Chapter 39 The Honey Trap

• (POV: Isabela)
• The days leading up to the accelerated wedding were a blur of numb dread. Confined to my luxurious suite in Mateo’s Miami fortress, the vast ocean view mocking me through the inescapable glass walls, I felt less like a bride-to-be and more like a specimen awaiting display. The aftermath of the torture I’d witnessed, followed by Mateo’s chilling gift of the dagger hidden beneath my mattress, and then the swift, brutal annihilation of the Vasquez cartel after the parking garage attack… it all left me feeling hollowed out, exhausted by fear. Escape felt like a foolish dream from another lifetime. Survival, minute by minute, felt like the only achievable goal.
• Mateo remained a distant, controlling presence. Orders were relayed through Mrs. Davenport or his silent guards. He dictated my schedule, approved my limited activities within the estate, ensuring my cage, though beautiful, remained firmly locked. Our interactions were brief, impersonal, always reinforcing his ownership, his absolute control. Until the evening he summoned me to his sleek, minimalist study – a room as cold and intimidating as the man himself.