The hallway outside felt colder than before. My legs were shaking, but I didn’t let myself stop.
I kept walking until I reached a corner and leaned against the cold wall. Staring at my hands, which were still now were trembling.
I took a long, shaky breath.
I had just stood up to Matteo Romano. He was not so ordinary man, but he was the kind of man who could destroy lives with a single phone call, and I had walked out alive.
But I also knew one thing with terrifying clarity: he wasn’t done.
He would think about what I said. He would definitely find another way to get what he wanted.
That’s how n like him worked. They didn’t give up; they made others give up.
I had seen that look in his eyes before I left...the look of a man who had just discovered sothing he couldn’t control.
.
And that realization scared more than any threat could.
Because now, I wasn’t just part of his plans. I was the obstacle in his plans.
My pulse still hadn’t settled from that conversation, and every word Matteo had said rang in my ears like a curse I couldn’t escape.
I walked down the long marble hallway, my heels tapping against the floor. The place looked even more intimidating in daylight. Quiet, polished, and utterly soulless.
Every inch scread of power, control, and secrets hidden in plain sight.
When I reached the front doors, Alfred, the elderly butler, hurried after .
"Miss Elena," he called softly, his calm and polite voice contrasting the storm brewing inside .
"The car is ready. Mr. Romano instructed to make sure you return safely." The mont his words fell into my ear, I stopped for a mont.
I turned to look at him. His expression was neutral, professional, but I could sense sothing else. Maybe concern, or perhaps pity.
Either way, it only made more determined.
"Thank you, Alfred, but I’ll manage on my own," I said evenly.
He frowned slightly, taking a step forward. "Please, ma’am, the roads are long, and it isn’t safe to walk alone from here. Let call the driver. He’s waiting for you."
I turned my gaze toward the black luxury car parked by the steps. It was the sa one that brought here.
The sa driver sat behind the wheel, stiff, unreadable, hands resting perfectly on the steering.
He hadn’t greeted when I arrived, had not said a single word. He was one of Matteo’s n. Of course, he was loyal, silent, and trained to follow orders.
No. I will not. I thought to myself.
My instincts scread at . I was not stupid enough to climb back into a car that belonged to Matteo Romano, not after what had just happened.
I gave Alfred a small, tight smile as I replied, "I appreciate it, truly, but I will take another ride. Please tell Mr. Romano that I will be fine."
Before he could respond, I turned and started walking down the long driveway.
The gravel crunched beneath my heels, and the wind carried the faint scent of familiarity. I didn’t look back.
"Elena, please..." Alfred called once more, but his voice faded as I kept moving forward.
Every step away from that mansion felt like reclaiming a piece of myself that I had nearly lost in there.
My pride would not let take Matteo’s help. Not now, not ever again.
Even if it was just a ride ho, it would have co with a price. Everything with n like him did.
When I finally reached the gates, I stopped and exhaled deeply.
I didn’t have any cash left from when we escaped, but thankfully, Sophie had slipped so money.
She had been smart enough to give so cash before I went to et Matteo..." just in case," she had said. I had not realized how much I would need it until now.
Within minutes, I found a cab passing by the main road. I flagged it down and climbed in, sinking into the back seat with a sigh that ca from sowhere deep.
The driver asked for the address.
I just murmured out the cafe’s address while glancing out the window as the mansion faded into the distance.
The car rolled forward, the sound of tires on asphalt steady and dull. I stared at the world passing by fields, narrow roads, and clusters of trees that blurred together as my mind refused to stay still.
Matteo’s words replayed over and over.
He wanted Emma.
Not for adoption, not out of pity, but for power...for his world, where people were either pawns or predators.
Emma was six.
My little girl still slept with her stuffed rabbit, still clung to my arm when she had nightmares.
And he had dared to look in the eye and ask to introduce her as his daughter.
I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my skin.
He said he could give her an empire. An empire built on deceit, blood, and fear.
But could he give her safety?
Could he promise that she would grow up without n like him circling her like vultures?
Of course not.
He might have been powerful, but he was not invincible. And people like him did not protect... they possessed.
I closed my eyes and took a shaky breath. The anger simred low in my chest, growing hotter by the minute.
For years, I had been quiet...in my marriage, in that mansion, in front of people who saw as nothing but a fragile ornant, but not anymore.
Matteo had underestimated just like Dave once had.
They both thought I would break. That I would give up. That I would accept whatever scraps of truth or favors they chose to offer .
But they forgot one thing...I was not the sa woman anymore.
By the ti the cab stopped in front of Sophie’s place, my decision was already made.
I paid the driver, thanked him, and stepped out. The small apartnt building was a stark contrast to the Romano estate, but it was humble, quiet, and real.
Sophie opened the door the mont I knocked, her eyes widening when she saw . "Elena! Oh my God, you’re freezing! What happened?"
I gave her a faint smile and shook my head. "I’m fine. Just... tired."
She didn’t believe . Of course, she never did, but she did not push either, like always, to which I was truly grateful. Instead, she handed a cup of warm tea and led to the couch.
I sank into it, staring blankly at the steam rising from the cup.
"Elena, what did he say?" Sophie asked gently.
I stayed quiet for a while. Then, finally, I whispered, "He wants Emma."
Sophie froze for a few monts, but then she stood abruptly, her voice reaching up to the highest tone I have ever heard from her, "What? How?... And why in the world would he want that?"
For a mont, I just stared at her. My eyes did not even blink for a while.
I had expected shock...maybe even concern, but not this.
Sophie was always the calm one between us. Even when the world was crumbling, she managed to keep her composure, but this ti... her reaction was raw and unfiltered.
I could see her hands trembling slightly as she set her cup down on the table.
The sound of the cup clinking against the saucer filled the small living room, cutting through the thick silence that followed her question.
Her reaction almost mirrored what I had felt in Matteo’s office...disbelief, anger, and a kind of fear that crawled under your skin and refused to leave.
For a second, I could not speak.
I just sat there, watching Sophie’s face twist with confusion and rage.
My throat was dry, and even though I wanted to sound strong, my voice ca out quieter than I intended.
"I know... it sounds insane, but he said it himself. He wants Emma," I began, fingers tightening around the cup.
Sophie blinked rapidly, as if trying to process my words.
"He what?" she asked again, this ti more firmly, leaning forward.
"Did he explain why? Did he lose his mind or sothing?"
I gave a weak laugh, not because it was funny, but because there was nothing else I could do.
"He didn’t lose his mind. He knows exactly what he’s doing, Sophie." I tried to remain calm, but in the end, my voice trembled, which led to a tense silence.
Her eyebrows furrowed deeply as she stated, "Explain everything, Elena."
For a long ti, I just sat there, watching her. My throat tightened, not knowing how to explain everything to her.
I looked at her, like really looked at her, and for a mont, I saw the worry that had always been there since the day I showed up at her door with Emma.
Sophie had been my anchor when everything else fell apart, and now, I was about to tell her sothing that could shake even her strongest patience.
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