Chapter 407: She’s Not In The Gardens, Lorenzo. She’s Gone

Camilla found Lorenzo in his study.

She was pale, her composure fractured by worry.

"Isabella hasn’t returned from her walk," Camilla said, and there was an edge of panic in her voice that Lorenzo rarely heard from her. "It’s been nearly an hour. That’s not like her."

Lorenzo set down the documents he’d been reviewing.

"She’s probably just lost track of time," Lorenzo said dismissively. "The gardens are extensive. She might be sitting somewhere quiet."

"Paolo said he checked," Camilla said. "He walked the entire perimeter. She’s not in the gardens, Lorenzo. She’s gone."

Something shifted in Lorenzo’s expression.

Gone.

The word hung in the air between them with terrible significance.

"Have the guards search the grounds," Lorenzo said, his voice already shifting into operational mode. "Check the perimeter. Check all the gates."

"Which gate should they focus on?" Camilla asked.

"All of them," Lorenzo said. "Every exit. Every point of access. I want to know if she left the property."

***

Lorenzo stood at the eastern gate, looking at the lock with cold precision.

The gate had been opened. Recently. Within the past hour at least. The dust pattern on the lock suggested recent use.

"Who was on guard duty at this gate?" Lorenzo asked, his voice absolutely calm despite the storm building underneath.

"Milo," one of his security coordinators said. "He’s been stationed here since 4 PM."

"Bring him to me," Lorenzo commanded.

***

Milo stood in front of Lorenzo, and every muscle in his body was tense with the knowledge that he was about to face consequences that would fundamentally alter the rest of his life.

Lorenzo studied him for a long moment without speaking.

"Was my daughter at the eastern gate this evening?" Lorenzo asked.

Milo hesitated.

"Yes," Marco finally said.

"And did you open the gate for her?" Lorenzo pressed.

Milo’s silence was answer enough.

Lorenzo moved closer, and there was something in his expression that made even the trained security personnel in the room take a step back.

"Who paid you?" Lorenzo asked quietly.

"I can’t...." Milo started.

Lorenzo’s hand moved so fast that it was just a blur. He grabbed Milo by the throat and slammed him against the wall with controlled violence that suggested long experience with this kind of interrogation.

"Who. Paid. You?" Lorenzo said, each word separated by deliberate force.

"Dante Romano," Milo gasped. "Dante Romano paid me. Two hundred thousand to turn my loyalty. To help facilitate..."

Lorenzo released him and stepped back.

The name hung in the air like poison.

Dante.

Dante too his daughter?

***

Lorenzo walked through the gardens with his head of security.

The pieces were falling into place with terrible clarity.

Isabella’s unusual behavior over the past weeks. Her apparent anxiety despite the medication. Her isolation. Her silence when her parents tried to engage her.

She hadn’t been depressed or anxious or medicated.

She’d been waiting.

She’d been planning this.

She’d sent a message to Dante, and he’d orchestrated an extraction so flawless that no alarms had been raised until forty-five minutes after she’d left the property.

"How long has Dante had a man inside this estate?" Lorenzo asked coldly.

"We’re investigating now," the head of security said. "But preliminary assessment suggests at least three weeks. Possibly longer."

Three weeks.

While Lorenzo had been mobilizing against The Covenant, while he’d been concerned about Dimitri Valentino’s arrival, while he’d been preparing Isabella for the alliance that was supposed to secure their family’s future, Dante Romano had been placing operatives inside the Russo household.

And Isabella had been choosing him.

***

Lorenzo moved through his command center with the precision of a general deploying troops.

"I want every road leading out of Rome monitored," Lorenzo said to his operations coordinator. "I want checkpoints at every major exit from the city. I want Dante Romano’s known locations surveilled and raided. I want every safe house, every property, every location we know he uses....I want them searched."

"What about the Valentino family?" the coordinator asked. "Should we notify them? They’re our allies..."

"No," Lorenzo said flatly. "This is not their concern. This is my daughter. This is my operation. This is my retaliation."

"And if Dante has taken her to Valentino territory?" the coordinator pressed.

"Then he’s made a catastrophic mistake," Lorenzo said coldly. "Because I will tear through Valentino’s operations to find her. And I will burn everything Dante owns before I’m done."

***

Camilla was in Isabella’s bedroom, standing at the vanity where her daughter had prepared for her walk.

Isabella’s phone was there, face down, abandoned.

No messages. No goodbye. No explanation.

Just absence.

Camilla’s hands were shaking as she picked up her daughter’s phone.

She felt the weight of betrayal settling into her bones.

They’d been preparing Isabella for this alliance. They’d been protecting her, guiding her, sacrificing for her future. And Isabella had chosen to throw it all away for a man who’d targeted her specifically to hurt someone else.

Camilla sank onto Isabella’s bed and began to cry...not quietly, but with the kind of raw, consuming grief that came from understanding that your child had rejected everything you’d offered her.

***

Lorenzo’s people were moving through Rome with systematic precision.

Teams were positioned at all major intersections. Surveillance units were being deployed to known Dante associates’ locations. Safe houses were being identified and prepared for raid operations.

The Russo family’s intelligence network was massive and comprehensive. For months now, Ever since he found out Isabella had been seeing Dante, Lorenzo had been gathering information about him, About every operation Dante ran. About every property Dante controlled.

And now, all of that intelligence was being activated.

"Sir, We have a possible location," a field operative reported via encrypted communication. "A villa thirty kilometers south of Rome. It’s been in Dante’s portfolio for approximately six months. Has been kept staffed but inactive for a while now."

"Send a team," Lorenzo ordered. "Full surveillance first. No approach until I give the order. I want to know if my daughter is there."