In His Grasp: A Mafia Romance

Chapter 56: Living in Chloe's Shadow

Looking at the plate of vegetable salad in front of her, Isabella breathed a sigh of relief. It didn't seem too hard to swallow, but she wondered if it would taste as strange as the last time Chloe cooked for her. "Thank you," Isabella said, offering Chloe a small smile. She sat down, picked up her fork, and bravely took a bite.

Thankfully, it tasted normal.

Chloe sat across from Isabella, watching her eat the salad, and asked, "How is it? Delicious?"

"Delicious," Isabella replied, though her heart was uneasy. She couldn't shake the feeling that Chloe was up to something.

Under Chloe's watchful gaze, Isabella nervously finished the salad. Once she used a napkin to wipe her mouth, Chloe leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "Guess what, that salad was made with water from the toilet. Surprised you enjoyed it so much. Eat more next time."

Isabella heard Chloe's words and instantly felt her stomach churn. She glared at Chloe, wanting to say something, but her throat tightened, and she rushed into the bathroom to vomit.

It was disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.

Isabella vomited everything she had eaten tonight, along with whatever was still undigested from lunch. All that was left was bile. Her stomach cramped, making her feel miserable, and her eyes welled up with tears.

"Miss Gould, are you okay?" Tony approached Isabella, concerned. He couldn't help but suspect that there was something wrong between them.

Just as Chloe had whispered something to Isabella, she started vomiting like crazy. What had Chloe said?

"I'm fine," Isabella said weakly. She washed her face, and in the mirror, she looked as pale as a ghost.

"You should go to the hospital," Tony remained worried about Isabella.

"I don't need to. I'm fine," Isabella said. "I'm just a little tired, and I want to rest."

Isabella retreated to her room, closing the door behind her. Tony frowned, still feeling uneasy.

He looked at Chloe and asked, "Miss Hurley, what did you say to Miss Gould just now?"

"I didn't say anything. I simply told her that if she liked this vegetable salad, I could make it for her every day," Chloe replied with a flirtatious wink. "I can't believe she vomited. Could it be because she didn't like it? I used to eat this every day when I was dieting."

Tony sensed that something wasn't quite right. After some thought, he decided to report the incident to Emanuele.

Upon hearing Tony's report, Emanuele said, "Get that damn woman out of there." In the past few days, he had some work to handle, and Chloe was going to stay with Isabella. He didn't want to see that woman, so he decided to stay on the company's side. Now, after hearing Tony's report, he couldn't help but wonder if Isabella was being abused by that damn woman? Although they were cousins, recalling their interactions, it seemed that Isabella was somewhat afraid of Chloe. Damn it, no matter what, Emanuele didn't want Isabella to have any contact with that woman. Before he got angry, he decided to get that woman out of his sight.

"Understood," Tony acknowledged the order.

Emanuele hung up the phone and walked to the glass window, gazing at the radiant night view outside. He didn't know why, but he was furious after hearing the details from Tony. That woman, who could confront him, the head of the Chicago Mafia, with such audacity-how could she be so timid in front of her own cousin? It made him look down on her.

However, he found himself instinctively wanting to protect her, to prevent her from being harmed. It was something Emanuele hadn't anticipated.

With these thoughts, Emanuele impulsively accessed the surveillance on his phone to see what Chloe had been doing in the apartment. To his astonishment, he saw Chloe sneak into his room and spend half an hour inside. Although there was nothing of value in his room, the way that woman had looked at him earlier left Emanuele seething with anger.

"Immediately, get that woman out of the apartment! And replace everything in the room, including the bed!" Emanuele texted Tony in an irate tone. This would be the last time he spared that wretched bitch, considering her relationship with his stepmother.

"What? I need to move out immediately? I disagree!" Chloe stared at the frosty-faced bodyguard before her, a look of astonishment on her face. She had only been here for a day, so why was she being asked to leave? And where could she go in the middle of the night?

"This is the boss's decision. Please don't make it difficult for us," Tony said firmly.

Chloe was fuming. Had Isabella reported her to Emanuele? Chloe wanted to kill her. She immediately went to Isabella's room and knocked on the door forcefully. "Isabella, what's the meaning of this? I've treated you so well, and now Emanuele wants me gone?"

Inside her room, Isabella lay on the bed, pretending not to hear anything. She had already vomited once due to the torment, both physical and psychological, she had endured.

Chloe continued to knock, and when she received no response from Isabella, Tony came over and restrained her. "Miss Gould is probably not feeling well. She's already asleep. Please leave." Confronted by the imposing bodyguard's attitude, which hinted at a willingness to use force, Chloe had no choice but to grab her luggage and seek out Sophia.

She hadn't even seen Emanuele yet, hadn't managed to seduce him, and she was already being kicked out. That wretched Isabella, she mustn't ever cross her path again. If there's a next time, Chloe wouldn't be so gentle.

Isabella lay on her bed, silently listening to the commotion, and finally, when she heard Chloe had left, she breathed a sigh of relief. She was gone, completely gone, and that was a relief. She wouldn't have to live in fear anymore.

But the memory of Chloe's words, how she said that she had prepared Isabella's meal with toilet water, still made her nauseous. Isabella rushed into the bathroom and threw up again.

When she came out of the bathroom, she received a text from Chloe. "You stinking bitch, don't think that just because you've kicked me out, you'll be fine. You'll live in fear from now on. Can Lombardi protect you forever?"

Isabella saw the message, and her stomach started cramping painfully. She clutched her belly, realizing that she was indeed a coward, living her life in Chloe's shadow, even now.