The old warehouse was silent except the distant sound of rain hitting the metal roof.
For the first time in hours . Nobody was shouting.
Nobody was running.
Nobody was dying.
Yet the tension inside the room felt worse than a battlefield.
I sat on a wooden crate, wrapping a bandage around my scraped hand while Alessio stood near a broken window. Staring into the darkness outside. Lost.
The shadows seemed to belong to him.
Cold.
Dangerous.
Unreachable.
" You have been standing there for twenty minutes. "
He didn't move.
" Thirty-Two."
I rolled my eyes.
" ofcourse you counted. "
His lips twitched slightly.
Small victory.
Across the room , Zia Maria sat comfortabily in the armchair, in the corner. Taking a sip of her wine.
How she managed to find a wine during a crisis remained one of the greatest mystery.
" You two are painfully obvious. "
I froze.
Alessio slowly turned around.
She smiled.
"The stare."
She pointed out at me.
"The worry."
She pointed out at Alessio.
" The denial."
She pointed out at both of us.
" I'm surrounded by a bunch of idiots."
I groaned.
Alessio looked genuinely offended.
" That's unfair."
" Oh? " She laughed. " Then tell her."
The room became silent.
Alessio's expressions darkened.
For the first time he looked away.
Interassant.
Zia Maria nearly chocked on her wine.
" Oh! This tension is better television. "
Before I could ask what she meant , Alessio's phone rang.
The amusement disappeared instantly.
He checked the screen.
His entire body went still.
That alone terrified me.
Alessio never froze.
Ever.
" What happened now? "
No answer.
" Alessio. "
His jaw clenched.
" We have a problem. "
My stomach dropped.
" What kind of problem? "
" The worst kind."
Zia Maria was already standing.
The playful mood was vanished from her face.
" What did they find? "
Alessio looked at both of us.
Then he spoke three words.
" They are alive."
The room felt silent.
A chill crawled down my spine.
The men responsible for burning our safehouse were supposed to be dead.
Alessio personally confirmed it.
Zia Maria's eyes narrowed.
" Impossible. "
"I thought so too."
He handed her the phone.
Her colour faded as she saw the text.
That was enough for my heart to race.
Zia Maria look concerned . Something was worse has happened than anybody would have expected.
" Who are they? " I asked.
Room was silent as hell. Nobody answered .
" Tell me! "
Alessio finally looked at me.
" They work for someone we believe had died ten years ago. "
My breath stopped.
" What? "
Zia Maria placed her wine down.
For once , she wasn't smiling.
" So it means we have bigger problems than war. "
Alessio nodded.
" A lot bigger than expected. "
A knock suddenly echoed in the warehouse.
Everyone reached for their weapons.
One knock.
Two.
Three.
Silence.
Nobody was supposed to know this location.
Nobody.
Alessio slowly pulled out his gun.
Zia Maria did the same.
The atmosphere became suffocating.
Another knock echoed.
This time Louder.
Then a voice came of a man from outside.
Calm.
Confident.
Dangerously familiar.
" Open the door. "
Alessio's expressions changed instantly.
I had never seen this level of fear in his eyes before.
Until now.
And that terrified me even more now.
Only one person in this world could make him reat like that.
A man who was supposed to be dead.
The silence inside the warehouse filled and became unbearable.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Even the rain outside seemed to disappear.
Alessio stood frozen.
His fingers tightened around the gun.
I stared at him.
The famous Alessio De Luca.
The man who had walked through gunfire without even blinking.
The man who had watched enemies beg for mercy with nothing but boredom in his eyes.
And today...
His face had gone pale.
A heavy knock echoed again.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The sound felt like a countdown to disaster.
" Boss? " Luca asked cautiously.
Alessio didn't answer.
For the first time since I had met him...
He looked lost.
Another knock.
This one harder.
More demanding.
As if the person outside already knew we were there.
Waiting.
Listening.
Afraid.
A strange chill crawled down my spine.
Whoever was standing behind that door wasn't an ordinary enemy.
Entire organization feared Alessio.
Alessio feared him too.
That realisation was enough to make my stomach twist.
The room remained silent.
Then–
A voice came from the other side.
Deep.
Calm.
Dangerously familiar.
" Have you become dead, son? "
My heart stopped.
Son.
The word echoed through the warehouse.
Luca cursed under his breath.
Several guards exchanged horrified looks.
Alessio slowly closed his eyes.
Just one second.
Pain flashed across his face.
Not anger. Not hatred.
Pain.
The kind left behind by old wounds that never truly healed.
When he opened his eyes again , they were colder than ice.
" Damn it, " he muttered.
I had never heard fear in his voice before.
Until now.
The man outside chuckled.
The sound sent chills through everyone present.
" I know you are here. "
Another pause.
" Or should I say..."
The voice lowered.
" ...my disappointing heir. "
The atmosphere exploded.
One guard immediately pointed his weapon towards the door.
Another stepped back.
I looked between them in confusion.
What kind of man could make hardened killers react like this?
Alessio finally spoke.
His voice was deadly calm.
" Open the door. "
Nobody moved.
Not a single person.
" Boss– "
" I said open it. "
The order echoed through the warehouse.
One of the guards reluctantly obeyed.
The massive metal door slowly cracked open.
Rain and cold wind and rushed inside.
For a second,all I could see was darkness.
Then a silhoutte emerged.
Tell.
Broad-shouldered.
Dreased entirely in black.
The man stepped forward.
Lightning flashed across the sky.
And for the first time...
I saw his face.
My breath caught.
The resemblance was sensible to ignore.
The same sharp jaw.
The same cold eyes.
The same dangerous presence.
Except this man looked older.
Crueler.
As if the world had failed to kill him.
A slow smile appeared on his lips.
" Hello , Alessio. "
Nobody speaked.
Nobody dared.
The newcomer surveyed the warehouse before his gaze landed on me.
His smile widened.
And suddenly I wished he had ignored me.
" So, " he murmured.
" This must be the girl. "
The way he said it made every alarm inside me scream.
His eyes returned to Alessio.
" I see you have inherited my terrible habit. "
Alessio's gun rose instantly.
Pointed directly at the man's head.
The warehouse erupted in chaos.
But neither man looked away from the other.
Father and son.
Enemy and enemy.
And in that moment I realized something horrifying.
The war we thought we were fighting?
It hadn't even started yet.
Because the most dangerous man in the room...
Had just walked through the door.