I stood alone on the balcony outside my room.
The cool night air brushed against my skin, carrying the distant scent of rain.
The estate was unusually quiet.
Too quiet.
As if the entire mansion was holding its breath.
My thoughts drifted back to the photographs.
To the dead informant.
To the fear I had seen in Alessio's eyes.
That image refused to leave me.
Alessio feared almost nothing.
Not rival families.
Not guns.
Not death.
Yet tonight something had shaken him.
And that terrified me.
A soft sound behind me made me turn.
Alessio stood in the doorway.
For a moment neither of us spoke.
The moonlight illuminated the sharp angles of his face.
The darkness in his eyes.
The exhaustion he tried so hard to hide.
Slowly he walked toward me.
Every step deliberate.
Every step controlled.
Yet I could feel the storm raging beneath that calm exterior.
I swallowed.
"You should be sleeping."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"So should you."
I rolled my eyes.
"You first."
His smile widened.
Only slightly.
But enough to make my heart betray me.
"Dio mio," he murmured.
"What am I supposed to do with you?"
I folded my arms.
"You could start by telling me the truth."
The smile disappeared immediately.
Silence.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Alessio looked out toward the dark horizon.
For several seconds he said nothing.
Then finally—
"The man in the photograph..."
His voice was low.
Careful.
"I saw him murder someone."
My breath caught.
Alessio rarely spoke about his past.
When he did, every word carried weight.
"He was one of my father's most trusted men."
I remained silent.
Allowing him to continue.
"He would have died for my father."
His jaw tightened.
"Or so we believed."
The wind shifted between us.
Cold.
Uncomfortable.
"What happened?" I asked softly.
Alessio's eyes darkened.
"Betrayal."
One word.
Yet somehow it carried years of anger.
Years of regret.
"My father trusted the wrong people."
I hesitated.
"Do you think this has something to do with him?"
For the first time that night, Alessio looked uncertain.
And seeing uncertainty on a man like him was unsettling.
"I don't know."
The answer surprised me.
Because Alessio always knew.
Or at least acted like he did.
But not tonight.
Tonight he looked like a man chasing ghosts.
Then suddenly he stepped closer.
Close enough for me to feel his warmth.
Close enough for my pulse to quicken.
"Listen to me carefully, tesoro."
The seriousness in his voice instantly caught my attention.
"If anything happens..."
"No."
His eyebrows lifted.
I shook my head immediately.
"No. Whatever dramatic speech you're about to give, don't."
A surprised laugh escaped him.
An actual laugh.
The sound was rare enough to make me smile.
"Adriana."
"No."
His amusement deepened.
"You don't even know what I was going to say."
"I know enough."
I stepped closer.
Until there was barely any distance left between us.
"I'm not leaving you."
His expression softened.
Dangerously so.
The look he gave me felt far more intimate than any touch.
For a moment neither of us moved.
Neither of us breathed.
The world seemed to disappear.
Then his hand gently cupped my cheek.
My heart completely surrendered.
"You make everything difficult."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
I smiled.
"And yet you keep me around."
A shadow of affection crossed his face.
Something warm.
Something vulnerable.
Something only a handful of people would ever witness.
Before he could answer, a gunshot suddenly echoed through the night.
The sound shattered the silence.
Both of us froze.
Then another shot rang out.
Closer this time.
Much closer.
Alessio's entire demeanor changed instantly.
The softness vanished.
The mafia boss returned.
Cold.
Lethal.
Deadly.
He grabbed my wrist.
"Inside."
"What happened?"
"Inside. Now."
His voice left no room for argument.
Chaos erupted below.
Men shouting.
Running footsteps.
The distant roar of engines.
My stomach dropped.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Marco's voice echoed from downstairs.
"Boss!"
Alessio's eyes narrowed.
Marco never sounded afraid.
Never.
Yet fear was exactly what I heard.
A second later Marco appeared at the balcony entrance.
Breathing hard.
His face pale.
For the first time since I had met him...
Marco looked genuinely shaken.
Alessio immediately stepped forward.
"What is it?"
Marco swallowed.
Then looked directly at him.
"The front gates were breached."
The air left my lungs.
Alessio's expression turned deadly.
"How many?"
Marco's answer made my blood run cold.
"At least twenty."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Then Marco delivered the final blow.
The words that changed everything.
"They weren't trying to enter the estate."
Alessio's eyes narrowed.
"Then what were they doing?"
Marco looked toward me.
Then back at Alessio.
And quietly said—
My entire body went still.
"They were asking for Adriana."
The words echoed through the balcony like a death sentence.
For a second, nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Alessio's face became unreadable.
Which was somehow even more terrifying than anger.
"What exactly did they say?" he asked quietly.
Marco hesitated.
"They used her name."
A chill ran down my spine.
Not "the girl."
Not "the woman."
My name.
They knew who I was.
Alessio slowly turned toward me.
The look in his eyes made my heart ache.
Because beneath all that control...
I saw fear.
Real fear.
Not for himself.
For me.
His hand immediately found mine.
As if he needed to reassure himself that I was still there.
Safe.
Untouched.
Mine.
The thought made my cheeks warm despite the danger surrounding us.
"They shouldn't know her name," Maria said sharply.
"They shouldn't even know she exists."
Marco nodded grimly.
"That's what worries me."
The realization hit all of us at once.
Someone had been watching.
For a long time.
Someone close enough to learn things they should never have known.
A traitor.
The possibility settled heavily over the group.
Because enemies outside the gates were dangerous.
But enemies inside the walls?
Those were deadly.
Alessio's expression darkened.
"Seal the estate."
"Already done."
"Nobody leaves."
Marco nodded.
"Understood."
Alessio's jaw tightened.
"And find out who has been talking."
The threat hidden beneath those words was unmistakable.
Whoever had betrayed them would not survive the consequences.
Suddenly his phone vibrated.
The sharp sound cut through the silence.
Alessio glanced at the screen.
Then froze.
For the first time that night...
His composure cracked.
My stomach dropped instantly.
"What is it?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he slowly handed me the phone.
My fingers trembled as I looked down.
A photograph filled the screen.
A recent photograph.
Taken only hours ago.
Of me.
Standing in the garden.
Completely unaware.
At the bottom was a single message.
Three simple words.
Words that made my blood turn ice cold.
' We found her. '