33.Chapter

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Naples, Italy — Sinclair’s Villa

The gates opened like the jaws of some ancient beast.

Sinclair was waiting.

White shirt. Open collar. Barefoot on marble. Unshaken.

Isabella entered like a storm in silk. Black suit. Heels clicking like threats. Ali behind her, silent as a shadow.

No weapons drawn.

Yet.

The Room Where It All Fell Apart

He didn’t speak. He looked — that same gaze that once pinned her to glass in Milan, now trying to peel off her armor again.

> “You look like revenge,” he said finally.

> “And you look like a lie I almost believed.”

She stepped into the lounge. No lights. Just moonlight dripping through floor-to-ceiling windows. Their silhouettes danced on the marble like ghosts retelling a memory.

> “You lied to me,” she said flatly.

> “I protected you.”

> “Bullshit. You knew who I was. You let me walk in. You watched me fall. You let me go because you thought I’d crawl back.”

Sinclair poured himself whiskey. He poured her one too — not asking. She didn’t take it.

> “You bugged my safe,” he murmured. “But I let you.”

> “You toyed with me.”

> “You think that night was a game to me?” His voice cracked. “I knew the second I saw you, you weren’t just another shadow. But I didn’t betray you.”

She stepped closer. Inches now. Her scent a trigger. Her stare lethal.

> “Then who sent the message? Who told me you sold me out?”

> “Check the source,” he said. “It wasn’t me.”

He wasn’t begging. He wasn’t folding.

But she saw it — the twitch in his jaw. The guilt. The ache.

The Turn

She pulled a flash drive from her bra, held it up.

> “This? It’s everything. The leak. The double cross. And your name was never on it.”

He blinked. Slowly.

> “Then why are you here?”

> “To see if I could still kill you anyway.”

Silence. Tension. Lust. Rage.

> “Could you?” he asked.

She stepped even closer. One hand on his chest.

> “I’ve already buried one man I loved. I’m not doing it again.”

Sinclair’s hand found her waist. Gripped her like a sin he’d never confess.

> “Then don’t leave this time.”

She leaned in, lips near his.

> “Don’t give me a reason to.”

And then, just before their mouths met — she pulled back.

> “I run the game now.”

She turned. Ali was waiting by the door. Isabella didn't look back.

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