something primal
"You can't trust him anymore, Vito," one of the men is saying, his voice laced with concern. "Roberto's too deep in it now. If he's been playing both sides, the whole family's in danger."
Vito's voice is sharp, barely controlled. "I know. But Bella, she doesn't see it. Not yet."
Bella stops in her tracks, her breath catching in her chest. They're talking about Roberto. And about her. She can hear the worry in Vito's voice, the kind of worry that she's learned to recognize as the early signs of a storm.
The men fall silent as Vito turns toward the staircase, and Bella steps back, retreating into the shadows. She presses her back against the cool wall, her heart pounding in her chest. She's always known this would come. The betrayal, the lies. It was inevitable. But hearing Vito speak like this, with such certainty, it stirs something inside her,
She takes a deep breath, pushing away the flood of emotions threatening to overwhelm her. She can't let fear control her. Not now. Not when everything is falling apart.
But Maria falls in step beside her, her voice quiet. "You heard them, didn't you?"
Bella nods. "Yes."
Maria sighs, her gaze fixed ahead. "You have to decide, Bella. You can't keep ignoring what's happening. You need to protect yourself."
"I don't need to protect myself," Bella says, the words coming out sharper than she intends. "I need to protect this family. This empire."
Maria glances at her, a knowing look in her eyes. "And you'll do that, won't you? But not by staying in the shadows. You have to step out now. Take control before everything slips away."
Sitting at her desk, Bella begins to sift through the documents in front of her, her mind racing with everything she's heard. Roberto's betrayal. Vito's warnings. The whispers in the hallways. Everything is starting to collide, and she can't deny it any longer.
Her hand hovers over a stack of papers, her mind made up. She knows what she must do next. And it won't be easy.
But nothing worth having ever is.