07_Ashes and Answer

The manor pulsed with panic. Red light washed over the grand marble halls, painting the place like a war zone. Alarm sirens wailed, but they barely cut through the noise in Rosana’s head. Her grip on the pistol was firm, steady—but her insides were anything but.

The name burned on her tongue.

Luca.

Her almost-husband. The man who had stood mute at the altar while Sergio ripped her from the aisle like a possession. The man who had watched it happen. Said nothing and hadn't fought hard to protect on her wedding day.

And now he had the nerve to come charging in like a hero?

No. This wasn’t bravery. It was guilt with a gun.

“He’s late,” she said, striding down the hallway, her eyes scanning every corner like a soldier trained for war.

Sergio was just behind her, his own weapon drawn.

“He brought armed men into my house. He’s not looking to talk.”

“There's a truth about Luca you aren't telling me, right? ” Rosana muttered.

Sergio’s voice was level but watchful.

"Why do you say so? Would you believe me even if I told you what it was?"

“... Well, you know until you actually try first, won't you?" Rosy remarked with a sly smile.

Sergio watches her with something akin to suspicion.

"You are unusually calm for someone about to confront someone you almost got married to." he observed quietly.

"That's because I've already accepted he isn't any better than you. I would rather take my chances with you."

**************************************************

The west wing was chaos.

Gunfire cracked through the air, and the sharp scent of gunpowder and scorched stone filled her nose. Sergio’s guards were already engaged, exchanging bullets with masked intruders clad in black from head to toe.

Rosana didn’t hesitate, her body acting on its own with ease as she moved closer to the battle ahead of her, Sergio just before her.

She ducked into cover behind a collapsed marble column, raised her pistol, and fired twice. One man dropped and another went down after Sergio’s return fire snapped through the hallway like thunder.

Sergio looked back at her dubiously.

"How come you are so comfortable with a gun and shooting people?" he asked her.

Rosy shook her head uncertainly.

"I don't understand it myself. My body is just responding to a command on its own." she replied and Sergio smirked.

"Surely now you believe the De Luca's blood runs through your view now."

"Doesn't prove anything." she muttered focusing on gaze on the men exchanging gunfire.

Blood pooled across polished floors. Priceless artworks were torn to shreds. Smoke drifted toward the high ceilings like a prayer gone unanswered.

Then came the voice. A voice that had once excited her but now all she felt was disdain.

“Rosana De Luca!”

The sound froze her in place.

Luca De Rossi.

Through the smoke, Luca appeared, his once-immaculate white shirt now stained red and gray. His tie was gone, sleeves rolled, gun clutched tight in one hand. He looked like someone who had finally grown teeth—but too late. She wasn't falling for that.

She stepped into the open, gun raised and pointed directly at him.

Luca froze.

“You’re aiming a gun at me?” he said, almost incredulous, his eyes displaying his disbelief.

“Why come now?” she replied coldly, her tone even.

He blinked. “I came to take you away from here.”

Rosy threw her head back and laughed throatily.

"Don't you think you are a little too late?" she asked him.

“Well, I'm here that's all that matters. ” he answered. His eyes slid towards Sergio now standing beside her and he frowned. “That monster destroyed our wedding. Why are you helping him?"

"That's because with him I know where I stand."

Luca grunted and stepped forward, bringing his pistol into view.

Sergio moved, but Rosana held out a hand. She wasn't done yet.

“You let him take me away at the altar,” she continued. “You let it happen. I looked at you—begged you—with my eyes, and you did nothing. Frozen only after a single punch.”

“There were rules,” Luca said, his voice cracking. “Sergio broke them not me.”

“No. He followed them. Everything he day was within the mafia code.” she replied. “He just had the audacity to act while you stood there, hands in your pockets.”

Luca’s eyes flicked to Sergio and back again.

“He’s dangerous.”

“He’s honest,” Rosy said simply. “You’re the one who lied.”

He looked taken aback.

“I never lied to you.”

She stepped closer now, the barrel of her gun almost touching his blood stained shirt.

“Then why didn’t you tell me I was a De Luca? You had the chance to do so.”

That silenced him.

“I—” he hesitated, the words catching in his throat. “I suspected. There were whispers. Old records, buried names. I didn’t want to believe it.”

"Liar. You knew but kept quiet because you wanted me as a pawn, right?” she corrected.

He didn’t argue.

“You knew who I was,” she went on, voice quiet now, but sharp as a blade. “You knew, and you still let me walk blind. If you had been honest with me, we won't be standing here like this.”

Luca’s voice softened. “I loved you.”

“No,” she said. “You wanted to own me. That’s not the same thing.”

Sergio’s weapon hadn’t moved, still trained on Luca’s chest but Rosy stepped aside and lowered her own gun.

"You still have time to redeem yourself. Why did you want to marry me?" she asked him quietly, all the strength gone out of her body.

Luca remained silent, his lips tightly locked.

"I loved you and the first thing you did was betray me with lies. It was never going to work out between us. I see that now."

She stepped back.

“Leave, Luca.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“I do,” she said. “Because I finally see what you are. I refuse to be a pawn in whatever plan you have up your sleeve.”

He eyed Sergio. “But you are willing to be his pawn.”

“Think what you like but I'm not anyone's pawn,” she corrected him. “This is me, finally awake.”

For a moment, he just looked at her. Then he gave a slow nod to his men.

He looked at Sergio with unbridled hatred.

"This isn't over, not by a long short. I will be back to claim what is mine."

One by one, they backed off. Fading into smoke. Into retreat.

**************************************************

The silence that followed was deafening.

Rosana stood alone in the center of the destroyed hallway, her dress streaked with soot and blood. A shard of broken mirror leaned against the wall nearby, reflecting pieces of her—sharp, splintered, unrecognizable.

Sergio stepped beside her but didn’t speak.

He didn’t need to.

“He knew,” Rosana finally whispered. “He knew who I was. And he kept it from me.”

“You’re not angry because he hid the truth,” Sergio said. “You’re angry because he didn’t fight for you.”

She didn’t deny it.

“And you,” she turned to him. “You think I’m some legacy of your sins. You are not any better than him.”

Sergio tilted his head slightly. "At least I'm honest. Don't compare me with the likes of him.”

"Are you really? You keep talking about revenge but why are you suddenly nice to me? You vowed to destroy the De Luca bloodline but why I'm am I still alive? What happened to your quest?"

"It is still my quest. It's just that you haven't played your role yet."

"And what role is that?" Rosy demanded.

"You are Antonio De Luca's blood." Sergio replied quietly but Rosy shook her head in denial.

"I don't want to be. I want to go back to my old life. I don't want any of this." she protested, tears beginning to fall from her eyes.

“You already are,” Sergio said. “Whether you want to be or not.”

Before she could answer, Marco, Sergio’s right hand man burst through the hall, panting and pale.

“Sergio,” he called out. “We’ve got a bigger problem.”

“What now?” Sergio barked.

Marco handed over a tablet.

Rosana watched as Sergio’s expression darkened.

The screen played footage. Low quality. Shaky. But clear enough to make her stomach drop.

Surveillance. Of her. In her room.

Changing clothes. Sleeping. Brushing her hair.

Time-stamped. Catalogued.

Her skin crawled.

“Where did you get this?” she asked.

Marco’s mouth was tight. “Hidden camera feed. Someone hacked into the estate’s internal system. These were downloaded externally.”

Sergio’s eyes narrowed. “From where?”

Marco hesitated. "It could be Luca...or Matteo

Rosana stared at the screen, cold dread washing over her. She didn't have privacy anymore.

Sergio gritted his teeth. “Get everyone to the war room. Now.”

“There’s more,” Marco said.

He swiped to another video.

It was unclear and grainy but still watchable.

A woman, standing in the background, half-hidden in shadow—but the angle, the posture, the profile.

Rosana’s mouth went dry.

Bianca.

Why was Bianca sneaking around? She wondered.

The woman opened a side door and Luca De Rossi stepped into view, his men in tow.

Bianca was the traitor who had let Luca in.

Why?

Sergio looked up from the screen, his expression dark with fury.

"Get me my sister."