INICIAR SESIÓNThe call came just before dawn.Marco answered first.He listened for only a few seconds before his expression hardened."I'm on my way."The line went dead.Across the command room, Alessio looked up immediately."What happened?"Marco didn't soften the truth."Our search team.""They've been hit."The room fell silent.Within minutes, both men arrived at one of the Romano family's secure medical facilities.The corridor smelled sharply of antiseptic.Doctors hurried between rooms while armed guards secured every entrance.One survivor remained conscious.Barely.His shoulder was wrapped in blood-soaked bandages, and every breath seemed to cost him.Alessio stepped beside the bed."Report."The man struggled to focus. "We... found her."Relief flashed through Alessio's eyes."Was she hurt?"The soldier slowly shook his head."No."His breathing grew uneven."She... left before..."He coughed violently."They knew..."Marco leaned forward."Who knew?""Our route."The injured man's vo
"The war has started."Marco's words settled over Romano headquarters like a death sentence. For one heartbeat, the room stood frozen.Then everything exploded into motion.Telephones rang one after another.Soldiers hurried through the hallways carrying fresh reports.Captains barked orders across radios.Maps were spread over conference tables as territories were marked in red and blue.The Romano empire had entered a war it had spent months trying to avoid.Roman stepped forward without hesitation."Seal every western entrance.""Double security around our financial offices.""No unnecessary movements."His voice remained steady, the calm of a man who had survived wars before.Marco was already issuing his own instructions."I want patrols increased.""Move reinforcements to the southern routes." "Every captain reports every thirty minutes."No one wasted a second.In the middle of the controlled chaos, Alessio unfolded Lucia's letter one last time.His eyes lingered on the final l
The bedroom had never felt so empty.Alessio stood alone beside the bed, the cream-colored envelope still resting in his hands.Outside the room, voices echoed through the hallway. Guards moved quickly. Marco was giving orders. Bianca was trying to calm the growing unease spreading through the mansion.None of it reached him.For a long moment, he simply stared at Lucia's handwriting.His name.Nothing else.His thumb slipped beneath the seal.The paper unfolded with a quiet sound that somehow seemed louder than everything else.He began to read.My Alessio,If you're reading this, then I've already gone.I know what you're feeling right now. You're probably angry.Confused.And wondering why I didn't wait for you. The truth is...If I had seen your face one more time, I never would have found the strength to leave.Please believe me when I say this isn't because I stopped loving you.It's because I never will.I watched you fight for me again and again.You stood beside me when no on
The suitcase was smaller than most people would have expected.Lucia deliberately ignored nearly everything inside her wardrobe.Designer gowns.Luxury handbags.Jewelry worth more than some houses.The diamond earrings Alessio had surprised her with on their anniversary.She left every one of them behind.None of them belonged to the woman she had been before becoming a Romano.Instead, she folded a few simple dresses.Comfortable shoes.A warm sweater.Her sketchbook rested carefully on top.Beside it she placed a small envelope filled with old family photographs.The final item she picked up was her mother's necklace.She wrapped it carefully in soft fabric before placing it inside.Nothing more.The suitcase closed with a quiet click.Lucia turned toward the bedside table.Her gaze fell upon the wedding ring still resting on her finger.She froze.The gold band suddenly felt impossibly heavy.Her thumb traced its familiar edge.Memories flooded her mind.Their wedding.His vows.T
Roman stood at the head of the conference table.Around him sat Marco, Alessio, and several of the Romano family's oldest captains.Unlike previous meetings, no one looked openly hostile.No one demanded Lucia's removal.No one questioned Alessio's judgment.Instead...The atmosphere was heavier.One captain placed several reports on the table."Our shipping partners in Sicily have delayed renewing their contracts."Another spoke next."Two neutral families declined yesterday's invitation for cooperation."A third added quietly,"Some of the younger soldiers have started asking questions."Roman folded his hands."What kind of questions?"The captain hesitated."They're nervous."Silence settled over the room.Another man finally spoke the words everyone had been avoiding."The problem is no longer whether Lady Lucia is guilty."He paused."The problem is that everyone believes she might be."No one argued.Not because they agreed with the accusation.Because they understood perceptio
Lucia stood outside the bedroom door for several moments before stepping inside.The room was exactly as she had left it.Nothing had changed.Except her.She closed the door quietly and leaned against it, letting the silence settle around her.The image refused to leave her mind.A wedding ring.Resting alone on Alessio’s desk.Not forgotten.Placed there.She had replayed the moment countless times during the walk back from his office, searching for another explanation.None came.She crossed to the window overlooking the courtyard.The estate remained awake despite the late hour. Security teams moved between buildings while vehicles entered and left through the main gates.The empire never slept.Perhaps that was the problem.Somewhere along the way, it had become larger than everything else.Larger than promises.Larger than marriage.Larger than them.A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.“Lucia?”Bianca.“Come in.”Bianca entered slowly, immediately noticing the untouched dinne
“Welcome home, sister.”The words echoed through the darkness.For a second, I thought I was lost elsewhere.The entire mansion had gone silent.No alarms.No gunfire.No shouting guards.Nothing.Just darkness.And Selene’s voice.Close.Too close.A hand suddenly wrapped around mine.Strong.Warm
The darkness didn’t last long.It never did in a place like this.Emergency lights flickered on in violent pulses, painting the shattered mansion in broken shades of red and gold.Alarms screamed through the walls.Footsteps thundered everywhere.And somewhere outside—gunfire erupted again.I coul
The words didn’t land immediately.Like my brain refused to accept them.My mother.That woman standing in front of me.Smiling like she had every right to be here.Like she hadn’t just shattered my entire world with three words.Hello, Lucia.I’m your mother.No.My throat tightened.That couldn’t
“She looked like you because she’s biologically related to you.”The words echoed through the library.For a moment, I couldn’t hear anything else.Not the ticking clock.Not the rain tapping against the windows.Not even my own heartbeat.Everything disappeared except those seven words.Biological







