if Viktor has Gianna…" he finished, looking straight into my eyes, "then he's coming for you next. And you need to know why."