Chapter 16: The Wife Who Forgot His Name
Ricardo had faced death more times than he could count.
He had stared down enemies with guns in their hands.
He had walked into rooms knowing he might not walk out.
But nothing had ever made him feel as powerless as standing ten feet away from Isabella and hearing her say four words.
“I don’t know who you are.””
The woman he loved looked at him with polite confusion.
Not anger.
Not hatred.
Confusion.
And somehow that hurt more.
Victor Morelli watched the moment with satisfaction.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?””
Ricardo slowly turned his eyes toward him.
“What did you do?””
Victor smiled.
“I gave Isabella a chance at a peaceful life.””
“You stole her memories.””
“I removed her pain.””
Ricardo’s fists tightened.
“You don’t get to decide that.””
Victor stepped closer.
“Someone had to.””
Dante’s voice came through Ricardo’s earpiece.
“Boss, we have men outside. Give the word.””
Ricardo ignored him.
His eyes never left Isabella.
She looked different.
Not because she had changed.
Because the person he knew was trapped somewhere behind her eyes.
“Isabella.””
She flinched slightly at her name.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly.
“But I don’t think we’ve met.””
Ricardo felt like the ground disappeared.
“You don’t remember me?””
She shook her head.
“No.””
Victor interrupted.
“Ricardo, you need to understand something. The Isabella you loved died years ago.””
Ricardo looked at him.
“No.””
His voice was quiet.
“She’s right there.””
Victor laughed.
“You always were stubborn.””
“And you always were a coward.””
The smile disappeared from Victor’s face.
For the first time, anger appeared.
Good.
Ricardo needed him angry.
Because angry people made mistakes.
“You think you can walk away with her?””
Victor asked.
Ricardo looked at Isabella.
Then at the men surrounding them.
“No.””
A pause.
“I know I can.””
Suddenly, the church lights went out.
Dante had moved.
Chaos exploded.
Gunshots echoed.
People shouted.
Ricardo grabbed Isabella’s hand and pulled her behind a stone wall.
She looked terrified.
“Who are you?””
He looked at her.
A thousand memories passed through his mind.
Their first meeting.
Their wedding.
The day Leo was born.
The night she told him she was pregnant.
“I’m the man who promised to protect you.””
She stared at him.
“I don’t remember that promise.””
Ricardo’s expression softened.
“But I do.””
They moved through the back exit.
Dante and his men covered them.
Outside, the cold air hit Isabella’s face.
She stopped.
Everything was overwhelming.
The noise.
The danger.
The people calling her name.
Ricardo noticed.
“Are you okay?””
She looked at him.
“I don’t know.””
The honesty broke something inside him.
He wanted the old Isabella back.
But he couldn’t force her.
Not anymore.
A car arrived.
Clara stepped out.
When Isabella saw her, she froze.
Something changed.
A tiny flicker.
Recognition.
Clara noticed too.
“Mom?””
The word came out accidentally.
Everyone became silent.
Isabella looked at her.
“I…”
She touched her own face.
“I don’t know why, but…”
Tears formed in her eyes.
“I feel like I know you.””
Clara started crying.
Ricardo watched the two women who had been separated by secrets finally stand in front of each other.
Not as strangers.
Not completely.
A memory was still there.
Buried.
Waiting.
Later, at the safe house, doctors examined Isabella.
The diagnosis was clear.
Her memories were damaged.
But not gone.
“She has emotional recognition,” the doctor explained.
Ricardo listened carefully.
“What does that mean?””
“She may not remember events, names, or dates.””
The doctor looked at Isabella.
“But feelings are stored differently.””
Ricardo looked at her.
“She can remember love?””
The doctor nodded.
“Possibly.””
That night, Ricardo sat outside her room.
He didn’t enter.
He didn’t want to pressure her.
The woman inside was his wife.
But she was also someone meeting him for the first time.
The door opened.
Isabella stepped out.
“You’re still here.””
Ricardo looked up.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
He thought about lying.
But Isabella had always hated lies.
“Because I spent two years thinking you were gone.””
She looked down.
“And now?””
“Now I’m not wasting another second.””
For a moment, something moved in her expression.
A memory.
A feeling.
Then her phone rang.
Everyone froze.
Nobody knew how she had one.
She answered.
A man’s voice came through.
Ricardo recognized it immediately.
Victor.
But the words were meant for Isabella.
“Come home.””
She looked frightened.
Victor continued:
“Or I tell Ricardo what you really did before the accident.””
Ricardo stood.
“What did he mean?””
Isabella slowly lowered the phone.
Her face had gone pale.
Because even without her memories…
She knew one thing.
May you like
She had a secret.
A secret she had never told Ricardo.
