The gate creaked open, and we stepped onto a private road. The wind carried the salty scent of the sea. My stomach twisted.
Something felt off.
I halted. “How do I know you’re not leading me into a trap?”
She let out a sharp breath, glancing at her watch. Then she turned to look at the mansion. “We have less than two minutes. We need to be far from here.”
A sick feeling spread through my chest. “What do you mean?”
“The explosion might reach us if we don’t move,” she said.
I froze. My pulse thundered. “What explosion?”
She exhaled. “Gleb ordered an attack on Stefano’s wing.”
My blood turned to ice. “What?”
“He lost it after hearing what Stefano did to you,” she admitted. “So he made sure Stefano burns for it.”
I swayed on my feet. “What about Tatiana?”
“His spies confirmed she wasn’t in that part of the house.”
That wasn’t enough to calm me. “And my parents?”
Her expression darkened. “They’ll be fine. But anyone near Stefano’s rooms... won’t be.”
A chill ran down my spine. This wasn’t just an escape. This was war.
“Thirty seconds, Anna,” Isabella urged. “Run.”
I couldn’t move. The weight of what was about to happen paralyzed me.
Then...
A deafening explosion rocked the earth.
The ground shuddered beneath my feet as fire erupted from the mansion, bright as the sun against the dark sky. Heat rushed over us, the force knocking me back a step. My father’s house, the house I grew up in, was engulfed in flames.
My ears rang. My breathing was ragged.
Gleb... really did this.
A private jet descended from the sky, its engines roaring. Isabella grabbed my arm and pulled me toward it.
She stopped at the foot of the stairs.
“You’re coming, right?” I asked.
She shook her head. “If I vanish now, it’ll be obvious I helped you.”
“But...”
“My daughters are here. My life is here.” She took my hands. “If you ever need me, find them. They’ll know how to reach me.”
Tears burned my eyes. “Thank you,” I whispered.
She smiled, then gave me a rough shove toward the jet. “Go.”
