Chapter 4On the Night of the Storm, He Chose His Stepmother

Luis kept his eyes fixed on the doors, his voice brimming with excitement. "I forgot to tell you. The charity Sophia took over raised a record amount, so I wanted to throw a party for her.

"You know she's always been insecure. This is her big chance to prove herself to the rest of the family."

"So this is a party for Sophia?"

Luis kept staring at the doors. He didn't notice my expression harden.

"Yeah. You kept saying I never brought you to family gatherings, so I made sure to invite you this time."

"Luis, do you remember what today is?"

He gave me a blank look and frowned, trying to remember. Just then, the doors swung open.

I smiled and nodded, then leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Luis, the engagement's off.

"We're done."

Bang!

"Congratulations, Donna!"

The popping and cheering instantly drowned out my voice.

Luis had already rushed to Sophia's side. As the crowd cheered them on, he slipped an affectionate arm around her shoulders.

My mouth twisted in scorn. Amid the noise, I turned and left without looking back.

I checked my phone. My father had texted half an hour earlier:

[Isabella, your mother and I are in Palermo.]

They had already met the other young contender to lead the Corvino family, the man my father had mentioned before.

My father said that before he could even bring up the subject, the candidate had invited all of us to dinner on Wednesday night.

Three days later, I took my parents, Vittorio and Elena Benedetti, on a tour of old Palermo.

We had just finished touring the cathedral when Luis started calling me over and over.

When I answered, he asked where I was, his voice urgent.

I didn't want to deal with him, but he sounded like someone had bombed Corvino headquarters.

To get him to leave me alone, I sent him my location.

Before long, Luis showed up, furious, with a red-eyed Sophia right behind him.

When he saw my parents, he froze. Then he dragged me aside and demanded, "Isabella, what's going on? Didn't I tell you I have to take Sophia to the cemetery on Wednesday and that I don't have time? Why did you bring them here anyway?"

I gave him an indifferent glance.

"If you won't come, plenty of people in Sicily would line up from here to the coast for the chance to dine with the Benedetti family."

He assumed I was sulking. With a scoff, he took out his phone and pulled up a post on a private underworld forum.

The post showed several photos from Saturday's yacht party.

In the first one, Luis had his arm around Sophia.

In the second, Luis was tucking a strand of hair behind Sophia's ear.

In the third, the two of them were whispering on the deck with their heads close together.

The photos had been posted from Sophia's account. The caption read, [The most important day of my life]

The party had been crowded, yet the only photos she posted were those intimate shots of herself and Luis.

I scoffed.

One of the comments caught my eye.

[Isn't it a little inappropriate to get this close to your stepson? Especially when Luis already has a fiancée.]

Under it, someone had posted a photo of Luis and me together.

Luis glared at me.

"Isabella, you posted that comment from a burner account, didn't you? Now everyone in the underworld is talking about Sophia! They're saying she's seducing her stepson! Do you have any idea how much trouble this is causing her?

"Get online right now and reply. Tell them you're Isabella and that you were at the party too, and prove that there's nothing going on between Sophia and me!"

"And if I say no?"

"Isabella, you never used to be this petty."

Luis stared at me in disappointment, as if I were the real villain.

Just then, Sophia broke down sobbing nearby.

"I've never had feelings like that... If Isabella really thinks that about me, I'd rather die!"

My parents frowned as they watched us, clearly unhappy with the scene.

Luis threatened me through gritted teeth. "Isabella, if you won't post it, I'll explain the situation to your parents and get them to speak up for Sophia!"

I stopped him, my voice cold.

I was sure that if Luis dared say a word to my parents, they'd rip into him.

But I really didn't want to drag my parents into this disgusting mess.

"I'll post it."

Right in front of him, I opened the post and typed my reply word by word.

[This is Isabella Benedetti. My engagement to Luis Corvino has officially ended. From now on, whatever he does with any woman has nothing to do with me or the Benedetti family.]

Luis's frown deepened when he saw it.

"Even if you're clearing things up, you didn't have to say that."

When he saw the comments finally turning in Sophia's favor, his expression eased.

As if he were doing me a favor, he said, "I'll try to make time to join you all for dinner tomorrow."

I said nothing. Taking my silence as agreement, he put an arm around the tear-streaked Sophia and walked away with her.

The next day, dinner was set for six.

At five, he said Sophia had cried so hard at the cemetery that she'd fainted, and he had to take her to the private doctor first.

At six, he said Sophia wouldn't let go of his hand, so he'd be a little late.

At nine, hurried footsteps finally sounded outside the private dining room.

The door flew open, and Luis walked in smiling.

"I'm so sorry. I got held up on the way..."

But when he saw what was going on inside, the smile froze on his face.

I sat poised at the table, clinking glasses with the distinguished young man beside me.

And that seat was supposed to be Luis's.