Chapter 3

The moment Emilia stepped into the De Rossi estate, a chill crawled down her spine.

The villa loomed like a predator, all sleek lines and guarded beauty, perched above the Amalfi cliffs like it had secrets buried in its walls. Luca had said little after she revealed she had a sister—just enough to make her question if she really was being captured and held hostage by a mafia don as a result of mistaken identity, or if she’d been coerced by the sheer force of his presence.

“You live here?” she asked, her voice tight as the iron gates clanged shut behind them.

He shot her a look. “No. I drag women who steal from me  here for fun.”

Emilia bristled but held her tongue. His sarcasm had a knife’s edge, sharp and defensive. She recognized that kind of armor—it came from being hurt, and badly. She’d seen it in her sister, years ago, before she vanished. Before the calls stopped. Before Emilia was left wondering what had gone so horribly wrong.

Inside, the villa was dark wood and stone, the kind of cold luxury that whispered of power. The kind that didn’t need to scream to remind you it could destroy you. Marco escorted her to her room as she observed everything she could on her way up, from the expensive artwork that hung on both side of the walls of the hallway, to the painting of Luca that sat so gloriously at the end of the hall, very close to her room.

“If you need anything press the button above the bed. And don’t try to jump through the window, the last person who did served as good dinner to Don and banna” he let out a satisfied and excited laugh as he said that before exiting the room.

The room was bathed in sunlight, streaming through tall arched windows, the air carried the faint scent of lemon blossoms and salt, drifting in from nearby citrus groves. Inside, the terracotta-tiled floors stay cool underfoot, patterned with faded blues and sun-washed yellows. The walls are painted in a crisp white or a soft stucco cream, a whitewashed canopy bed with linen drapes stands at the center, framed by rustic wooden beams or vaulted ceilings. Furnishings are simple yet elegant—perhaps a vintage armoire, a small writing desk, and a wicker chair by the window.

Emilia had been asleep for hours as she discovered it was dark outside already. It was Luca’s voice that woke her from her sleep

“I told you to put her in the East wing, not Cece’s room.” 

The anger in Luca’s voice was obvious, and scary, she had never felt fear like that before, but most importantly she wondered who ‘Cece’ was. Emilia was bold enough to step out of her room, or rather Cece’s room with her now ripped black dress from the gala, when Luca turned to see her, her heart skipped a beat, but what she didn’t know was that his heart felt at peace too.

“I’m hungry” Emilia said as she approached them both but was cut shut by Luca 

“Prendile dei vestiti Marco jeez!!” 

“Some of us don’t understand what you’re saying yunno” she rolled her eyes and folded her arms “…..and by some of us, I mean me.” 

Luca walked out with his arm in his pocket.

They stepped into the boutique, greeted by a soft chime of the door and the faint scent of new fabric and perfume. Emilia immediately gravitates toward a rack of dresses, fingers running lightly over silky fabrics, eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Marco follows, half-amused, hands in his pockets, trying to look interested but already eyeing the nearest bench for future sitting potential.

“what about this one ” she asks, turning it against herself.

He squints. “Uh……..I think you’d look good in anything, but remember it’s just to stay indoors”

She laughs awkwardly, mildly offended. “Luca gave you his card to take me shopping, and shopping is exactly what I will do even though I’m going to stay ‘indoors’.”

“By the way” trying to get the zipper to go down, Emilia asked “who’s Cece?”

It took Marco a few seconds before he responded, “Luca’s sister.” He got up immediately and left the store before she could ask any further questions. By the time they left the store, there were bags in her hands, in his arms and a few more that were already tucked safely in the trunk.

Emilia admired the white sundress on her body, every detail on it, the way it hugged her curves and the way the front revealed just the right amount of boobs that felt right to her

“You sure know how use opportunities given to you well………don’t you?” Luca’s word pierced sharply to a part of her past she didn’t realize she missed so much. A time where she was by her papa, her siblings, Liam also.

“So… do I say thank you? Or do we just pretend this is normal now?” 

“No one pretends around me,” he said, his voice low. “And it’s not normal that I give you my card to go shopping. I can’t just have my guest going around my house naked.”A tear escaped from her eye but she quickly wiped it off. 

“…….so are you going to tell me who you gave my flashdrive too…….or now do you have a brother who looks exactly like you too?” The sarcasm in his words hurt Emilia but she couldn’t differentiate if it hurt because she wanted him to believe her so badly or because she was caught up in her sister’s mess and this was the closest she had felt to her in years.

Luca came closer to her, slowly sliding down the left strap of her dress down her shoulders, revealing her left breast, the cold air from the air conditioner hit her bare skin and he grabbed the nipple with his fingers, keeping it in between, then he slowly brought his mouth to it and sucked on it, moans of pleasure escaped her lips, and her hand was buried deep in his hair but all was short experienced as Luca released her and pushed her to the bed.

“Landra, and a slut too” but his thoughts were entirely different, ‘no Jasmine and smoke’.

“I would help you find Isa, but everything you find out, I want to know” A mocking laugh escaped his lips

“Everything? Not a chance Lia darling…………besides i don’t believe a word that comes out from your mouth” he rubbed his jaw as he walked slowly around the room with his other hand in his pocket. 

Emilia searched her bag for some seconds before asking “where the hell is my phone??” 

“I had Marco take it and search for who you possibly could have been working for” she raised a brow as if waiting for an answer

“……….and???” She asked mockingly.

“……..i don’t need to tell you what we found” he was backing her while facing the window, she could hear the disappointment in his tone because she knew they had found nothing.

“I’ll tell you what you found. nothing. There’s nothing there that could possibly lead you toIsa” she began packing up all the dresses she had scattered on the bed. “Isa worked for a government agency so there’s nothing about her existence that’s on the internet or in the system.”

“I was the face for both of us, I’m the one who has all the socials, the birthday parties and everything you could imagine in that order. As much as you think she stole from you, Isa was never a thief or criminal. People don’t change much……..”

“Then maybe you never knew her.” Luca said. Emilia flinched at his words.

“You could leave,” he said. “You’ve got new clothes, shoes, whatever else you felt like tossing into a bag on my dime. You could walk away, and I wouldn’t stop you.”

“She turned to face him, heart thudding against her ribs. “You want me to go?”

“I didn’t say that,” he replied coolly. “But I’m not going to force you to stay. This is just another case o chasing your ghost sister.”

Emilia studied his face, wondering how a man who’d been so furious—so controlled—could also look like he’d been waiting for something without even realizing it.

“I’ll stay,” she said, surprising herself more than him. “Until we find her.”

Luca’s brow lifted, just slightly. “You sure?”

“She’s still my sister,” Emilia said. “Even if she robbed you blind. Even if she left me behind. I have to see her again. I need to know why.”

He nodded once, a slow, measured gesture that felt like the closing of a door. Or the opening of one.

“Then you’re under my roof now,” he said. “And that means no secrets.”

Emilia met his eyes, steady and unwavering.

“No secrets,” she echoed. “But I want one thing in return.”

Luca’s smile returned, sharper this time.

“Of course you do. What is it?”

“If you find her, don’t………kill her……please” Emilia hesitated, then breathed the words like a vow, “don’t make me regret trusting you for help. I want go back to work too.”

“No. Work will be waiting for you after I find your sister dolcetto”

“Also…………no more of what happened earlier when you stepped into the room.” The visible redness on her cheeks made Luca laugh softly. He didn’t respond to her but rather tossed her the red pant he had been holding onto since he got into the room before leaving.

Emilia soaked herself in tub after Luca left the room. She replayed their whole conversation in her head, most importantly she replayed when he sucked on her nipple earlier, the wetness she felt between her legs was something she had never felt before, not even with Liam, the way his hand held her waist sturdy, the way his hair felt in her hands when she ran through it, and how he smelled. Masculine, powerful and safe. Even though he had kidnapped her and also offered that she could leave, she felt safe where he was, under his roof, he felt like home to her. A feeling she hadn’t felt since her father died and her mother ran away.

She was heading down for dinner when she saw the door opposite hers opened, slightly. She went closer for better view but was quickly disappointed. It was Luca and a skinny brunette, she was sucking on his dick, his body was like a sculpture come to life—every inch of him carved with the kind of precision that made it hard to look away. Broad shoulders framed his form like armor, tapering down to a narrow waist with a subtle V-line that disappeared beneath the girl’s hair. His chest was powerful, the muscles defined and symmetrical, like twin planes of stone beneath taut, sun-bronzed skin.

Each movement showed the tension and grace of a man who knew exactly what his body was capable of. His abs were sharply cut, like they’d been drawn by hand—six, maybe eight, depending, she couldn’t see properly. Veins ran subtly down his arms, accentuating thick biceps that bulged when he flexed, the glass on the table in the hallway fell to the ground when Emilia tried to step away. 

She ran down the stairs, straight to the kitchen where she bummed into the older lady cooking

“Sorry about that” she quickly said, bending down and helping pack some of the veggies that had fallen to the floor when she ran into the lady. The tattoo on the woman’s hand made her freeze to her, a double infinity that sat on the back of her wrist with the initials “ N.I.E.A”

“mama” she fainted right after that.