They moved me before sunrise.
No explanation. No warning.
I woke to the sound of boots on marble and the low murmur of men speaking into earpieces. Luca stood beside the bed, already dressed, his expression carved into something hard and unreadable.
"Get up," he said quietly. "We're leaving."
My heart stuttered. "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere no one knows you exist."
That didn't make me feel safer.
Within minutes, I was escorted through private corridors I hadn't known existed. The penthouse my cage, my illusion of safety disappeared behind us as we descended into an underground garage filled with armored vehicles.
Luca opened the back door of one himself. "In."
The engine roared to life, and we were gone.
The city was still half asleep as we sped through empty streets, taking sharp turns, switching routes, doubling back. I noticed everything the way Luca never looked away from the road for more than a second, the way the men in the front car scanned rooftops.
"You think they'll follow us?" I asked.
"They already are," Luca replied.
My stomach dropped.
The drive lasted nearly an hour. When we finally stopped, we were nowhere near Manhattan's glow. Trees surrounded us. A quiet, isolated stretch of land.
The safe house looked ordinary too ordinary. A modest two-story home tucked away behind thick hedges.
"This is it?" I asked.
"Yes."
Inside, the house was fortified in ways invisible from the outside. Reinforced doors. Surveillance screens. Armed men positioned at every corner.
"This place has never been compromised," Marcus said as he followed us in.
I hugged my arms around myself. "Until now."
Luca glanced at me sharply. "Don't say that."
The door shut behind us with a heavy finality.
"This is where you stay," Luca said. "You don't leave. You don't answer calls. You don't speak to anyone except me or Marcus."
"I'm still a prisoner," I said quietly.
He met my gaze. "You're alive."
I didn't argue.
Hours passed slowly. Too slowly. Every sound made me jump. Every shadow felt like a threat.
I found Luca in the study later, standing over a table littered with maps and documents. Red markings. Names. Times.
"You're planning something," I said.
He didn't look up. "I'm ending this."
"By killing everyone?" I asked.
He paused. "If necessary."
I swallowed. "This war… it's because of me."
"It's because of me," Luca corrected. "You're just the excuse."
I stepped closer. "Then let me help."
He looked at me then, sharply. "No."
"I won't hide while people die for me," I said.
"This isn't bravery," Luca snapped. "It's suicide."
"Then teach me how to survive," I shot back.
The silence between us was electric.
Finally, Luca exhaled slowly. "You don't understand what you're asking."
"Make me understand."
He stared at me for a long moment, then nodded once. "Fine. But once you see this world clearly, there's no turning back."
He handed me a thin file.
My name was on the cover.
I frowned and opened it.
Photos spilled out me at work, me at school, me with my father. Dates. Locations. Notes.
"They've been watching you," Luca said. "Long before you signed the contract."
My pulse roared. "Why?"
"Because you're not as random as you think," he replied.
I flipped to the last page.
A photograph of my mother.
Young. Smiling.
Standing beside a man I had never seen before.
Except I had.
He was in another photo.
Victor Romano.
My hands trembled. "My mother… knew him?"
Luca's voice was low. "She worked for him."
The room spun. "That's impossible. She died when I was a child."
"Yes," Luca said. "And her death was not an accident."
The words crushed the air from my lungs.
"They didn't take you to threaten me," Luca continued. "They took you because you're unfinished business."
A sudden explosion rocked the house.
The lights went out.
Gunfire erupted outside.
Men shouted.
Marcus burst into the room. "Sir! Perimeter breach!"
Luca grabbed my arm. "Stay behind me."
I barely had time to nod before the windows shattered.
And through the smoke, I saw them.
They had found us.