(Isla's POV)
I was shaking before the car even stopped.
"Isla, breathe," Val said as she parked in front of the huge Virelli mansion. "You'll be fine. Play the piano, collect your money, and we bounce. Simple."
Simple? Nothing about tonight felt simple.
My hands wouldn't stop trembling. Not from the cold: no, this was fear. That deep, sharp kind that crawls up your spine like someone whispering your name in the dark.
"I don't want to go in there," I said quietly. "Something feels wrong."
Val reached over and squeezed my hand. "You need the money, remember? Rent, food, repairs for your keyboard… all of it. This gig will help."
She was right. I was broke. My stomach twisted just thinking about my empty fridge back home.
But the feeling wouldn't leave. The moment we drove through the gold gates, something inside me screamed, Run.
I grabbed my piano sheet folder, stepped out of the car, and froze.
The mansion towered over me like it knew my secrets. Like it knew my real last name wasn't Moretti. It was Torres. A name I had spent my whole life hiding.
"Isla," Val said, nudging my shoulder. "Go. You'll be okay."
I nodded, even though nothing about me felt okay.
I walked toward the mansion steps, trying to breathe slowly. Just knock. Walk in. Play music at your sister's wedding. Pretend everything is normal.
But then.
A voice cut through the air.
Low. Deep. Too calm.
"You shouldn't have come here, Miss Torres."
I stopped so fast I almost tripped.
A man stepped out of the shadows near the entrance. He wore a black suit, but it wasn't the suit that scared me. It was the way he looked at me: cold, sharp, like he was seeing the real me under my skin.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
My mouth dried up.
"How do you know my name?" I whispered.
The man didn't blink. "Because secrets don't stay hidden forever."
I took a step back.
He took a step forward.
The porch light finally hit his face, and my breath caught.
I knew him.
Everybody knew him.
Luciano Virelli.
The Ice King.
The most feared man in New York's underworld.
He didn't just run the Virelli family, people said he controlled every shadow in this city.
And he knew my real last name.
My legs nearly gave out.
"I…I think you're confusing me with someone else," I managed, though my voice cracked.
Luciano's eyes didn't move, didn't blink. "No. I know exactly who you are."
My pulse roared like blood in my ears.
I didn't know whether to scream or run.
Luciano stepped closer until he stood right in front of me. I had to tilt my head back to look at him. He was tall, broad, and terrifyingly calm like he was made of stone.
"You need to turn around and leave," he said. "Now. Before tonight becomes something you can't escape."
"What do you mean?" I whispered.
"You are in danger," he said. "More danger than you understand."
My fingers tightened on my sheet folder. Everything in me said to run… but my sister was inside that mansion. Gianna. My only family left.
"I can't leave," I said, my voice shaking. "My sister is getting married. I'm supposed to play at her wedding."
His jaw tightened. For a moment: just a flicker, something like regret crossed his face.
Then it was gone.
"You don't belong here," he said softly. "And if you stay, something will happen that neither of us can undo."
My chest felt tight. "What's going to happen?"
Before he could answer, the mansion doors opened behind him and voices spilled out: laughs, music, clinking glasses. The wedding was starting. Gianna was waiting.
And Luciano, this stranger who somehow knew my name was telling me to run.
"I don't understand," I whispered. "What's going on?"
He took a slow breath, and for the first time, he looked… troubled.
"I can't explain right now," he said. "But you have to trust me. Leave before"
His phone buzzed.
He pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and his face suddenly changed.
All the calm vanished.
His eyes went sharp. Cold. Deadly.
He looked up at me like the world had just shifted.
"They're already here," he said.
"What? Who's here?" I asked.
Luciano didn't answer.
He grabbed my arm: firm, strong, and began pulling me toward the mansion doors.
"Wait, stop!" I tried to pull away, but he was too strong. "Tell me what's going on!"
"We don't have time," he said. "Move."
He yanked the door open.
The music inside was loud. People were laughing, dancing, drinking. No one knew anything was wrong.
But Luciano's grip tightened like iron around my arm.
"Listen to me," he said, leaning close, his voice low and urgent. "Do not panic. Do not scream. And whatever happens, do not run off on your own. Stay with me."
My breath came short. "Luciano, what's happening?"
His answer was a whisper.
A warning.
A promise of something terrible.
"Danger," he said. "Lots of it."
Then;
A sharp, explosive crack tore through the air.
Not music.
Not fireworks.
Gunshots.
Real ones.
From the back of the mansion.
Screams followed a second later: high, terrified voices.
My heart stopped.
Luciano didn't.
He shoved me down, forcing me onto the marble floor.
"GET DOWN!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the hall.
I hit the floor hard, my hands scraping against the cold tiles.
More gunshots.
More screams.
Chaos exploded around us.
People were running, pushing, shouting. Music cut off. Glass shattered. Someone cried out in pain.
I tried to lift my head but Luciano pushed it back down, shielding me with his own body.
"Stay down!" he barked.
"I..my sister..Gianna" I gasped.
"Don't move," he growled. "You'll be killed."
Gunshots boomed again, closer this time. Too close.
I could hear boots pounding. Men shouting. Women crying.
My whole body shook.
This wasn't fear anymore.
This was terror.
"Luciano," I choked out. "Please tell me what's happening!"
He didn't answer.
He was staring toward the back of the mansion, eyes narrowing like he could see death coming.
He looked furious.
Focused.
Like a man ready for war.
Then,
He turned to me.
And in the middle of all the chaos, he said something that made my blood run cold.
"Miss Torres… this attack is not an accident. It's because of you."
My breath caught.
"What? No,no, that can't"
Before I could finish, a masked man rushed through the doorway behind us.
Luciano's hand flew to his gun.
He dragged me up, shoved me behind him.
And pointed the gun straight at the man rushing toward us.
The masked man aimed his weapon too.
Luciano stepped forward, placing himself between me and the gun.
My heartbeat wasn't a heartbeat anymore, it was thunder.
"You should have left," Luciano said without looking back.
"Why?" I cried. "Why me? What do they want?"
The masked man raised his gun.
Luciano raised his faster.
And the shot echoed like thunder.
The man fell.
Luciano grabbed my arm again.
"Move!" he ordered. "NOW!"
"But Gianna"
"I'll explain everything once you're safe," he said, pulling me toward a side hallway. "But if you stay here one more second.
Another gunshot exploded behind us.
Luciano shoved me harder.
"you won't live long enough to hear the truth."
And that's when the true horror hit me.
I wasn't caught in a random attack.
This wasn't about the wedding.
This wasn't about the Virelli family.
This was about me.
And I didn't even know why.
But Luciano did.
I could see it in his eyes.
He knew exactly what was happening…
And he knew exactly why I was the one in danger.
Because someone…
Somewhere…
Wanted Isla Torres dead.
And they had finally come for me.