Daisy was fully aware no one heard them.
Alessia’s brows drew together. "What’s on it?"
"We’ll talk," Daisy replied with a mysterious smile. "After all... if I told you now, soone might try to shut us both up."
Then, just like that, Daisy turned and walked away.
*****
Monts later, Luca’s phone buzzed. One glance at the screen and his jaw tightened.
"I need to go. Ergency eting at the office," he muttered, already reaching for his jacket.
Lauretta fussed behind him. "Don’t keep late nights, Luca. Not with all that’s happening."
He paused at the door and gave his mother a nod, then turned briefly to Alessia. Their eyes t, and sothing unspoken passed between them.
"I’ll be back soon," he said.
Alessia only nodded.
But inside... she wasn’t fine.
As the house quieted, she walked slowly back to the bedroom she now shared with Luca. The walls felt colder. The space emptier. She sank onto the edge of the bed, clutching the flash drive in her hand.
Her fingers traced its edges as her thoughts drifted—to her parents, whom she hadn’t seen in months. A fresh wave of longing swept through her. I’ll visit them tomorrow, she decided. I need their warmth... their wisdom. I miss ho.
Just then, her phone buzzed.
A ssage from Luca lit up the screen:
"Let’s go out on a date, babe. I’m done with the eting. Co et at Donald’s Restaurant. Wear sothing red for ."
A small smile curled on Alessia’s lips. It was unlike Luca to ask her out like that—sweet, playful, even romantic. But before she could type a reply, another ssage ca in...
From an unknown number.
"Don’t trust anyone. Not even the man asking you to wear red tonight. Check what’s inside the flash before you go anywhere."
Alessia’s blood ran cold.
She stared at the ssage, heart thudding wildly in her chest. Her fingers trembled as she looked at the silver flash drive again.
What was inside it?
Who sent the ssage?
Was Luca in danger—or was she?
With shaking hands, she reached for her laptop.
The screen flickered to life...
And just as she clicked to open the file...
The lights went out.....
The blackout swallowed the room in an instant.
Alessia’s breath caught as her fingers hovered over the laptop. A cold shiver danced down her spine. The only light now ca from the faint glow of her phone screen.
She reached for it imdiately.
1% Battery Remaining.
Her heart dropped.
"No. No, no—"
The phone flickered... and died.
Alessia sat frozen in the darkness. Sowhere in the distance, she heard footsteps echoing down the hallway. Heavy. asured.
The house wasn’t supposed to be empty...
"Hello?" she called, voice shaky. "Luca?"
No answer.
The flash drive was still in the USB port. With trembling hands, she closed the laptop, clutching it to her chest like a shield.
Another footstep.
This ti... closer.
Alessia stood up, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She moved slowly toward the door and pressed her ear to it.
Silence.
Then... a soft knock.
She jumped back.
No one knocks like that in this house. Not softly. Not politely.
"Who is it?" she asked, trying to mask her fear.
No response.
Alessia’s hand went instinctively to the drawer beside the bed, the one where Luca kept a small pistol. Her fingers wrapped around the cool tal.
She didn’t open the door.
Not yet.
Suddenly, the power surged back on—lights flickering and humming to life.
Alessia blinked, her vision adjusting. When she turned toward the door again...
It was open.
Just slightly.
Enough to make her chest tighten with panic.
She didn’t hear anyone co in. She didn’t see anyone leave.
She stepped toward it cautiously and peeked into the hallway.
Empty.
Except—
A red rose lay on the floor, its petals scattered in a perfect spiral... and beneath it, a white envelope with her na written in blood-red ink.
Alessia’s hands shook as she picked it up.
Inside was a simple note:
"You were warned. You’re not just living in the Morano house anymore. You’re sleeping in the middle of a war. Choose a side... or the fire will choose for you."
****
Down at Donald’s Restaurant, Luca tapped his fingers against the table, his jaw clenched. The dim lighting cast shadows across his face as he checked his phone for the fifth ti.
No ssage from Alessia.
No call.
He dialed her number.
Straight to voicemail.
A waiter passed by, and Luca stopped him. "Did a lady co in here? About five feet tall, long dark hair, possibly wearing red?"
The waiter shook his head. "No, sir. Haven’t seen anyone like that tonight."
Luca muttered a curse under his breath and stood.
That’s when his phone buzzed.
Private Number.
He answered imdiately. "Hello?"
A distorted voice replied, deep and unrecognizable. "How well do you really know the woman you brought into your ho, Luca Morano?"
Luca’s muscles tensed. "Who the hell is this?"
"Go back ho," the voice said with eerie calm. "Check the painting above your father’s fireplace. Behind it... is the first lie."
The line went dead.
Luca stood motionless for a second. Then he turned, eyes darkening as he stord out of the restaurant.
****
Back at the mansion, Alessia inserted the flash drive into her laptop once again. This ti, the file opened.
A single video. Labeled only: "Lauretta.mp4."
She clicked play.
The screen showed a grainy recording of Mrs. Lauretta Morano, younger, standing in a dark room. Her voice ca through in a whisper:
> "The child doesn’t know she was chosen. But when the blood moon rises, everything will awaken. Especially the truth... and the heir that was hidden."
Alessia’s hand flew to her mouth.
What child?
Before she could process it further, she heard the front door slam open.
Luca.
She rushed downstairs—but what she saw made her freeze.
Luca stood in the center of the room, holding sothing in his hand—a torn piece of parchnt. His eyes locked on hers, fury and confusion swirling together.
"What the hell is going on, Alessia?" he growled.
"I should be asking you that," she replied, stepping forward. "I got a strange ssage".
Luca didn’t answer imdiately.
" I also got a strange call". He said
Alessia stared at him.
He could read fears in her eyes.
In that mont, they both heard it—
A gunshot.
From sowhere outside the mansion.
Followed by complete silence.
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