And then lower, cutting deep where it hurts the most:
‘‘You’re a fucking psychopath. You can’t love. You should’ve stayed away from her. All you’ve ever done is hurt her.’’
The words hang there, brutal, final.
Aslanov’s hands falter. His grip slackens.
At the mention of me, of what I mean to him, it’s like he’s been gut-punched.
The fury bleeds out of him in a sharp, raw twist.
Without a word, he shoves Sawyer away, hard enough to make him stumble, and storms from the room, the hallway swallowing him whole as he disappears into his own space, the door slamming shut behind him with a final, echoing thud.
He locked himself in.
The room stays frozen, breathless, the aftershock trembling in the air.
It’s clear now, those two don’t like each other.
‘‘Why the fuck would you say that?!’’ I hiss at Sawyer, who is fixing his collar.
But my words are barely out before something deeper creeps in, something darker. I feel it; the gnawing suspicion that Aslanov’s not telling the whole truth. That there’s something more he’s hiding, something he’s not willing to say, and I can feel it in the pit of my stomach, that cold knot of unease.
The weight of everything presses down on me, heavier than ever. The lies. The secrets. The way he looks at me, like I’m somefragile thing to be protected or destroyed. I can’t breathe. My chest is tight, the walls closing in.
This entire mess.
Two mafia families.
I need to move. I need to escape this room, this suffocating air, before I drown in it.
I grab my coat from the back of the chair, the fabric brushing my fingers like a lifeline. My heart is racing, my mind spinning with questions and half-formed thoughts that don’t make any sense. The only thing I can think about is getting out of here.
Ada calls after me, her voice laced with worry, but I don’t stop. I don’t even slow down.
‘‘Isabella!’’ she yells, trying to catch up, but I don’t hear her. Dominik reaches out, his hand grasping for my arm, but I’m already pulling away, moving faster.
I can’t be here. I can’t stay.
I burst through the door, the cool air of the evening hitting me like a slap in the face. My boots pound the pavement, my breath coming fast, every step taking me farther from the weight of their eyes, the tension, the mess of it all. I don’t know where I’m going, but I don’t care. I just need to be alone, to sort through the chaos in my head, to make sense of it all before it consumes me.
Behind me, I hear Ada’s voice, distant, almost pleading. But it’s too late. I’m already disappearing into the night.
Chapter 59
For Her, We Begin Again
Aslanov
I sit on the edge of the bed, my back pressed against the wall. The light above casts harsh shadows across the room, but all I see is her; Isabella. Her face, her eyes, those soft words she speaks to me, laced with confusion and a need for truth. But what truth? The kind I can never give her.
My wrists are still bound, the velcro digging into my skin, a constant reminder of where I belong; locked away, isolated, like a beast in a cage. It’s fitting. I’m no better than one.
I can’t tell her. I won’t.
I hear Sawyer’s voice echoing in my head, each word a dagger.‘‘You only hurt her.’’It’s true, isn’t it? Yet he should shut the fuck up.
She has no idea who she is. None of them do. They’re all just puppets dancing on strings, unaware of the twisted dance I’ve been part of. The life I was born into, the blood that runs in my veins, it’s poison. I’ve never been anything but a weapon, a killer in the name of power.
