Chapter 1–The Night I Died

Pain. The only thing I can remember is the intense, gut-wrenching pain.

Cold metal bit into my wrists. My ribs ached from days of captivity. Blood pooled in my mouth as I knelt on the marble floor of the abandoned warehouse—my family's so-called judgment hall.

And then,comes the betrayal.

"You are found guilty of treason against the family, Isabella De Luca."

Lorenzo's voice rang out, cold and final. My stepbrother. The same man who had once held my hand when I was a child but now looked at me like I was nothing.

Matteo Russo stood behind him with his arms crossed with a smirk curving his lips. My fiancé. The man I had loved, trusted, planned a future with. And yet, he watched as they stripped me of everything—my title, my power. My life.

I wanted to scream. To fight. To demand answers.

But I already knew the truth.

I had been a fool. A foolish little princess in a world of wolves.

The De Luca Family was one of the most powerful mafia syndicates in Italy. As the only daughter of Don Vincenzo De Luca, my blood should have made me untouchable. But the people I once loved and took ad family had torn me down and devoured me like prey.

Rage burned through me, hotter than the blood spilling from my body. My fingers trembled as I pressed against the warmth of my wound. So much blood. Too much.

The world spun, my vision blurring. But I could still make out the dark figure standing above me.

"Isabella."

That voice—smooth, deep, and cruelly familiar.

Matteo Russo.

The man I loved. The man I trusted.

The man who had just failed me by putting a bullet in my heart.

My throat escaped a broken gasp,the urge to say something,to speak my mind but failed, the metallic scent of blood thick in the air. My mind screamed for answers, but my lips refused to move.

This couldn't be real.

But it was.

Matteo knelt beside me, his piercing gray eyes watching me with a detached coldness. No regret. No hesitation. Just the same calculated expression he always wore.

For almost all of my years, I had stood by his side, believing in his whispered promises, surrendering to his dark embrace. I had loved him with everything I had.

And this was how he repaid me?

I tried to move, to claw my way toward him, but my limbs failed me. My body was shutting down.

"Why…me?" What had I done,i said in a weak and broken voice.

He tilted his head, studying me looking at me with all satisfaction,as if I was a puzzle he had already solved. Then, he said with the faintest smirk,

"Because you were in the way."

His words cut deeper than the bullet lodged in my chest.

I was in the way?

The agony in my body paled in comparison to the betrayal tearing me apart. Had I ever truly known him?

A cold wave of realization crashed over me. I had been nothing more than a pawn—a disposable piece in his ruthless game.

Tears burned my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

Then with a quiet sigh,he stood up. His gaze lingering over me me for a moment before he turned away.

Just like that.

As if my death meant nothing.

Darkness clawed at the edges of my vision, my heartbeat slowing, my breath growing shallow. My body grew cold, life draining from me with every passing second.

I was dying.

And Matteo was walking away, leaving me to bleed out alone.

I wanted to curse him. To swear vengeance with my last breath.

Lorenzo's voice cut through the haze.

"Do you have any last words, Isabella?"

I could have begged. Pleaded for my life.

But I wasn't a coward.

Lifting my chin, I forced myself to smile. If I was going to die, I would rather die as a De Luca,than a victim.

"Burn in hell, Lorenzo."

His smirk didn't falter.

"See you there, sorellina."

Then the gun fired.

The world exploded into darkness.

And then—silence.

---

Three Years Earlier

I jump up from the bed,gasping for breath,sucking in air as I bolted upright.

My hands flew to my chest. No blood. No pain. No bullet wound.

I scanned my surroundings as I breathed quickly and in short ragged. This wasn't the cold warehouse floor where I had died. This was… my bedroom.

My old bedroom.

The dark wooden furniture. The tall windows overlooking the city. The gentle breeze swaying the velvet curtains in a slow motion.Everything was exactly as I remembered.

But...but that wasn't possible.

I nearly tripp over my own feet as I scrambled out of the bed rushing to the mirror. My breath hitched.

The reflection staring back at me… wasn't the woman Matteo had killed.

It was me—but younger.

I touched my cheek with trembling fingers. Smooth skin, free of scars. My lips, full and untainted by heartbreak. My hair, cascading over my shoulders in soft waves, untouched by the weight of betrayal.

I turned my hands over, searching for bruises, callouses. Signs of the war I had fought to survive.

Nothing.

I wasn't the broken woman Matteo had left for dead. I was Isabella De Luca.

Twenty-five years old.

Three years before my murder.

I felt a shiver down my spine.

I had died. I had felt the bullet tear through me, had seen Matteo's cold eyes as he watched the life drain from my body.

Yet, here I was.

Alive. Breathing.

Given a second chance.

A slow, chilling smile curled my lips.

This time, I wouldn't be a fool.

This time, I wouldn't waste my love on a man who saw me as nothing more than a pawn.

This time, I would make them all pay.

Matteo thought he had won. He thought he had erased me from existence.

But fate had just rewritten the rules of his game.

And I was back.

A knock sounded at my door.

"Isabella?"

I froze.

That voice… Alessia Romano. My best friend. The girl who had died beside me in that life.

The door creaked open.

Alessia peered inside, her brows furrowed. "Why are you awake so early? Did you have a nightmare?"

Nightmare?

No.

This is not a nightmare. It was my past.

I barely had time to school my expression before the door swung open again.

And my heart nearly stopped.

Matteo.

He strode in with his usual air of quiet authority. The same piercing gray eyes. The same cruelly handsome face.

Standing before me as if nothing had happened was the same man who murdered me in my past life..

He look at me as if assessing me "You're awake."

I forced my hands to remain still, even as my nails dug into my palms.

He had no idea.

No idea that I knew how our story ended.

But this time, I was going to change everything.

I lifted my chin, masking my emotions behind indifference.

"Of course, I'm awake," I murmured. "Did you think I'd sleep forever?"

His lips twitched in humour,amusement flickering in his eyes. "You seemed exhausted last night."

Last night.

Had I died only to wake up after something significant?

I had no idea what had just happened in this timeline.

But one thing was certain.

"The game has reset.But this time,I will be the one holding the deck ".

This time, Matteo Russo wouldn't see me coming.

To be continued…