Chapter 5 CHAPTER
Stepping out of the airport in Bellavista with Enzo and Matteo felt unreal. Just the day before, I was walking home from my shift, running through my usual routine, and now... I was back in a place I swore I'd never return to. But somehow, it still felt like home. Maybe because, once upon a time, it was.
The absence of Giada, my twin, was the sole reason I returned. Everything between the call and now is blurred. I moved like a robot. I packed a bag, called my boss, and told him I had a family emergency. He didn’t ask too many questions, just said, “Take the time you need.”
I hoped that meant I still had a job when I got back. And yes, I planned to go back.
We flew out of Bellavista late last night. Now we are here. This place is known as Isola del Sole. Home of the Luna Nera Clan. The air hits different here. The air was warm, sweet, and brimming with flowers and ocean salt. I took it all in, even as the knot in my chest pulled tighter.
"You ready?" Enzo asked.
"I don’t know," I whispered. I genuinely didn't understand the situation. Who ever is when you're facing something like this?
We walked to the car parked way across the lot. Once we were in, Matteo started the engine, and we pulled onto the long road leading to the other side of the island. Our old territory sat right on the edge of the sea—a good three hours from the airport.
Silence swallowed us. Matteo focused on the road. Enzo stared out his window. I rolled mine down and let the warm wind brush against my face. The smell of salt and green things filled my lungs.
I didn’t speak. I just closed my eyes for a second and let the memories drift up like mist. The breeze, the wild trees, and the distant waves filled my mind. I used to love this place.
I used to love my life here.
Enzo finally broke the silence. "Isadora, why did you leave? You didn’t even say goodbye. Just that note. We were all confused. Did we mess up? You were happy... weren’t you?"
I kept my eyes forward. I could feel Matteo watching me in the rearview. His stare wasn’t confused like Enzo's. No. It was sharp. He seemed to possess more knowledge than he revealed.
Did I look happy back then? I thought I was hiding the pain so poorly, but maybe I hid it too well. No one had seen the cracks. No one saw the girl breaking piece by piece. They had become engrossed in their idyllic world. I had smiled, laughed, and played along. And none of them noticed.
They were all just... happy. I was in a state of despair.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and gave the simplest answer I could.
"I got rejected."
Matteo’s eyes locked with mine in the mirror.
"What?" Enzo looked like I’d slapped him.
"On my sixteenth birthday," I said, my voice calm. "I thought I could get over it, but I couldn’t. So I left."
Matteo blinked first. He looked away and focused on the road.
"Was it someone from the clan?" Enzo asked.
I paused. I could lie. Say it was someone from another pack. It wouldn’t be impossible. However, the weight in my chest compelled me to speak the truth.
"Yes."
Enzo exhaled like he was holding something in. "I'm sorry. We didn’t know. After you left, things changed. The Capo—he wasn’t the same."
"Enzo. Stop," Matteo cut in.
Enzo clammed up but gave Matteo a look. Something passed between them, something I wasn’t supposed to catch.
Not the same? Lorenzo changed? How?
But I shoved it aside. I had bigger things to worry about. I was apprehensive about the reactions my family would have upon seeing me.
The rest of the ride stayed quiet. Matteo kept glancing at me, like he expected me to jump out of the car. To be fair, I did think about it. A lot.
Eight years have passed. I spent eight years trying to forget. And still... here I was, with the same ache in my chest. I never allowed the scar to heal.
But I knew what I had to do now. I should have taken action long ago. I was going to face Lorenzo Ricci and give him back what he gave me. Rejection.
I’d convinced myself, back then, that he might follow. That maybe one day, I’d hear him at my door. He would humbly request my return. Tell me he was mistaken. I've always been the one in charge.
Stupid.
He never came. He chose not to come. He had Giulia.
And I... I was the girl left behind.
We hit the borders right as the sun started dipping low. The wolves on patrol were out, their forms slipping in and out of the trees. They remained hidden from outsiders, but not from me. I knew exactly where they were. I could feel their eyes.
We passed without issue.
Then the car stopped.
I looked up and saw the house. The wooden frame of the house remained unchanged. The path was still made of the same stone. The place where it all fell apart.
Matteo and Enzo stepped out. Enzo came around and opened my door.
I didn’t move.
He leaned down. "It’s going to be okay."
"Is it?" I whispered.
He didn’t answer. Just gave me a look. Someone suggested you should give it a shot.
So I got out.
The breeze smelled like gardenia and memory. I swallowed hard and took the first step.
Toward my family.
Toward the past.
Toward the truth.