Se connecter********The van rolled to a stop like someone had slammed a fist on the brakes. The engine died with a rough choke. For a second there was only silence, then heavy boots hit the ground outside. Men talked low, voices rough, careless, like they weren’t dragging a human being in the back.Metal clinked. A door slammed. Another voice laughed.Cold air rushed in as the van door swung open. It hit Sarah’s skin like a slap. She blinked against the sudden light.A warehouse stretched out in front of her. Wide. Dim. Ugly. Yellow lights hung from high beams, some flickering, some barely holding on. The shadows were cut in messy lines across the concrete floor. Crates were stacked everywhere. Big ones. Smaller ones. Guns lined the tables. Ammo boxes open. Men checking weapons, loading magazines, testing knives. The air smelled like oil and metal and something rotten.Her stomach tightened hard.Two men grabbed her under the arms before she could move. Their fingers dug into her skin. Her wrist
******Sarah kept her head down as she followed the two men deeper into the dock area. The air felt heavy, packed with the smell of salt and metal. She stayed close to the shadows, moving slow, careful not to let her shoes scrape too loud on the ground. She didn’t blink much. Her eyes stayed fixed on the backs of the men ahead of her. They walked with purpose, talking in low voices, their hands shoved in their jackets. Every time they slowed, she slowed. Every time they turned a corner, she pressed herself against whatever cover she found.She kept telling herself she only needed to hear one more detail. One more hint of what they planned to do to Marco. Then she’d call someone. Then she’d warn him. She kept following that thought like it was some kind of anchor.She didn’t see the two lookouts on top of the stacked containers above her. They crouched low, watching her move from shadow to shadow. One of them narrowed his eyes, then leaned toward the other.“You seen her before?” he as
*********Guido sat at the long metal table in the warehouse, the air thick with smoke and engine oil. Only the lights above the table were on. The rest of the place stayed dark, shadows stretching across crates and old machines. His men stood around him, waiting for him to speak. They all knew why he called them here. They just didn’t know how far he wanted to go tonight.Guido took a slow breath and looked at each of them. “Marco’s slipping. You all see it.”One of the men, Luca, rubbed the back of his neck. “Boss, he’s stressed, sure. But he’s still Marco. People don’t just fall off like that.”“He already did,” Guido said. His voice was calm, but his eyes were sharp. “He’s distracted. He’s weak. And when a man like that gets weak, the whole city shifts.”Another man, Bruno, frowned. “He still has money. Power. His girl only left for a bit, right? That small drama doesn’t change the fact he’s still dangerous.”Guido leaned back in his chair. “It changes everything. You seen him lat
*********[Guido sat at the long metal table in the warehouse, the air thick with smoke and engine oil. Only the lights above the table were on. The rest of the place stayed dark, shadows stretching across crates and old machines. His men stood around him, waiting for him to speak. They all knew why he called them here. They just didn’t know how far he wanted to go tonight.Guido took a slow breath and looked at each of them. “Marco’s slipping. You all see it.”One of the men, Luca, rubbed the back of his neck. “Boss, he’s stressed, sure. But he’s still Marco. People don’t just fall off like that.”“He already did,” Guido said. His voice was calm, but his eyes were sharp. “He’s distracted. He’s weak. And when a man like that gets weak, the whole city shifts.”Another man, Bruno, frowned. “He still has money. Power. His girl only left for a bit, right? That small drama doesn’t change the fact he’s still dangerous.”Guido leaned back in his chair. “It changes everything. You seen him la
THIRD PERSON.Marco sat in the living room with a glass he hadn’t touched in a long time. The house felt heavy, the kind of quiet that pressed on the walls. No staff moved around. Tony had left earlier. Everything in the place looked untouched, like the whole house had paused with him.He leaned back on the couch, staring at the drink without lifting it. His face looked tired. His mind was still stuck between the missing shipments, the lies in the logs, and the way Sarah’s side of the bed looked when he got home. He hadn’t slept. He hadn’t eaten. He just sat there, breathing through the weight on his chest.The bell rang once.He frowned. He wasn’t expecting anyone. Before he could move, he heard the door open. Only one kind of person walked into his house like it was hers.Sofia stepped inside with a small smile, holding a takeout bag from a place he liked. The smell reached the room before she did. She walked in like she knew exactly where he’d be.“There you are,” she said as she s
MARCOI pushed the office door shut behind me close to midnight. My head felt heavy and my eyes burned from staring at papers all day. Hours of calls, questions, lies, half truths. All of it sat on my shoulders like extra weight. I didn’t even bother turning on the radio in the car. I just drove home in silence, thinking through every route, every missing minute, every name that didn’t sit right.But the moment I stepped into the house, the silence hit harder.It wasn’t the normal kind. It was the kind that reminded me something wasn’t right. Something was missing. Someone.I locked the door and stood there for a moment, looking at the empty hallway. No soft steps. No faint humming. No light under the bedroom door. Just still air.I placed my keys on the table and walked in without turning on the lights. I knew the way. My feet carried me straight to the room like they were used to following her scent, her warmth, her presence.When I pushed the bedroom door open, the quiet grew loude







