Three days later, a convoy of armored black SUVS silently surrounded our villa like a pack of wolves.
A man in an impeccably tailored black suit stepped out, leaning on an elegant walking stick. His face was deathly pale, but his posture was ramrod straight and his eyes sharp as a predator’s.
My mother looked out the window with concern. “Isabella, who are these people?”
“Mrs. Sorento,” the man said with perfect politeness, removing his sunglasses to reveal familiar dark eyes. “I apologize for the dramatic entrance. I’m Vincenzo Moretti.”
My mother’s face went white with recognition. “Vincenzo? Little Vincenzo from next door?” She looked between us in shock. “But you’re supposed to be in America for university…”
“Plans changed, Mrs. Sorento.” His smile was charming but didn’t reach his eyes. “I was hoping to borrow Isabella for a while. She’s been through quite an ordeal, and I thought some travel might do her good. Help her… process recent events.”
My mother’s expression softened with maternal concern. “Oh, sweetheart, that sounds wonderful. You’ve been so isolated since you came back. Some time with an old friend is exactly what you need.”
I stared at Vincenzo in disbelief. He was playing my mother like a fucking violin.
“We’ll take excellent care of her,” he assured my mother with genuine warmth. “Think of it as an extended vacation. Maybe some mountain climbing, seeing the world…”
That sounds perfect,” my mother said, relief evident in her voice. “Isabella needs to get back out there, start living again.”
After my mother went inside to pack me a bag–because apparently I was leaving whether I wanted to or not–Vincenzo’s mask of politeness dropped, but something softer remained in his eyes.
Mining rights to three major underground diamond operations in Canada,” he said, dropping a thick file on our patio table. His voice was casual, almost playful, but his fingers drummed nervously against the documents. “Sign here, and they all belong to the Sorento amily. One condition: be my girlfriend for a year. Accompany me on my bucket list adventures.”
looked at the numbers and felt my knees go weak. This wasn’t just money–this was empire–building wealth.
Why?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.
Because, princess…” His voice dropped to that familiar teasing tone, but his eyes were impossibly gentle. “You’re never going to stop unishing yourself unless someone forces you to remember what happiness feels like. And I’m running out of time to remind you.”
The bastard knew exactly what he was doing. Using his terminal diagnosis and my family’s future as leverage, but doing it with that same crooked smile that used to make my heart skip beats when we were kids.
This is emotional blackmail at its finest,” I said.
Call it whatever helps you sleep at night, Bella,” He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his touch feather–light. But you’re signing that contract. Consider it… closure for both of us.”
You’re a real piece of work, you know that?”
‘I learned from the best,” he said with that infuriating smirk, but his thumb brushed across my cheek with devastating tenderness. ‘Besides, someone’s got to teach you how to live dangerously again.”
03:58
Mi scusi, You Chose White Swan. I Became Black Queen
77.90
Chapter 8
Deep in the Amazon rainforest.
I stumbled after Vincenzo through the humid hell, cursing myself for signing that devil’s contract.
“Easy there, princess. The jungle’s not going anywhere.” Vincenzo moved through the undergrowth like he belonged there, but I noticed how he kept glancing back to make sure I wasn’t falling behind. “The raw diamonds are already sitting pretty in your family’s vault, by the way. No take–backs.”
“You manipulative bastard!” I swatted at mosquitoes the size of small aircraft. “This isn’t adventure therapy, this is survival horror!”
“Character building,” he corrected with that lazy grin, but when I stumbled over a root, his hand shot out to steady me instantly. “Can’t have my fake girlfriend getting eaten by the rainforest. Bad for my reputation.”
I was about to snap back when I noticed something moving in the canopy above us.
T
A king cobra dropped from the trees like a nightmare, striking both of us with lightning speed!
The venom hit our systems immediately. Vision blurring, strength failing, we collapsed against a massive banyan tree.
“Shit,” Vincenzo gasped, but even as the poison coursed through his veins, he pulled me closer to his chest. “Bella, stay with me, okay?”
Before we could process what was happening, helicopter rotors thundered overhead.
A Moretti operative rappelled down, but my heart sank when I saw what he carried–a single vial of antivenom.
“Only one?” I croaked.
The operative nodded grimly. “Emergency supply, sir. The lab can synthesize more, but it’ll take hours.”
I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed the vial and shoved it at Vincenzo. “Take it.”
Like hell.” He pushed it back toward me, his face already turning ashen. “You take it, princess.”
Vincenzo, you’re already dying! You don’t get to throw your life away for me!”
‘And you don’t get to throw yours away out of guilt!” His voice was getting weaker, but his grip on my wrist was iron. “Take the damn
antivenom, Bella.”
I looked at the vial, then at his pale, stubborn face. “No.”
“Why the fuck not?”
Because…” The words stuck in my throat like broken glass. “Because I can’t lose you again. I won’t survive it.”
Something shifted in his eyes. “What are you saying?”
I’m saying that somewhere between the hospital and this godforsaken jungle, I stopped running from the truth.” Tears I’d been holding back for weeks finally spilled over. “I’m saying that I love you, you manipulative, self–sacrificing idiot. Not the ghost of what we were as kids, and not because I’m trying to replace what I had with Massimo. I love you. Present tense. Dying disease and all.”
Vincenzo went very still. “You mean that?”
“I mean it.” I pressed the vial into his hands with shaking fingers. “So take the damn antivenom and let me have more time to prove it
to you.”
03:38
Mi scusi, You Chose White Swan, I Became Black Queen
81.59
Chapter 8
A slow, devastating smile spread across his face. Then he reached into his jacket and pulled out a second vial.
I stared at it like it was a hallucination. “What the hell is that?”
Insurance,” he said, injecting himself with the first dose before handing me the second. “Had to make sure you weren’t just trying to save me out of misplaced obligation.”
“You son of a bitch!” I grabbed the antivenom and jabbed it into my thigh, but I was laughing and crying at the same time. “You had a backup dose this whole time?!”
“Of course I did. You think I’d actually risk your life for a confession?” He pulled me into his arms, his voice soft with wonder. “But Christ, Bella, hearing you say that…”
“I’m going to kill you myself when this antivenom kicks in,” I sobbed into his chest.
“Looking forward to it, princess.”
Twenty minutes later, when the immediate danger had passed and we were both feeling more human, I “accidentally” jabbed the empty syringe into his thigh a few more times than necessary,
“Isabella! Are you trying to puncture an artery?!”
“Maybe!” I snapped the needle in half, leaving a piece embedded in his leg. “That’s for making me think I was about to watch you diet
I bolted into the jungle.
Vincenzo grabbed my ponytail and yanked me back into his chest, both of us still shaky from the venom and adrenaline.
crashed into him, my elbow connecting with a very sensitive part of his anatomy.
His pale face turned crimson.
Young master!” His panicked assistant rushed over from the helicopter. “Are you having complications from the antivenom? Medical
eam!”
I’m fine,” Vincenzo wheezed, doubling over. “Just… tactical injury,”
After the chaos settled and the medics determined we’d both survive, Vincenzo was forced back to civilization to recover from the
ake venom and what his team politely referred to as “additional trauma.”
was “escorted” to the Moretti family’s fortress–like château in southern France–a medieval castle converted into a modern tronghold.
The staff informed me that a gathering of the world’s underground elite was about to take place there.
When they handed me the guest list, one name made my blood freeze.
Massimo Ducati.
Chapter 9
“Vincenzo-
