Aria couldn't stop staring at the photo.
Her hands trembled as she held it again, eyes locked on the faces of Nico and Nino. They were smiling just like they had at the park two days ago. That's what terrified her most.
This wasn't an old photo.
It was recent.
Someone had been watching them again.
Inside the envelope was a second message. Not typed. Handwritten.
He's not who you think he is. You were never supposed to live.
Her stomach twisted. She thought about Elias Grant, the so called doctor who showed up with a fake smile and too many answers. She thought about Luciano's silence, his message about the safe house being compromised, and the sudden way he'd disappeared after promising he'd protect them.
Nothing added up anymore.
She burned the note in the kitchen sink, then locked every door and window in the house. She didn't tell the boys. They were finally starting to laugh again. They deserved at least one more day of peace.
But Aria didn't feel peace.
She felt hunted.
She stayed awake that night, her back against the bedroom wall, a knife hidden under the pillow beside her. Nico and Nino slept peacefully, one wrapped in a blanket, the other holding a stuffed bear.
Around two in the morning, her phone buzzed.
Blocked number.
She almost didn't answer. But something told her to.
She pressed it to her ear.
No voice. Just breathing.
"Who is this?" she asked, whispering. "What do you want?"
Still nothing.
Then, a single sentence.
Low. Cold. And all too familiar.
"He chose the empire. Not you."
The line went dead.
Aria sat frozen, the words crawling under her skin.
She couldn't take it anymore.
The next morning, she made arrangements to leave town. Nothing dramatic—just a short trip "to visit a friend." That's what she told the boys. They didn't ask questions. They were used to sudden changes.
By noon, she had a small bag packed and two train tickets printed.
The only problem: she had no idea where she was actually going.
All she knew was that she couldn't stay here.
But fate had other plans.
As she pulled out of the driveway, a black SUV blocked the road. The windows were tinted. The engine purred like it was waiting for her to make the first move.
She froze.
Then slowly backed up.
Another car appeared behind her.
Boxed in.
She reached for her phone.
No signal.
The back doors of the SUV opened and two men in suits stepped out. They didn't carry guns, at least not out in the open. But they didn't need to.
Aria opened the window a few inches. "I don't know who you are, but I have two kids in the car. Whatever this is...."
One of them held up a card.
White.
Simple.
No name.
Just a black symbol in the center: a crowned lion with a dagger through it.
She knew that symbol.
Everyone in the underworld did.
The Crown Blade. An elite division of Luciano's empire. Silent. Brutal. Untouchable.
The man finally spoke.
"Mr. De Rossi sent us. He's ready to see you now."
Her heartbeat slowed, but only for a second.
If Luciano wanted to talk, why not call? Why send muscle?
"Where is he?" she asked.
The man opened the back door of the SUV.
"He'll explain everything himself."
She hesitated. Then looked back at the boys.
They were playing a guessing game with street signs, unaware of the world closing in around them.
"I'm not going anywhere with you unless they come too."
The man didn't argue.
"They'll be safe."
That was the first lie.
The ride was silent. Aria sat in the middle seat, her eyes on the road, her mind on fire. Every turn they made, every time the tires rolled over a bump, she tried to memorize the route.
She knew one thing for sure.. they weren't going to the city.
They were heading somewhere private. Remote.
Dangerous.
They arrived at an old estate with gray stone walls, iron gates, and tall hedges that hid everything inside. It didn't look like a home.
It looked like a fortress.
The driver helped the boys out of the car while the other man led Aria through the front doors.
She was met by silence.
No guards.
No assistants.
Just a long hallway and a heavy door at the end.
The man nodded once.
"He's waiting."
She pushed it open.
Luciano stood by the fireplace, his shirt unbuttoned at the collar, sleeves rolled back, a glass of scotch in his hand. His eyes met hers immediately.
Cold.
Unreadable.
She wanted to run to him. Hit him. Ask a thousand questions.
Instead, she said the one thing that mattered.
"Did you send that photo?"
He didn't answer.
"Luciano."
Still nothing.
"I found a photo of our sons on my doorstep," she said slowly. "With a message that said I wasn't supposed to survive. That you weren't who I thought."
His jaw tensed, but his eyes never moved.
"I need the truth. Now."
Finally, he spoke.
"I didn't send the photo."
"Then who did?"
His silence was louder than any gunshot.
Aria stepped closer. "You told me you'd protect them. You said we'd be safe. But someone is still watching us. Still playing games. And now you're hiding in some castle like a king waiting for war."
His voice was low. Flat.
"I am waiting for war."
"Then tell me who I'm fighting," she snapped.
Luciano turned toward her. "Alessandro made a move. He used Anton as bait, and now he's planning something bigger. This house is the last place he'd think to look. That's why you're here."
"Then why didn't you tell me?" she demanded. "Why go silent? Why make me feel like you'd vanished again?"
His hand tightened around the glass.
"Because if I called, you would've come looking. And if you came looking, they'd find you faster."
Aria's voice broke. "They already found me."
He stepped forward now, the anger finally breaking through.
"I've been trying to keep you alive, Aria. You and the boys. I've made enemies you don't even know exist. Men who trade in blood. Men who would use our children just to watch me fall."
"Then why didn't you say that?"
"Because I didn't want to scare you."
She looked away, her throat tight.
"It's too late for that."
He reached for her then, but she stepped back.
"I don't know who to trust anymore, Luca."
"Trust me."
"You're asking too much."
He said nothing.
Outside the door, footsteps echoed.
Fast.
Urgent.
Matteo burst in, his face pale.
"We've got a problem."
Luciano turned. "What now?"
"We found the source of the photo."
Aria's head snapped up.
Matteo looked at her slowly.
"It was sent from someone inside."
Luciano's eyes narrowed. "Inside where?"
Matteo hesitated. "Inside this house."
The room went silent.
Luciano moved like lightning. "Who?"
"I don't know yet. But whoever it is, they were in the guest wing. The camera feed was wiped."
Aria's heart raced. "The boys…"
Luciano was already moving.
They sprinted through the hallway, past the grand staircase, down the narrow corridor to the guest rooms.
The door to the boys' room was wide open.
The beds were empty.
Aria screamed.
Luciano turned in a full circle, barking orders.
But no one came.
No guards.
No footsteps.
Just silence.
Aria's phone buzzed again.
She grabbed it.
One new message.
No name.
Just a video.
She opened it.
The screen lit up with the image of Nico and Nino.
Tied to chairs.
Blindfolded.
Crying.
And behind them....
A man stepped forward.
Not Alessandro.
Not Anton.
But someone she hadn't seen in almost six years.
David.
Her ex-fiancé.
The man she ran from.
The man who once swore he'd kill her if she ever crossed him.
He smiled into the camera.
"Miss me?"