Novel-novel oleh Lumi

The Girl at My Desk By Monday morning, I had almost convinced myself that everything was normal. Almost. I stood outside Raphael's office building with a paper cup of coffee warming my palm, staring at the glass doors. Work. A desk. Emails. Deadlines. Things that belonged to ordinary people with ordinary problems. I wanted that. After everything I'd learned about my family, I needed something that didn't involve photographs, buried memories, secret conversations, or people who had spent years deciding what I was allowed to know. I pushed through the doors. The familiar hum of the office greeted me. Phones ringing. Keyboards clicking. People moving between desks with files tucked beneath their arms. Nobody looked like they'd spent the weekend uncovering pieces of a life that had been hidden from them. I almost smiled. Then I remembered Raphael's words. My past just found me. The smile disappeared. I hadn't seen him since yesterday. He had refused to explain the p

The Night I ForgotThe house was too quiet.Not peaceful.Quiet in the way a room became quiet after someone said something that could not be taken back.I sat across from my mother at the kitchen table, staring at the photograph between us.The same photograph I had carried from one house to another.My father.My mother.Me.And the man standing behind us.For years, I had looked at that picture and wondered why I couldn't remember him.Tonight, my mother had finally admitted she knew."Tell me what happened," I said.She lowered her eyes."Nicole....""No."My voice came out sharper than I expected.I pushed the photograph toward her."Not another half-truth. Not another warning that I'm better off not knowing. I've spent my entire life feeling like there's a door inside my own head that everyone else has the key to."Her fingers curled around the edge of the photograph."I'm sorry.""Then tell me."She looked at me for a long moment.Then she whispered,"You were seventeen."Somet

The Questions I Couldn't KeepNicole's POVThe drive to my mother's house felt longer than it should have.Maybe because every mile carried another question.Maybe because I wasn't sure I wanted the answers anymore.Rain tapped softly against the windshield.Streetlights blurred into gold smears across the glass.Raphael drove.I sat beside him.Neither of us spoke.The silence wasn't comfortable.It wasn't awkward either.It was heavy.The kind of silence that sat between people who knew too much and said too little.My phone rested in my lap.The message from the unknown number still glowed in my memory.You should have left the past buried, Nicole.Now they know you're looking.I stared out the window."You knew."Raphael's hands tightened slightly on the steering wheel."Knew what?""That my mother was involved."A muscle jumped in his jaw."I knew she had answers."I laughed softly."That's not the same thing.""No."His voice was quiet."It isn't."The rain grew heavier.For sev

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 first thing Alessandro did that morning was change every guard protecting his wife.The second was order his men to find Anthony Cole.The third was forbid Valentina from leaving the bedroom.That was where the trouble began.“I’m not asking for permission to walk around my own house,” Valentina said, standing beside the bed with her arms folded.Alessandro looked up from his phone. “And I’m not asking you to understand why I won’t risk your safety.”“My safety?” She gave a short, disbelieving laugh. “You mean keeping me locked away while you and your men decide what happens to my life?”His jaw tightened.“Valentina, someone inside this house has been watching you. They knew your movements. They knew which guards were assigned to you. One of them is missing, and there’s blood near the back entrance.”“I know all that.”“Then stop acting as if this is an argument about your freedom.”“No, Alessandro. You’re acting as if I’m the only person in this house who can be hurt.”She regre

The first thing Alessandro noticed when he entered the bedroom was that Valentina wasn't asleep.She sat beside the window, wearing one of his shirts, her knees drawn beneath the fabric. The city lights reflected in the glass, but she wasn't looking at them.She was staring at her phone.“Who are you waiting for?” he asked.Valentina quickly locked the screen.“No one.”He stopped beside the bed.“You've been saying that a lot lately.”She looked up at him. “And you've been asking a lot of questions.”“Because every time I turn around, someone in my family is keeping something from me.”The words came out sharper than he'd intended.Valentina's expression changed.He regretted them immediately.Alessandro sat beside her and reached for her hand. “I'm sorry.”She studied him for a moment before letting him take it.“You don't have to apologize for being worried.”“I'm not worried.”One eyebrow rose.He exhaled. “Fine. I'm worried.”A small smile touched her mouth.It disappeared when h

Sofia didn't sleep.The photographs remained open on her phone long after midnight. Every time she tried to put it down, she found herself looking at them again, searching for something that might prove they weren't real.A mistake. A misunderstanding. Anything.But Luca's face was unmistakable.So was Don Vittorio Moretti's.She remembered the way Luca had looked at Alessandro across the restaurant table. The hurt in his voice. The way he had held her hand and promised she wouldn't have to choose between them.Had any of it been real?Her phone vibrated.For one hopeful second, she thought it might be Luca calling back.It wasn't.UNKNOWN NUMBER: You have until tomorrow to decide whether your brother deserves the truth.Sofia threw the phone onto her bed.“Who are you?” she whispered to the empty room.She didn't know who had sent the photographs or why they had chosen her. Perhaps someone wanted to help Alessandro. Perhaps someone wanted to use her against Luca.Either way, she coul

A Brother’s Promise Sofia hadn't slept properly in two nights. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Alessandro's face when he told her Luca no longer had a place in his house. Then she remembered Luca standing by his window, pretending his words didn't hurt. They were both stubborn. Both proud. And both too much like their father. She was tired of being the person who had to remind them they were family. By ten that morning, she had called Alessandro six times. He finally answered on the seventh. “What is it, Sofia?” “Good morning to you too.” “I have a meeting.” “Then I'll be brief. Have you agreed to meet Luca?” A pause. “Yes.” Relief loosened something in her chest. “Thank you.” “Don't thank me yet. I'm not promising anything beyond a conversation.” “I know.” “And Sofia?” “Yes?” “If he's using you to get close to me, I won't forgive myself for letting it happen.” She swallowed. “He's still our brother.” “He knows that. That's what makes this worse.” The call

Sofia had always known that one day her brothers would destroy each other. She just hadn't expected it to happen so soon. She stood outside Alessandro's study, listening to the silence behind the closed door. Since Luca had been thrown out of the estate, the entire house had changed. The guards spoke in whispers. Servants avoided mentioning his name. And Alessandro, who had once tolerated his brother's endless arguments, now reacted to the smallest mention of him with a coldness that frightened her. Sofia knocked. “Come in.” Alessandro stood beside his desk, reading a report. He didn't look up when she entered. “You haven't been answering my calls,” she said. “I've been busy.” “You've been avoiding me.” That made him lift his eyes. “Sofia, not now.” “Then when?” She shut the door behind her. “When Luca comes back with a gun? When one of you orders the other man's death? Or when I'm standing at a funeral, wondering why neither of you could swallow your pride?” His expression

Luca had spent his entire life believing there was one thing Alessandro would never take from him. His place in the De Luca family. He had been wrong. His brother's words kept replaying in his mind. You were my brother. Not anymore. Luca stood in the apartment he had rented after leaving the De Luca estate, staring at the glass of whiskey in his hand. He had not touched it. His anger was too sharp for drinking. Alessandro had chosen a woman over blood. And now, that woman was carrying his child. Luca's jaw tightened. Valentina had entered their family as a political arrangement. She was supposed to be a bride, a bargaining chip, someone Alessandro would eventually grow tired of protecting. Instead, she had become the one person capable of making his brother turn against him. And Luca intended to make her pay for it. His phone vibrated on the desk. A message from an old contact appeared. THE MAYOR'S OFFICE IS STILL EMPTY. THE FAMILIES ARE ALREADY POSITIONING