Novels by Lumi

The Photograph She HidNicole's POVThe message stayed on my screen.Now they know you're looking.I read it again.Then again.My fingers had gone cold."Nicole."Raphael's voice came from behind me.I didn't answer.He stepped closer."Show me."I turned the phone toward him.His eyes moved over the message.His expression changed immediately."Who sent this?""I don't know.""When did you get it?""Just now."He took my phone from my hand and examined the number."Have you received anything from this number before?""Yes."His jaw tightened."How many times?""Twice.""Why didn't you tell me?"I pulled the phone from his hand."Because I didn't know you'd do anything except tell me to stay somewhere safe.""That's exactly what I'm going to tell you now.""I'm not going anywhere.""Nicole....""No."I turned toward Clara.She was still standing beside the cabinet.Her eyes were fixed on me.She looked frightened.Or at least, she looked like she was."Someone broke into your house,"

Someone UpstairsNicole's POVClara's fingers tightened around mine."Don't move."I stared at her.The footsteps came again.Slow.Measured.Someone was walking across the floor above us.My heart slammed against my ribs.Raphael appeared at the bottom of the stairs.His eyes moved from Clara to me.Then toward the ceiling.He didn't ask what happened.He already knew."Stay behind me."I almost laughed."That's getting old."His eyes flicked toward mine."This isn't the time."Another footstep sounded above us.Closer to the staircase.Clara's hand slipped from mine."There's no one supposed to be here."Raphael's expression hardened."Apparently someone didn't get that message."He reached beneath his jacket.The sight of his hand disappearing inside it made my stomach tighten.I followed him up the first step.He turned."Nicole.""I'm coming.""Stay downstairs.""No."His jaw tightened.I stepped around him."You don't get to decide what I see anymore."His eyes held mine for a

The Woman Who Knew Nicole's POV "My mother?" The word barely left my mouth. Raphael didn't answer. He stood across from me, his face unreadable, while Joy stared at the floor as though the answer had been carved into it. I waited. Nothing. My chest tightened. "You said the last person who opened that box disappeared." Raphael's jaw shifted. "Yes." "My mother is alive." "I know." The answer came quietly. Too quietly. I stepped closer. "Then don't say things like that." "I wasn't talking about your mother." I stopped. "Then who?" Raphael looked at Joy. She shook her head. "Not tonight." I laughed once. It came out empty. "Of course." I bent down and picked up the note from the floor. My father's handwriting stared back at me. If Nicole ever finds the key, don't let her open the box alone. I folded the paper. My fingers wouldn't stop shaking. "I want to go home." Raphael's expression hardened. "No." I looked at him. "That wasn't a question." "Someone

The Things He Never Told MeMy ears were still ringing.For a few seconds, I couldn't hear anything except a high-pitched whine that seemed to come from somewhere inside my skull.I pushed myself up on trembling hands.Glass covered the porch.Tiny pieces glittered across the floor in the morning light."Nicole."Raphael's voice sounded distant.I looked up.He was crouched in front of me.His hands were on my shoulders.His eyes moved over my face, searching."Are you hurt?"I opened my mouth.Nothing came out.He touched the side of my head."Nicole.""I'm fine."My voice barely sounded like mine.Raphael's gaze dropped to my hands.There was a thin cut across my palm.Blood had begun to gather along the line.His jaw tightened."You're bleeding."I looked down."I didn't feel it.""That's because you're still in shock."He reached for my hand.I pulled it away.His eyes lifted to mine.For a moment, neither of us spoke.Then I stood.My knees nearly buckled.Raphael caught my elbow

The Photograph in the GardenNicole's POV"What?"Joy didn't answer.Her fingers tightened around my wrist.Not enough to hurt.... but,Enough to stop me from moving.I looked at her face.She wasn't watching Raphael anymore.She was watching the garden.More specifically...The old tree at the far end.My stomach tightened."What is it?"Joy swallowed."I know that tree."I frowned."What?""The tree."Her voice had changed.It wasn't fear anymore.It was recognition.She released my wrist and walked toward the window.I followed.Raphael stood several feet outside, scanning the garden.His right hand remained beneath his jacket.Every movement was controlled.Careful.He looked toward the fence.Then the flowerpot.Then the trees.Nothing.No one.Joy pressed her palm against the glass."I've seen that tree before."I stared at her."Where?"She didn't answer immediately.Her eyes remained fixed on the branches.Then she whispered,"When you were little."Something inside my chest shi

The Things He Never Told MeNicole's POVThe car disappeared around the corner.I kept staring at the empty stretch of road long after the sound of its engine faded.Nobody spoke.The curtain slipped from Joy's fingers.She let it fall.Raphael remained beside the window, his eyes fixed on the place where the car had vanished.His jaw was tight.His shoulders were rigid.He looked like someone waiting for a second attack.I hated that.I hated how easily fear seemed to find everyone except me.Or maybe it found me too.Maybe I'd simply become too used to it."Who was that?"My voice sounded smaller than I wanted.Raphael turned."I don't know."I almost laughed."That's becoming your favorite answer."His expression tightened."Nicole.""No."I stepped away from the window."You don't get to do that.""Do what?""Say my name like it makes everything okay."He went quiet.I looked at Joy."Who are they?"Joy's fingers twisted together."I don't know."I stared at her."You do."She sho

The Warning The sea was quieter than Valentina expected. For the first time in months, there were no gates surrounding her. No endless corridors. No guards following every movement. Just the sound of waves breaking against the shore and the warm breeze moving through her hair. She stood barefoot at the edge of the water, letting the waves touch her ankles. Behind her, Alessandro watched. “You're smiling.” Valentina turned. “Am I not allowed?” “I didn't say that.” “You were staring.” “I like seeing you happy.” She rolled her eyes. “You've become very sentimental.” “Don't tell anyone.” She laughed. Alessandro walked toward her, his shoes sinking slightly into the sand. When he reached her, he held out his hand. “Come.” “Where?” “Somewhere quieter.” “Isn't the entire beach quiet?” “Not enough.” She placed her hand in his. He led her farther down the shore until they reached a small wooden terrace overlooking the water. Valentina leaned against the railing. “Th

The Life She Never WantedMorning sunlight slipped through the curtains.Valentina opened her eyes slowly.For a few seconds, she didn't remember where she was.Then she felt the warmth beside her.Alessandro was still asleep.One arm rested across the empty space between them, his fingers curled loosely against the sheets as though he'd reached for her sometime during the night.She watched him quietly.There was something almost strange about seeing him like this.No suit.No cold expression.No guards waiting outside.No one calling him Don.Just Alessandro.The man she had once hated.The man she had once blamed for stealing her future.The man she had somehow fallen in love with.Valentina looked toward the window.The estate was quiet.And suddenly, without warning, she remembered the girl she had been before all of this.The girl who had wanted a completely different life.A normal life.A simple one.She had wanted mornings where she could wake up without checking whether some

A Quiet NightAlessandro remained upstairs long after the call ended.The phone was still in his hand.The screen had gone dark, but Bianca's voice remained in his head.I saw your wife today.His jaw tightened.He slipped the phone into his pocket and looked toward the bedroom.Valentina was still downstairs.For a moment, he considered telling her.She deserved the truth.But he knew Bianca.She had never done anything without a reason.And whatever she wanted, Alessandro wasn't going to allow her to drag Valentina into it.Not yet.He took a slow breath before leaving the room.By the time he reached the staircase, his expression had returned to its usual calm.Valentina was standing near the window.She turned when she heard him.“You took a while.”“I had something to deal with.”She studied him.“Everything okay?”“Yes.”The answer came too quickly.Valentina noticed.But she didn't question him.Instead, she looked toward the dining room.“Have you eaten?”“No.”“Neither have

Between UsBy the time Valentina returned to the De Luca estate, the sun had begun to disappear behind the clouds.She sat in the back of the car, staring through the window without really seeing the passing streets.Her shopping bags rested beside her.One of them contained the emerald dress she'd bought.Another held a pair of shoes she had barely looked at before paying for them.She couldn't remember choosing either.Her mind was still at the boutique.Still with Bianca.I was engaged to Alessandro.Valentina closed her eyes.She could still hear the woman's voice.Calm.Confident.Almost affectionate when she spoke his name.And then those final words.You don't know him.Valentina hated that they had stayed with her.She hated even more that part of her believed them.Her phone was still in her hand.She looked at the message she'd sent Alessandro.I'm coming home early.No.That wasn't what she'd written.She had written:I'm coming home early.No.Her thumb moved across the sc

The Woman From His PastFor the first time in weeks, Valentina woke up without someone telling her where she was going.No guards stood outside her bedroom door.No urgent phone calls echoed through the estate.No one was waiting downstairs with another piece of bad news.The quiet felt strange.Almost suspicious.She stood in front of her wardrobe, staring at clothes she hadn't touched in what felt like forever.Alessandro had already left for a meeting.Before leaving, he'd paused at the bedroom door.“You're going out?”She had nodded.“Shopping.”His eyes had narrowed slightly.“With who?”Valentina had smiled.“Alessandro.”He'd sighed.“I know. I'm being difficult.”“You are.”He'd walked back toward her, kissed her forehead, and murmured,“Take the car.”“I can drive myself.”“I know.”“Then why the car?”“Because I said so.”She'd stared at him.He'd stared back.Then, finally, the corner of his mouth lifted.“Fine. Drive yourself.”That was how Valentina ended up at the bo

The TruthMorning came quietly to the De Luca estate.For the first time in days, there were no alarms.No hurried footsteps.No shouted orders from the guards.Just the soft sound of rain against the windows.Valentina sat alone in the library, her mother's letter resting on the table in front of her.She had read it so many times that she knew every word.Still, she couldn't stop looking at it.Her mother was alive.Twenty-three years of believing she had been abandoned had collapsed in a single night.The door opened.Alessandro walked inside.He had changed out of his funeral clothes, but the exhaustion remained in his face.He stopped when he saw her.“You haven't slept.”“Neither have you.”He came closer.Valentina looked up.“I need the whole truth.”Alessandro pulled out the chair beside her.“So do I.”She slid the letter toward him.“This says my mother knew something people were willing to kill for.”“I know.”“And the contract was created to protect me.”“Yes.”“But from