(Isla's POV)
I didn't wait.
I didn't think.
I didn't breathe.
I marched straight out of Luciano's office, the file shaking in my hands, my vision blurred with tears. My heart felt like it was splitting open inside my chest.
Antonio Moretti.
Suspect.
My father.
The hallway felt too quiet. Too long. Too cold.
I found him sitting on the couch near the surgery room, his face buried in his hands. His shoulders shook. He looked older than I had ever seen him.
"Dad," I said, voice cracking.
He looked up. His eyes were swollen and red. "Isla… thank God. Are you okay? Did something happen?"
I held up the file.
His face drained of color.
"We need to talk," I said.
"Isla"
"No," I cut in. "Not this time. You're going to tell me the truth. All of it."
He swallowed hard. "Where did you get that?"
"It doesn't matter," I said. "Answer me."
He wiped his face with trembling hands. "I didn't want you to see any of that."
"I didn't want to see it either," I snapped, my voice shaking. "But I did. And I need to hear it from you. Were you there the night my parents died?"
Antonio froze.
Everything in him went still.
Then slowly, painfully he nodded.
"Yes."
My stomach twisted. "And you didn't tell me because… why?"
He closed his eyes. "Because I knew this day would break you."
"It already did," I whispered.
He covered his face again. "Isla… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"Sorry for what?" I said, my voice rising. "Sorry for lying? Sorry for letting them die? Sorry for raising me in a life built on secrets?"
He shook his head quickly. "No. I'm sorry for being a coward."
My breath caught in my throat.
He took a shaky breath. "I didn't set the fire. I swear to you. But I… I didn't stop it either."
I stared at him, stunned. "What do you mean?"
He clutched his shirt like he was trying to hold himself together. "When I got there, the fire had already started. Your parents were trapped inside. I could hear them screaming for help. I could hear the beams cracking. I"
He broke down again, sobbing.
"I was scared, Isla. I was so scared."
My voice shook. "Scared of what?"
He looked up at me with helpless, broken eyes.
"The Virellis told me if I went in… they'd kill me too."
My whole chest turned cold.
"So you left them?" I whispered, the words barely escaping my lips.
"I chose to live," he gasped. "I chose myself. And I've hated myself every day since."
I stepped back, tears pouring down my face.
"You let my parents die," I said quietly.
His head dropped. "Yes."
"You left them," I whispered again. "To save yourself."
He cried harder, hands over his face. "I didn't know what else to do! I didn't know how to fight them. I didn't know how to save your parents. I was useless."
"You were supposed to protect us," I said, voice breaking. "You were supposed to protect our family."
"Isla, listen," he begged, reaching for me.
I stepped back. "Don't touch me."
He froze mid-reach, his hand trembling in the air.
I wiped my tears, anger burning through the pain. "Why did you take me? Why did you keep me alive if you couldn't save them?"
Antonio looked up slowly. His expression shifted fear, guilt, something darker.
"That's not the worst part," he said.
My whole body stiffened.
"What does that mean?" I whispered.
He stood shakily, his hands trembling as he reached for mine. This time… I didn't pull back. Something in his eyes made me freeze.
He held my hands like he was holding something fragile, maybe his last chance.
"The worst part," he said, voice breaking, "is that your mother was still alive when I left."
My breath stopped.
"What?" I choked out.
Antonio's voice cracked. "She wasn't dead, Isla. She was trapped under a beam. Her leg was crushed. She couldn't move. She was screaming… begging."
My vision blurred. "Stop."
He shook his head, crying harder. "I tried to lift the beam, but it wouldn't move. Flames were everywhere. She knew she wasn't going to make it."
"Stop!" I yelled, covering my ears. "I don't want to hear this!"
But he kept going, desperate.
"She begged me to save you," he sobbed. "She told me where you were hiding. She screamed your name, told me to run before the whole place collapsed."
I felt something inside me shatter.
"She told me to take you and get out," Antonio said, voice shaking violently. "So I did."
"No," I whispered, sinking to the floor. "No no no"
"I took you," he whispered, sinking to his knees with me. "And I ran out while she burned alive, calling your name."
I couldn't breathe.
I couldn't think.
My world was collapsing in on itself.
"She loved you, Isla," Antonio cried, gripping my hands. "She loved you so much she died to save you."
I dropped my head, sobbing until the sound tore from my throat.
Everything I believed… everything I trusted… was gone.
My father wasn't a hero.
He wasn't a protector.
He wasn't even brave.
He was a man who left my mother to die.
The man who raised me was the same man who walked away from my parents' last moments.
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to run.
I wanted to burn every lie in this mansion.
Antonio pulled me close, still crying.
"I'm so sorry, Isla. I'm so sorry."
But his voice felt far away.
Because my mother died alone.
And he left her.
To save me.
And I didn't know how to live with that.
My tears hit the floor as I whispered the only thing I could:
"I don't know if I can ever forgive you."