Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 21 - Chapitre 30

Damien POVI stood at the altar during morning mass trying to focus on the words I'd said hundreds of times before but all I could think about was the countdown ticking in my head, four days left to figure out who was threatening us before everything I'd built came crashing down. The congregation watched me with their usual reverence, Mrs. Romano in her regular pew with her kind eyes, Father Marco beside me radiating concern I couldn't quite interpret, parishioners who trusted me to guide them spiritually while I was drowning in deception.The irony wasn't lost on me that I was standing here preaching about truth and faith while hiding the biggest lie of my life, while counting down days until someone exposed me as a fraud. Part of me wondered if this was divine punishment for breaking my vows, for letting myself fall in love when I'd promised to dedicate my life to something higher, for choosing human connection over spiritual devotion.After mass Father Marco caught my arm as I was

Lilith POV I met Damien at the church instead of the park because we didn't have time for caution anymore, didn't have time to worry about who might see us together when a story was running in less than twenty four hours that would expose everything anyway. He was waiting in his office with Father Marco when I arrived, both of them looking grim. "Marco knows about the reporter," Damien said as soon as I closed the door. "I told him everything." Father Marco gestured for me to sit but I was too agitated to stay still, too wound up with adrenaline and fear to do anything except pace. "The reporter called you too?" "Twenty minutes ago." Damien's jaw was tight. "Asked the same questions, said he had photographs and documents about my past. When I asked where he got the information he said an anonymous source provided everything." "Tyler." I stopped pacing long enough to look at both

Lilith POVThe week that followed felt like existing in suspended animation, each day stretching impossibly long while we waited for David Chen to arrange the meeting with his sister. Damien spent most of his time in prayer or with Father Marco, preparing himself for a confrontation that might end with him in handcuffs, while I tried to figure out what I'd do if he went to prison and I was left alone in Italy with nothing but memories of what we'd had.Aunt Isabella noticed the change in both of us, the way Damien looked haunted when he came to the house to see me, the way I couldn't eat or sleep or do anything except count down hours until everything would be decided by a grieving mother who had every right to want Damien destroyed."You love him very much," she said on the fourth day, finding me sitting in the kitchen staring at cold coffee I hadn't touched."Yes." I didn't see the point in denying it anymore. "And I'm terrified that in three days I'm going to lose him to consequenc

Lilith POVThe morning after meeting Sarah Chen, Damien stood before the congregation at Sunday mass and told them everything. I watched from the back pew as he removed his collar mid-sermon, his hands steady despite the tremor in his voice when he confessed to being a murderer who'd hidden behind holy vows for three years.The silence that followed was deafening, shock rippling through the chapel as people processed what they'd just heard. Mrs. Romano covered her mouth with both hands while others simply stared, their faith in him crumbling visibly as the man they'd trusted revealed himself to be something else entirely."I don't ask for your forgiveness," Damien said, his voice carrying through the stunned quiet. "I don't deserve it and I won't insult you by pretending three years of service erases what I did. But I owe you the truth and I owe it to the family of the boy I killed to stop hiding behind this collar."He set the white band on the altar like an offering and walked out

Lilith POVFather Marco led us through a hidden door behind the altar that I'd walked past dozens of times without noticing, down stone steps worn smooth by centuries of feet seeking sanctuary or hiding from enemies. The air grew colder with each step, damp and heavy with the smell of earth and age, until we reached a vast space lit only by Marco's flashlight beam cutting through absolute darkness."The catacombs were built in the fifteenth century," Marco said, his voice echoing off stone walls. "Originally for burials but later expanded by resistance fighters during the war. There are supplies down here, canned food and water, blankets. Enough for several days if you need it.""Several days won't be enough." Damien's hand stayed tight around mine as we followed the light deeper into the tunnels. "My father won't give up after a few days. He'll station men around the church, watch every exit, wait us out.""Then we use the tunnels to move through town." Marco stopped at an intersecti