BELLA'S POV

I couldn't stop thinking of the possibilities of Dante not being involved in this attack, I really wanted to believe he wasn't involved, but it's not possible for anyone to carry out orders outside Dante's knowledge.

I can remember clearly the day Lilo authorized the payment of jewelry I found while shopping. Lilo was supposed to be with me for the day. I saw a pretty Vancleef bracelet, and I decided to get it. The price of the bracelet was a thousand pounds more than the initial amount in the card. I convinced Lilo to allow me use the company credit card, which he accepted. That was the biggest mistake of his life.

Dante never starved me of money, gifts, or presents, I thought that extends to the company's card too.

Lilo was sacked because of that. Not since the event happened without clarifying from Dante first. This led to the dismissal and probably death of Lilo. The appearance of one of Caruso men only means one thing. It was authorized by Dante.

I kept on staring at the picture, the dead man's face, frozen in death. Eyes open. Blood pooled beneath him. I couldn't stop staring at him.

And the Caruso family crest tattooed on his inner wrist.

Dante's men all had that tattoo. Loyalty branded into flesh.

Why the fuck was he attacking me with Vitale soldiers?

Coward!

It just doesn't make sense, does he know my whereabouts?

That's not possible, my mind is spiraling.

"Principessa?" Lucia's voice broke through my thoughts, she entered the room clutching her injured arm. "You should rest. It's been a long night."

"I can't." I zoomed in on the tattoo again.

I turned to look at Lucia, "I know this man", I recounted how I met him doing one of Dante's suspicious meetings.

"This man works for Caruso. He was one of Marco's personal guards."

Lucia leaned over my shoulder, studying the screen. Her face paled. "Are you certain?"

"Positive." I pulled up another photo from my phone. One I'd taken months ago at a family dinner. Marco in the background, flanked by two guards.

The dead man was on his left.

"Merda," Lucia whispered.

"Exactly." I set down the phone, mind racing. "Why would Marco's man be with Lorenzo's soldiers? Attacking me?"

"Perhaps he defected. Switched sides."

I almost laughed, they aren't that generous.

"Marco doesn't let people defect. He kills them." I stood, pacing, recounting Lilo's incident . "No. This is something else."

Something worse. It's either they are hunting Bella Russo or hunting the last Sovereign.

"I need to talk to Tommaso." I scurried towards the door. My mind raises at the thought of what could possibly go wrong.

I found him in the armory, cleaning weapons used earlier.

"We need to talk." I hurried towards him, pointing the phone towards him.

He looked up, saw my face, and set down the gun. "What's wrong?"

I showed him the photo. "This man. He works for Marco Salvatore. Dante's right hand." The name irks me.

Tommaso took the phone, studied it. His jaw clenched. "You're sure?"

"I've seen him at the penthouse. Multiple times. He's one of Marco's personal guards." I leaned against the table, my fingers pressed against my temple. "The question is why was he attacking us with Vitale soldiers?"

Tommaso was quiet for a long moment.

"You're thinking what I'm thinking?," I asked, studying his face

"That Dante is using Lorenzo as cover for his own attacks?" Tommaso's voice was grim. "Sì. It's possible."

"It's more than possible. It's the only explanation that makes sense." I pulled up the Lilo story, explaining how Dante controlled everything. "Nothing happens in his organization without his knowledge. Nothing. He micro-manages every detail."

"Then this was deliberate." Tommaso rested on the wall, crossing his arm across his chest.

"This was calculated." I felt the familiar lump rising again, I need to stop letting him determine my emotions, but I can't help it.

"He killed my family, and now he's trying to finish the job by making it look like Lorenzo did it." What is going through his mind.

Tommaso studied me carefully. "What do you want to do?"

"I want proof." I straightened. "Real, undeniable proof that Dante ordered this. That he's been playing both sides."

"And when you have it?"

I thought of the gun in my hand tonight. The two men I'd killed without hesitation. The blood on my hands that didn't bother me anymore.

"Then I stop playing defense." I met Tommaso's eyes. "And I make him pay for every lie he's ever told."

Tommaso nodded slowly. "I'll put people on it. See if we can trace the connection between Dante and Lorenzo's attack."

"Do it quietly. If Dante has men in Lorenzo's organization, he might have men in ours too."

I shivered at the thought, my men?

How deep did his reach go? How many people around me were reporting back to him?

"Trust no one," I said. "Not until we know for certain."

After Tommaso left, I sat alone with the photo.

Dante's man. Dead on the ground. Wearing Vitale colors but bearing Caruso marks.

The evidence was damning.

My husband-ex-husband-was trying to kill me while pretending to search for me.

The man I'd loved. The man I'd given six years to. The man who'd promised to protect me with his life.

He'd been my enemy all along.

And I'd been too blind to see it.

I walked weakly back to my room. I'd always said I was free from him, but his betrayal hurts Everytime.

What can I possibly do?

BELLA'S POV

Sleep didn't come.

I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, the photo of the dead man burned into my mind.

Marco's guard. Dante's soldier. Wearing Vitale colors but bearing Caruso marks.

The evidence was everywhere. The connections are driving more crazy than they should, every signature. Every attack.

Dante had killed my family. Dante was trying to kill me now, all while pretending to be a love sick fool. He might justify the fact that he is doing all this to get be, but who aims a gun at someone they love.

Still, I don't know why I still have doubts, hoping it was false accusations.

I sat up, checking the time. Two a.m. Four hours until dawn. Four hours of my mind spinning in circles.

I grabbed my laptop and pulled up the files again. Everything I'd collected over the past months.

Investigation reports with Dante's authorization. Financial records connecting Caruso to Vitale operations. The timeline that damned him.

And now, Marco's man among Lorenzo's soldiers.

It all pointed to Dante.

But something felt wrong.

Not wrong like I was mistaken. Wrong like I was missing something.

I opened a new document, started writing everything down.

Attack 1: The Warehouse (3 months ago)

- Lorenzo's men

- 15 of my people killed

- How did they know our location?

Attack 2: Supply Route (Last week)

- Lorenzo's soldiers

- Marco's man among them (Caruso tattoo)

- How did they know the route?

Attack Pattern:

- Both times, they knew exactly where to hit

- Both times, minimal Caruso visibility

- Both times, Lorenzo took the blame

I stared at the screen.

Two attacks. Both supposedly Lorenzo. But if Dante was using Lorenzo as cover, paying him to attack me,

how was Lorenzo finding us?

We'd been careful. Changed locations after the warehouse. Limited who knew our movements.

And yet they'd found us twice.

Someone had to be feeding them information, that must be the case. My heart skipped a beat at the thought.

I pulled up the list of people that are around me, those in the compound. There was forty three loyalists originally.

Fifteen died during the warehouse attack, twenty eight left now.

Out of those twenty eight, who could be the Judas.

How many of them were reporting to Dante?

My hands trembled as I scrolled through names.

Tommaso. Lucia. Enzo. Giuseppe. Marco. Antonio. Luca.

Men I'd trained beside. Eaten meals with. Trusted with my life.

Any one of them could be selling me out.

The thought made my stomach turn.

A knock at my door made me jump.

"Principessa?" Lucia's voice. "Your light is on. Are you alright?"

"Come in."

She entered, looking as tired as I felt. "Can't sleep?"

"Can't stop thinking." I gestured to the laptop. "Look at this. Two attacks in a few months. Both times, they knew exactly where to find us."

Lucia sat at the edge of the bed, studying the screen. "You think we have a spy."

"I think we must have. There's no other explanation." I closed the laptop. "We've been too careful for this to be a coincidence."

"Have you told Tommaso?"

"Not yet. I don't..." I stopped myself.

"You don't know if you can trust him?" She asked, turning to look at me sharply, she studied my face as I swallowed my words.

The question hung in the air.

"I trust Tommaso," I said finally. "He knew my father. He's been protecting the Sovereign name for fifteen years. But..."

"But you can't be sure."

"I can't be sure of anyone." The admission tasted bitter. "Dante has resources. Money. He could've gotten to anyone. Threatened families. Paid them off."

"Then we investigate. Quietly."

"How? If there is a mole, they'll know we're looking. They'll warn Dante."

Lucia was quiet for a moment. "Then we set a trap."

"What kind of trap?"

"We feed different information to different people. See which version gets back to Dante." She stood, pacing. "If someone's reporting our movements, we'll catch them."

It wasn't a bad idea. But it would take time we might not have.

"And if Dante attacks before we figure it out?" I asked.

"Then we fight. Like we've been doing."

I looked at the names on my screen again. Twenty-eight people. Anyone could be a traitor.

Or maybe more than one.

"Tomorrow," I said. "We'll talk to Tommaso. Figure out a plan."

"Get some rest, principessa. You can't think clearly when you're exhausted."

After she left, I tried to sleep again.

But my mind wouldn't stop spinning.

I finally drifted off sometime around four a.m.

And woke to the sound of alarms screaming through the compound.

I was up instantly, gun in hand, heart pounding.

Shouts in Italian. Running footsteps. Glass shattering.

"PRINCIPESSA!" Tommaso burst through my door, face grim. "They're here! Dante! Caruso soldiers! We need to move now!"

My blood went cold.

Dante had found us.

Again.

And this time, he'd come himself.