CHAPTER 5

I didn’t sleep again. My eyes stayed open staring at the ceiling. The shadows in the room moved slowly. As the hours passed my chest felt tight like something heavy was sitting on it.

I didn’t know what was happening to me or why I couldn’t breathe right. When I was alone in the dark, the things I’d seen yesterday kept playing in my head.

The guns. The money. The way Luciano never blinked when people bowed to him like he was some kind of king.

And maybe he was. Maybe this world had kings and he was one of them. A cold, ruthless, and powerful one at that.

Morning light slipped through the curtains soft and gold. I didn’t move for a while, but when I finally sat up, the silence in the house felt different, like it was holding its breath.

I opened the door and stepped into the hallway. It was empty. The air was still. There were no footsteps. No voices. Nothing.

I walked slowly toward the stairs and heard a faint sound like a whisper or a hum, and I followed it.

Downstairs, the living room was empty but the front door was wide open. Marco stood outside, his back to me, smoking curling from the cigarette between his fingers.

“Where is everyone?”, I asked. He didn’t turn. He just said “gone.”

“Gone where?”

“For a deal. Luciano said it’s not for you.”

I stepped outside when the cold hit me but I didn’t care I needed air and I needed space.

Marco looked at me, his eyes dark and quiet. “You don’t ask questions you’re not ready for answers to. Does that ring a bell?”

But I wanted answers. I wanted to know what I was doing here, why I was still breathing, and why Luciano let me stay when he could’ve buried me in silence like others probably had been.

I knew he wasn't keeping me here because he had no choice. He had all that it takes to take me out for good.

“Do you ever regret it?”, I asked.

He looked at me confused, “regret what?”

“All of this.”

He didn’t speak for a moment. Then he dropped the cigarette and crushed it with his boot.

“Every day.”

The words hit harder than I expected because they were real. No games. No lies. Just the truth and nothing but the truth.

Before I could say anything else, a black car pulled up fast. The tires screeching, Marco moved his hand instantly to his gun, but then he relaxed when he saw who it was.

Luciano stepped out his jaw tight, his eyes colder than usual.

“Inside now!!”, he said and we followed him.

He didn’t talk until we were in the study with the door shut behind us.

“There’s a problem.”, he said looking right at me.

“What kind of problem?”

“Someone’s asking about you. “Someone who shouldn’t know you exist. Someone with power.”

I felt my blood turn cold, “who?”

He didn’t answer right away and just stared like he was trying to read my thoughts.

“Does the name Matteo mean anything to you?”

My stomach dropped.

“Yes, it does!”

Luciano’s eyes narrowed.

“Explain now.”

“He’s my stepbrother” I said slowly. “We used to be close until everything fell apart. After my mother died, he wanted control of her money and her estate, but I ran before he could get his hands on anything.”

Luciano cursed under his breath, turned away from me and slammed his fist against the desk.

“He’s not just anybody”, he said “Matteo works with one of our rivals and now he’s sniffing around my city asking questions I don’t like.”

“So what does that mean for me?”

“It means you’re not just a stranger who walked in. You’re a target.”

I couldn’t breathe again. My head spun.

“What do I do now?”, I asked.

“You stay close to me.” Luciano said, his voice firm like stone. “No more wandering. You don't move until I say so. No more stupid questions. We can't take any chances. If he finds you, it’s over not just for you but for everyone in this house.”

I nodded. I didn't trust my voice not to shake.

The next few hours were tense. Marco stayed near me like a shadow. The house buzzed with energy, men coming and going.

There were phone calls. There were whispers. There were guns being checked. It felt like something big was coming. Something I wasn’t ready for.

Later that night I was in the kitchen making tea trying to calm down when the lights flickered for a second then came back on.

Marco was at the door. “You okay?” he asked

I nodded.

He stepped inside and leaned on the counter. “You looked like you were gonna pass out earlier.”

“I almost did.”

He handed me a glass of water and for a second we just stood there. The silence between us didn’t feel so heavy this time.

“You know you’re not safe right?”, he said quietly. “not even here.”

“I know.”

“But you’re not scared?”

“I am”, I said honestly. “But what’s the point of showing it?”

He gave me a strange look. One I couldn’t read. Then he reached out to me and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

“You’re tougher than you look.”

Before I could answer we heard a bang from outside. Both of us froze, then rushed to the hallway.

Luciano was already there with a gun in his hand, eyes sharp.

“Stay here!” He barked, but I didn’t listen. I followed anyway, my heart racing.

We reached the front of the house and saw a message spray-painted across the wall in red letters.

WE KNOW SHE’S HERE.

Luciano’s jaw clenched. Marco cursed beside me and I stood there staring at the words.

It was real now it wasn’t just whispers or shadows it was out in the open.

Matteo was coming for me.

And I didn’t know if I’d survive it.