Novels by Pecera Vienne

The gunman lifted his weapon.Inside the study, Sofia didn't know what her mother had seen.But she knew fear when she saw it."Mother?"Elena grabbed her hand."Don't move."The first shot shattered the window.Sofia screamed as Elena pulled her down.Glass exploded across the room."Get down!"Another bullet struck the bookshelf.Sofia covered her head."Who are they?""I don't know.""You just said—""I know what I said."Elena dragged her toward the door."There's a passage behind the cabinet."Sofia stared at her."A passage?""Your father built it years ago.""Why?"Elena's eyes met hers."Because he knew one day someone would come for us."Another shot rang through the estate.Footsteps erupted in the hallway.Guards shouted.Doors slammed.The house descended into chaos.Elena pushed the cabinet aside.A narrow opening appeared behind it.Sofia stared."You knew this was here.""Yes.""Why didn't you ever tell me?""Because I wanted you to have a normal life."Sofia almost lau

The first thing Sofia heard when her phone came back on was Alessandro's voice."Don't trust anyone."She froze.The screen flickered once before the recording disappeared.Sofia stared at the phone.Her heart pounded."Alessandro?"She pressed the screen again.Nothing.She called him.One ring.Two.Three.Then the call ended.She tried again.This time, the phone went straight to voicemail."No..."She sat on the edge of her bed, gripping the phone tightly.Only a few hours ago, she had been smiling because of him.Now fear was crawling slowly beneath her skin.She opened the unknown message again.Don't trust the man you love.Her thumb hovered over the screen.She hated the words.Hated the doubt they created.Most of all, she hated that a tiny part of her was beginning to wonder whether there was something Alessandro hadn't told her.A knock sounded at the door.Sofia quickly locked her phone."Who is it?""Me."Matteo.She took a breath."Come in."The door opened.Her brother

The photograph landed on Matteo's desk at precisely nine in the morning.He stared at it without touching it.It showed Alessandro leaving the Romano estate three nights before Sofia disappeared.The photograph was clear.Too clear.And beneath it was a handwritten note.He knew where she was before anyone else did.Matteo's jaw tightened."Who brought this?"His lieutenant shook his head."It was left at the front gate.""Any cameras?""Nothing."Matteo picked up the photograph.Something about it felt wrong.But fear was louder than instinct."Find out where he went that night.""Yes, sir."After the man left, Matteo stared at the photograph again.Then his eyes moved toward the closed door.He hated Alessandro.He had been raised to hate him.But Sofia's words from the night before kept returning.He saved me.For the first time, Matteo didn't know which truth to believe.---Across the city, Alessandro stood in front of the same photograph.Except his was different.His showed Sof

The Moretti convoy stopped so abruptly that gravel scattered beneath the tires.Sofia's heart dropped.She knew that car.She knew the men stepping out of it.And then she saw him.Matteo.Her brother slammed the door behind him and stared across the road.His eyes found Sofia first.Relief flashed across his face.Then he saw who was standing beside her.Alessandro.The relief disappeared."What the hell is he doing with you?"Sofia stepped forward."Matteo—""Stay where you are."His men immediately raised their weapons.Across the road, the Romano soldiers did the same.Dante swore beneath his breath."Everyone lower your weapons."Matteo ignored him."You took my sister."Alessandro stepped in front of Sofia."I didn't take her.""You were found with her.""I rescued her."Matteo's laugh was cold."From whom?""The men who kidnapped her.""And how do I know you weren't behind it?"Sofia's eyes widened."You think Alessandro kidnapped me?""I think a Romano would do anything to wea

The footsteps stopped outside the chapel.Sofia instinctively held her breath.Her fingers tightened around Alessandro's hand.He glanced at her only once before gently pulling her behind one of the thick stone pillars near the altar.The old chapel was too small.If anyone came inside, there would be very few places to hide.Alessandro reached beneath his jacket and quietly drew his pistol.Sofia frowned."You shouldn't.""I won't let them take you."His voice was barely a whisper.She looked at the gun in his hand, then back at his face.His expression wasn't angry.It wasn't cold.It was determined.For her.A shadow appeared beneath the crack of the wooden door.Someone tried the handle.The old hinges groaned softly.The door opened only a few inches before stopping against a broken piece of wood lying on the floor."Check inside."A man's voice echoed from outside.Alessandro slowly raised the pistol.Sofia gently touched his wrist."No."He looked at her."If they're Lorenzo's

The first light of dawn had not yet reached the abandoned docks.A thick blanket of mist drifted over the water, swallowing the rusted cargo containers and broken cranes that stood like silent giants against the gray sky.Sofia tightened her grip around Alessandro's arm as they made their way through the narrow alley between two abandoned warehouses."Slow down," she whispered."I'm trying."His voice was hoarse.Every step sent a sharp pain through his shoulder. The sedative still lingered in his bloodstream, making his vision blur every few minutes. He hated it.He hated feeling weak.More than that, he hated that Sofia had become the one keeping him on his feet."You don't have to prove anything to me," she said quietly, sensing his frustration."I'm not."She stopped walking and turned to face him."You are."For a long moment, neither of them spoke.The wind carried the salty scent of the sea between them."You've spent your whole life protecting everyone else," Sofia continued.

The rain had not stopped by the time we returned to the hotel. Security teams checked the suite twice before allowing us inside. Alexander spoke briefly with Thomas, then locked the door himself and set his phone on the table within easy reach. I stood near the window watching the wet streets below, knowing Ella was still somewhere in the same darkness.The call came at 2:17 a.m.Alexander’s phone lit up with an unknown number. He glanced at me, then answered and put it on speaker.A familiar voice filled the room—calm, cold, and unmistakably Ella’s.“Hello, Alexander.”He went very still. “Where are you?”“Close enough,” she answered. “Close enough to watch the police run in circles at that empty factory. Close enough to know you brought her with you.”My stomach tightened. Alexander’s eyes met mine across the table.Ella continued without waiting. “I am tired of playing games. You already cost me weeks of planning and two useful people. So I will make this simple. You will sign ov

Night settled over the city while the search for Ella Monroe spread outward in every direction. Roadblocks checked cars on the main highways. Helicopters circled the industrial edges of town. Detective Harris’s updates came in short, frequent calls—each one reporting the same result. No confirmed sighting. No clear trail after the abandoned sedan.Alexander had moved us to a high-floor suite in a secure hotel under heavy private security. Beatrice remained in the hospital’s protected unit with officers at her door. I sat near the window of the suite while Alexander spoke quietly with Thomas and two of his most trusted men. Maps and phone logs covered the table. The city lights beyond the glass looked ordinary, almost peaceful, but I knew better. Ella was out there somewhere in the same darkness.I watched the streets and tried to steady my breathing. She had already proven she could reach through walls, through staff, through prison itself. The short peace we had felt earlier that d

We were still sitting in the small hospital meeting room when Alexander’s phone rang. Detective Harris’s name filled the screen. Alexander answered and put the call on speaker without hesitation. I leaned closer.Harris’s voice was tight and stripped of its usual control. “Mr. Kane. Miss Hart. I need you both to listen carefully. Ella Monroe is no longer in custody.”The words landed between us like a stone dropped into still water. Alexander’s hand tightened around the phone. I felt the blood leave my face.“Explain,” Alexander said.Harris drew a breath. “Two hours ago the women’s wing began a scheduled deep clean. Every prisoner was moved into the main corridor under guard so the cells could be stripped and sanitized. During the movement, a female officer—Officer Dana Ruiz—unlocked a side service door that leads to the staff parking area. Ella walked out with her.”I stared at the phone. The ordinary afternoon light coming through the window suddenly felt too bright.“Ruiz had be

The words from Detective Harris stayed with me long after I left the station.Ella was in custody. The attacks had a name and a face. But her lawyer had mentioned a second encrypted device—one she called “insurance.”I returned to the hospital and sat with Beatrice. She was stronger today. When I told her Ella had been arrested and that her own name would be fully cleared, tears of relief filled her eyes. She held my hand for a long time and whispered that she had never doubted my heart, even when the world seemed determined to break us both.Alexander did not come to the hospital that afternoon. He respected the space I had asked for. His messages remained short and careful: updates from the detective, confirmation that Beatrice’s records were being formally cleared, and one quiet line that read, *I am still here when you are ready.*I did not reply at once.Late in the evening Detective Harris called again. His voice was more urgent than before.“We located the second device,” h

The call from Detective Harris came just after sunrise. I was still at the hospital, sitting beside Beatrice’s bed, when my phone rang. Alexander’s name appeared first in a separate message: *They have her. Come to the station. You need to hear this.*I arrived with two officers. Alexander was already in the meeting room. The distance between us remained, but the urgency in the air made it feel smaller. Detective Harris stood at the head of the table with a thick file and a laptop.“We have identified the woman,” he said without delay. “The voice analysis, the final money trail, and a recovered encrypted phone all point to the same person. Ella Monroe—Alexander Kane’s former fiancée.”The name landed hard. I looked at Alexander. His face was pale and set, but he did not look surprised. Only grim.Harris continued. “She used David Blackstone’s old accounts and forged links to Mrs. Beatrice’s care providers to hide her own involvement. She hired the drivers, the poisoner, and the peop

The first thing Alessandro felt was pain.It settled deep in his bones, heavy and relentless, making every breath feel like a struggle. His head throbbed, and a dull ache spread from the side of his neck where the needle had pierced his skin.He tried to move.A sharp groan escaped his lips instead."Don't."The voice was barely above a whisper.Soft.Gentle.His eyelids fluttered open.At first, everything was blurred. The ceiling above him was cracked, and a single beam of sunlight slipped through a broken window, scattering dust across the room.Then his vision slowly cleared.Sofia was sitting beside him.Her hair had fallen loose around her shoulders, and the sleeve of her blouse was torn. A bruise darkened one side of her face, and dried blood stained the edge of her cuff.Yet despite the exhaustion etched across her features, the moment she saw his eyes open, relief washed over her face."You scared me."Her voice trembled.Alessandro tried to sit up.The room spun violently.H