Chapter 404: What do you do when Lorenzo comes looking for her?

"You don’t need to know yet," Dante said. "The fewer people who know the complete plan, the safer Isabella is."

Luca understood the logic, though he didn’t entirely approve of being kept out of the loop.

"When does this happen?" Luca asked.

"Tonight," Dante said. "We’ve already waited too long. Dimitri arrives in Rome within days. Once he’s here, Isabella will be under lock and key. Her father will increase security. This is our window, and it’s closing."

Dante stood and moved to his office window, looking out at Rome.

"I’m calling Isabella now," Dante said. "I’m giving her the operational details."

Luca nodded and began making notes on the extraction plan.

"After you call her, what’s your plan?" Luca asked. "What do you do when Lorenzo comes looking for her?"

"I deny everything," Dante said simply. "I claim I have no idea where she is. I express sympathy for his loss. I offer to help search if he needs it. I play the concerned former lover who’s worried about her welfare."

"And when he realizes you took her?" Luca asked.

"By then, the narrative will already be established," Dante said. "She’ll have given him time to search, time to grieve, time to consider the possibility that she ran away of her own volition. When he eventually discovers I’m involved, he’ll be forced to decide whether to escalate the situation or accept that his daughter chose to be with me instead of him."

"And will he escalate?" Luca asked.

"Almost certainly," Dante said. "But that’s a problem for later. Right now, I need to get Isabella out of the estate and safe. Everything else is secondary."

Dante picked up his encrypted phone and dialed Isabella’s number.

***

Isabella answered on the first ring.

She’d been waiting for his call. Anticipating it. Preparing for it mentally.

"Hello," she said, her voice carefully neutral in case anyone was listening.

"It’s time," Dante said simply. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Isabella said.

"At 6:30 PM, you take your evening walk," Dante said. "Same as always. No changes to your routine. Your guard will maintain distance. You’ll enter the gardens. You’ll walk toward the eastern perimeter."

Isabella listened, committing every word to memory.

"At the eastern gate, there will be a guard," Dante continued. "His name is Milo. He works for me. He will open the gate for you without comment. You will walk through calmly and naturally. Do not run. Do not appear panicked. Simply walk through as if you’re supposed to be there."

"Okay," Isabella whispered.

"Beyond the gate, there are trees," Dante continued. "You’ll see a small path that leads deeper into the forest. Follow it for approximately two hundred meters. You’ll see my car parked in a clearing. Get in immediately. We’ll drive away."

"What if someone sees me?" Isabella asked.

"No one will," Dante said with absolute certainty. "This has been planned carefully. No one will see you. But if you’re spotted, don’t panic. Don’t run. Just keep walking like you belong there. Confidence is your best disguise."

"When?" Isabella asked.

"6:30 PM," Dante said. "That’s in approximately four hours. Can you do this?"

Isabella closed her eyes and felt the weight of the decision she’d made.

She was about to leave her family. She was about to defy her father. She was about to choose Dante, a man who’d lied to her, who’d manipulated her, who’d used her to hurt someone she cared about.

And yet.

She was also choosing herself. She was choosing agency. She was choosing the right to decide her own fate before it was decided for her.

"Yes," Isabella said. "I can do this."

"Good," Dante said. "Dress simply. Nothing that draws attention. Comfortable clothes you can walk in. Leave your phone behind. Leave any identification documents behind. Travel light."

"How long will we be gone?" Isabella asked.

"Long enough," Dante said. "We’ll talk about everything else once you’re safe."

"My parents...." Isabella started.

"Your parents will figure it out," Dante said. "Let them figure it out. Right now, you need to focus only on what I’ve told you. 6:30 PM. Eastern gate. Milo will be there. You walk through. You find my car. You get in. Everything else is details."

"Okay," Isabella said.

"I’ll see you soon, Isabella," Dante said. "Be brave."

The call ended.

Isabella set down her phone and sat very still.

In four hours, she was going to walk out of the Russo estate and into Dante’s car.

In four hours, her life was going to change completely.

Her parents would think she’d run away or been kidnapped. Her father would search for her.

But she would finally be free.

***

Back in his office, Dante was on a secure call with the driver who would be waiting at the safe location.

"The extraction is at 6:50 PM," Dante said. "She’ll arrive at the clearing approximately 6:53 PM. You’ll be parked and ready. You see her, you unlock the doors, she gets in, you drive immediately. No delays. No conversations. Just drive."

"Understood," the driver said.

Dante ended the call and turned to Luca.

"Everything is in place," Dante said.

"And after she’s in the safe house?" Luca asked. "What happens then?"

"Then we wait," Dante said. "We let the situation develop. We let Lorenzo search for her. We let the political ramifications begin."

"And Isabella?" Luca asked.

"Isabella gets to be with someone who actually chose her," Dante said. "Someone who fought for her. Someone who wanted her enough to defy her family."

Dante looked out at Rome again.

"Is this about her?" Luca asked quietly. "Or is this about Dimitri?"

Dante was quiet for a long moment.

"It’s about both," Dante finally said. "But mostly it’s about Isabella. She deserves better than being a pawn in her father’s game. She deserves better than being delivered to Dimitri like some kind of marriage prize."

"And you think you can give her better?" Luca asked.

"I can at least give her a choice," Dante said. "That’s more than anyone else has ever done."

Luca nodded, understanding.

"The eastern gate guard has been confirmed?" Luca asked.

"Confirmed," Dante said. "Milo knows what to do. He’s been waiting for this."

"Then it’s just a matter of time," Luca said.

"Just a matter of time," Dante agreed.