chapter 9

Chapter 9: The First Threat

The old Moretti property stood at the edge of the city, hidden behind tall iron gates and a line of dark trees that seemed to swallow the moonlight. It had once belonged to Damian’s grandfather, but according to Damian, the house had been abandoned for years.

Yet someone had been using it.

The moment Elena stepped out of the car, she felt the strange heaviness in the air. Nothing moved around them, but the silence was too perfect, too deliberate. Damian noticed her hesitation and moved closer without saying a word, his eyes scanning the property before he finally looked at her.

“Stay beside me.”

Elena glanced at him. “You say that as if I was planning to run into a dangerous house alone.”

“I know you well enough to know you might.”

She almost smiled, but the expression disappeared when Damian’s men approached the entrance and forced the old door open.

Inside, the house smelled of dust and damp wood. Their footsteps echoed through the empty hallway as Damian walked ahead, his gun hidden beneath his jacket. Elena stayed close, trying to ignore the way her heartbeat seemed louder whenever he was near.

They reached the old study.

Damian stopped in front of a large wooden desk covered with dust, then pointed toward a drawer.

“My father used to keep important documents here.”

Elena watched as he opened it.

There were several old files inside, most of them damaged by time. Damian began searching through them while Elena moved toward the bookshelves, running her fingers over the dusty covers.

Then she noticed something.

A photograph had been placed between two books.

She pulled it out.

Her breath caught.

It was a picture of her father.

Victor Carter stood beside Damian’s father, both of them looking younger than Elena remembered. But there was something else in the photograph that made her blood run cold.

On the back, someone had written a date.

Five years ago.

The exact year Damian had said her father became involved with the Moretti family.

“What is it?” Damian asked.

Elena turned around.

Before she could answer, the lights went out.

Darkness swallowed the room.

Damian immediately grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him.

“Don’t move.”

“I wasn’t planning to.”

A loud crash came from somewhere downstairs.

Damian’s men rushed toward the hallway, weapons drawn.

Then a gunshot shattered the silence.

Elena flinched.

Damian pulled her behind him as another shot struck the wooden door, sending pieces of it flying across the room.

“Stay here.”

“No.”

He looked back at her sharply.

“I’m not leaving you.”

For a second, neither of them moved.

There was something different in Damian’s eyes now. It wasn’t irritation or control.

It was fear.

Not for himself.

For her.

He reached for her hand and pulled her toward the back entrance of the study, keeping his body between her and the hallway.

They moved through a narrow corridor until Damian suddenly stopped.

A small red light blinked above them.

Elena stared at it.

“What is that?”

Damian’s expression changed instantly.

“Security sensor.”

A second later, his phone rang.

He answered without taking his eyes off the hallway.

“What?”

A voice spoke on the other end.

Damian’s jaw tightened.

“Check every exit. Nobody leaves the property.”

He ended the call.

Elena swallowed. “What happened?”

Damian looked at her for a long moment before answering.

“They weren't trying to scare you.”

Her stomach dropped.

“Then what were they trying to do?”

His eyes darkened.

“Kill you.”

The words settled between them like a death sentence.

Elena stared at him, struggling to breathe normally.

“Why me?”

Damian stepped closer.

“That is exactly what I intend to find out.”

Before she could respond, something slid across the floor from the darkness at the end of the corridor.

A small envelope stopped at Damian’s feet.

He picked it up.

There was no name on it.

Only one sentence written across the front.

You should have left Elena alone.

Damian slowly looked at Elena.

For the first time since she had met him, she saw something in his expression that frightened her more than his anger.

He was no longer investigating the person hunting her.

He was preparing to hunt them back.