8 - The Safe house

The car slipped through winding back roads, headlights cutting through the thick darkness of the outskirts. Isabella pressed her forehead against the cool glass, watching the city lights fade behind them. Each passing second stretched out, heavy with uncertainty. Somewhere beneath the surface, a low, persistent pulse of fear throbbed — the knowledge that danger wasn’t left behind; it was following them.

When the car finally came to a stop, Isabella’s breath hitched. The safe house was a modest, almost forgotten building tucked between overgrown trees and cracked sidewalks. Its faded gray paint and shuttered windows made it easy to overlook — exactly the kind of place Matteo wanted.

Matteo’s hand tightened around hers as they stepped inside. The air smelled faintly of dust and old wood. The rooms were sparsely furnished — bare except for the essentials. A small kitchen, a worn couch, a simple bed in the corner. It was far from the luxurious penthouse she’d fled, but right now, it was refuge.

“We should be safe here, at least for a while,” Matteo said, voice low and steady. “I’ve installed everything we need — cameras, sensors. No one’s walking in without us knowing.”

Isabella nodded, though the knot in her stomach refused to loosen. Safety felt fragile, like a thin sheet of ice over a dark lake.

She sank onto the couch, clutching the small bag she’d packed. The locket Matteo had given her hung against her chest, cold and real. The weight of everything pressed down — the betrayals, the threats, the uncertainty of what tomorrow might bring.

Matteo moved silently, checking the windows, the locks, setting up the perimeter. Watching him, Isabella realized just how deeply this world had woven itself into his every action. He was a man who lived in shadows — a world she was still trying to understand.

Finally, when the last lock clicked shut, he sat beside her, close but distant.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Isabella broke the silence, her voice barely above a whisper. “Why me? Why are you risking everything for me?”

Matteo’s gaze met hers — steady, unguarded. “Because you’re not just anyone.”

She shook her head, voice trembling. “I’m a liability. I’m the reason your family wants me gone.”

His jaw tightened. “Maybe. But I see something in you they don’t — something worth fighting for.”

The truth in his words made her chest ache. She wanted to believe him. Needed to. But doubt lingered, like a shadow she couldn’t chase away.

“What if they come for us here?” she asked, the fear breaking through. “What if this is just another trap?”

Matteo reached out, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face. “Then we face it — together.”

For the first time in weeks, a flicker of hope kindled inside her, fragile but real.

Yet as night deepened, the silence around them grew heavier, filled with unspoken fears and uncertain futures. Isabella knew the fight wasn’t just out there, beyond these walls — it was inside her, too. The battle between fear and courage, between trust and betrayal.

Closing her eyes, she made a quiet promise to herself: no matter what came next, she wouldn’t go down without a fight.