Chapter 6 - The Uninvited Guest
The victory at the gala echoed through Boston like a thunderclap.
Within twelve hours, the tabloid stories were completely wiped from the news. Diane and Chloe were exposed as greedy frauds, forced to flee their rented apartment to avoid federal fraud charges pressed by Gabriel’s legal empire.
Nora had won her dignity back.
But as autumn shifted into the cold, biting winds of winter, a new, far more dangerous shadow fell over Villa Costa.
It happened during a quiet Thursday afternoon.
Gabriel was at the shipping docks overseeing an international cargo delivery, leaving Nora in the estate’s private library, reading a book by the fireplace.
The heavy front doors chimed.
Nora walked out into the foyer, expecting Gabriel to return early.
Instead, she found Rosa standing near the entrance, surrounded by four strange, heavily armed men in grey suits.
Standing in the center of the foyer was a young woman.
She was stunningly beautiful, with razor-sharp cheekbones, ice-blonde hair pulled into a sleek ponytail, wearing a white mink coat and red leather gloves.
Isabella Vance.
The daughter of Julian Vance—the New York crime lord.
Isabella swept her cold, blue eyes across the grand foyer, her lipstick-red mouth twisting into a cruel, arrogant sneer.
"So," Isabella drawled, her voice sharp as broken glass, stepping past Rosa toward the staircase. "This is the gutter trash Gabriel picked up to avoid marrying me."
Nora’s posture stiffened. She didn't shrink back. She smoothed her silk trousers and walked down the marble stairs, stopping four steps above Isabella, keeping the high ground.
"You are trespassing in my home, Miss Vance," Nora said smoothly, her voice calm and controlled.
Isabella let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "Your home? Little girl, you are a temporary placeholder. A homeless maid bought out of a wet alley for fifty thousand dollars."
Isabella took two steps up the stairs, pulling off her leather gloves.
"Gabriel played a clever trick," Isabella hissed, leaning in close. "He thinks registering a fake marriage with a nobody will protect his shipping ports from my father. But let me tell you how this ends, Nora."
Isabella reached out, her sharp red fingernail lightly tapping the black diamond necklace resting on Nora’s collarbone.
"My father’s fleet is currently surrounding the Boston Harbor," Isabella whispered ruthlessly. "By midnight, Gabriel will be forced to choose. Either he annulments this ridiculous marriage and signs the port treaties with me... or my father’s men will blow his cargo ships out of the water."
Nora didn't flinch. She reached out, caught Isabella’s wrist in a firm, tight grip, and yanked her finger away from her throat.
"If your father’s ships lay a single hand on my husband’s cargo," Nora said, her eyes burning with a fierce, unexpected fire, "you won't leave this driveway alive."
Isabella’s eyes widened in shock at the sheer audacity of the girl.
Before Isabella’s guards could draw their weapons, the heavy front doors were kicked open.
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Gabriel stepped inside, flanked by Leo and twelve tactical guards armed with submachine guns.
"Isabella," Gabriel’s voice boomed through the foyer, cold enough to freeze blood. "You have five seconds to remove your hands from my wife before my men put a bullet through your knees."
