CHAPTER SEVEN

The guards escorted me back to the plush guest suite, pulling the heavy door shut until the deadbolt clicked into place.

​ Once again, I was entirely alone.

​ I sank onto the edge of the oversized bed, burying my face in my trembling hands as every single word Lorenzo Rossi had spoken replayed in my mind like a nightmare on loop.

​"If I let you leave... you won't survive a week."

​His low, gravelly voice echoed through the silence of the room. I squeezed my eyes shut, my pulse hammering wildly in my throat. Who on earth would want me dead? Why would any violent crime syndicate target a nobody like me? None of it made a single shred of sense. I had spent my entire life buried in medical textbooks, studying human anatomy, trying to help people. I was just an ordinary student trying to get through school, and now I was trapped in the crossfire of a war I knew nothing about.

​A quiet, tentative knock against the heavy oak door shattered the oppressive silence.

​The door creaked open, and a young male staff member stepped inside, balancing a silver tray with a steaming bowl of broth and fresh bread. He placed it gently on the small dining table near the window, keeping his head lowered.

​"I'm not hungry," I said softly, my throat dry as paper. "Please... just take it away."

​The young man paused, looking at me with a faint trace of pity in his eyes.

​I leaned forward, a spark of desperation hitting my chest. "Do you know why I'm here? Do you know what they're going to do to me?"

​He hesitated, his eyes darting anxiously toward the open doorway before he leaned in and whispered in a hushed tone. "You were never supposed to be brought into this house, signore."

​"What do you mean?" I urged, stepping toward him. "What are they saying about me?"

​Before he could answer, a broad-shouldered guard stepped into the doorway, his eyes narrowing instantly. The young staff member pulled his hands back, dropping his gaze to the floor and falling completely silent. Without another word, he grabbed the untouched tray and hurried past the guard, slipping down the corridor.

​I stared after him, my heart hammering against my ribs. What was he trying to warn me about?

*********

​Lorenzo's POV

​A sharp, disciplined knock sounded against the dark oak doors of my study.

​"Come in," I commanded without turning around from the window.

​Marco stepped inside, his polished leather shoes clicking methodically against the hardwood floor. "Boss, intelligence just confirmed that the Valenti syndicate knows someone made a move near Vespera last night."

​I remained silent, taking a slow drag from my glass.

​"They've doubled their street patrols and locked down their perimeter in the north," Marco continued, his tone stiff and businesslike. "They know an attempt was made on their heir."

​"As expected," I replied smoothly. "Idiots act predictable when they feel threatened."

​Marco folded his arms across his chest, taking a breath before delivering his assessment. "Julian has become a serious liability, Lorenzo."

​I turned my head slightly, my cold gray eyes fixing on him. "Explain."

​"If the Valenti scouts figure out our men grabbed an innocent medical student instead of their target..." Marco said carefully, choosing every word with caution, "...they will realize we made a sloppy error. They'll hunt Julian down and eliminate him just to prove we failed."

​Silence settled thick over the vast study.

​Marco was stating the brutal reality of our world. Julian Vance was no longer just an accidental bystander caught in a bad situation. To my enemies, he was a loose end—a soft, defenseless target that could be slaughtered to stain the Rossi name.

​I stood up slowly, walking toward the grand floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the glowing skyline of Rome below.

​Julian’s terrified, defiant brown eyes flashed across my mind. The way his voice trembled when he demanded answers. The soft, fragile innocence he carried—something that had no business existing anywhere near my blood-stained world.

​"No one touches him," I stated softly. My voice wasn't raised, but it carried an absolute, unyielding finality that left no room for debate.

​Marco looked slightly surprised by the cold protectiveness in my tone, but he bowed his head respectfully. "I will double the security team posted outside his wing immediately."

​"Do it," I ordered.

​Because if our enemies managed to reach Julian before I solidified my hold over him... the boy wouldn't live long enough to ever see his old life again.