Chapter 2: Safe house

The night air outside the Castello D’Oro was sharp and cold, a stark contrast to the suffocating warmth of the grand ballroom that Alessia and Luca had just fled. The distant hum of the sea echoed against the cliffs, but Alessia barely noticed it. Her legs felt like lead as she stumbled after Luca, her body trembling from the chaos they had left behind.

“Keep moving,” Luca barked, his tone clipped and urgent. He didn’t even spare her a glance as he led her through a narrow stone corridor that ran along the edge of the estate. His large frame cast a long shadow against the wall, and Alessia struggled to keep up with his long strides.

Her mind was a blur of emotions: fear, grief, and confusion all swirled together, suffocating her. Her mother’s sobs still echoed in her ears, and the image of Vincenzo’s lifeless body was seared into her memory. She wanted to scream, to cry, to demand answers, but the words caught in her throat.

“Wait,” she finally managed to choke out, her voice breaking. “Where are we going? What about my mother?”

Luca stopped so abruptly that she nearly ran into him. He turned to face her, his dark eyes cold and unyielding.

“Your mother is alive,” he said, his voice low but firm. “For now. But if you don’t shut up and keep moving, none of us will be.”

Alessia flinched at his harsh tone, but she refused to back down. “You don’t get to decide what happens to her! She’s my—”

“Enough!” Luca’s voice cut through her protest like a knife. He stepped closer, his towering frame casting her in shadow. “Do you want to die tonight? Do you want your mother to die? Because that’s what will happen if we don’t get out of here and regroup. This isn’t about what you want. It’s about survival. Do you understand me?”

Alessia’s lips trembled, but she clenched her fists and nodded. She hated him—hated the way he spoke to her, hated the coldness in his eyes—but he wasn’t wrong.

Without waiting for her response, Luca turned and continued down the corridor. Alessia followed, her heart pounding in her chest.

---

The corridor led to a hidden exit at the far edge of the estate, concealed behind a thicket of overgrown ivy. Luca pushed the heavy wooden door open, revealing a narrow path that wound down the cliffside toward the rocky shoreline below.

“Where are we going?” Alessia asked, her voice quieter now.

“To the safe house,” Luca replied curtly. “It’s close enough to monitor the estate but far enough that they won’t find us right away.”

Alessia frowned. “Who are ‘they’? Who did this? And why?”

Luca let out a sharp breath, as though her questions were an inconvenience. He glanced over his shoulder, his expression unreadable. “They’re enemies of the Moretti family. That’s all you need to know for now.”

“That’s not an answer,” Alessia said, her frustration bubbling to the surface.

“It’s the only answer you’re getting,” Luca shot back.

Alessia bit her tongue, her nails digging into her palms. She wanted to scream at him, to demand that he treat her like a human being instead of an inconvenience. But she knew it would be pointless. Luca Moretti wasn’t the kind of man who bowed to anyone’s emotions.

---

The safe house turned out to be a small, weathered villa nestled among the cliffs. It was far more modest than the Castello D’Oro, with crumbling stone walls and a rusted metal gate that creaked as Luca pushed it open. A single light flickered above the entrance, casting eerie shadows across the courtyard.

“We’ll be safe here for the night,” Luca said as he ushered Alessia inside.

The interior of the villa was sparsely furnished, with a worn leather couch, a wooden coffee table, and a fireplace that hadn’t been used in years. The air smelled faintly of salt and mildew.

Luca locked the door behind them and checked the windows, his movements quick and methodical. Alessia stood in the middle of the room, her arms wrapped around herself as she tried to process everything that had happened.

“Sit,” Luca ordered, gesturing to the couch.

“I’m fine,” Alessia replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

Luca turned to her, his dark eyes narrowing. “I wasn’t asking.”

Alessia glared at him but didn’t argue. She sank onto the couch, her hands trembling as she rested them on her lap.

Luca pulled out his phone and made a quick call, speaking in hushed tones that Alessia couldn’t make out. When he hung up, he turned to her, his expression as unreadable as ever.

“The estate is being secured,” he said. “Your mother is safe for now. The attackers have retreated.”

Alessia’s shoulders sagged with relief, but it was short-lived. “What do they want? Why would they do this?”

Luca hesitated for a moment, his jaw tightening. “Power. Revenge. Take your pick. My father had plenty of enemies, and they’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this.”

“So this is about him,” Alessia said bitterly. “And now we’re caught in the crossfire.”

Luca’s gaze hardened. “You’re alive because of him. Don’t forget that.”

Alessia opened her mouth to retort but stopped herself. She didn’t have the energy to argue with Luca, not now. Instead, she leaned back against the couch and closed her eyes, trying to push the memories of the night out of her mind.

---

The silence in the villa was heavy, broken only by the distant crash of waves against the cliffs. Alessia thought she might finally get a moment of peace, but Luca’s voice cut through the quiet.

“You can’t stay here forever.”

She opened her eyes and frowned at him. “What are you talking about?”

“You don’t belong in this world,” Luca said, his tone matter-of-fact. “You’re a liability. Someone they can use to get to us.”

Alessia bristled. “I didn’t ask to be part of this world. My mother married your father. I didn’t have a choice.”

“And now you have to live with the consequences,” Luca said coldly.

Alessia stood, her anger boiling over. “Don’t act like I’m some burden you have to deal with. I didn’t ask for any of this! And I certainly didn’t ask for your opinion on where I do or don’t belong.”

Luca stared at her, his expression unreadable. For a moment, she thought he might actually apologize, but instead, he simply turned away.

“Get some rest,” he said, his voice softer now. “We’ll figure out the next steps in the morning.”

Alessia wanted to argue, but the exhaustion weighing down her body won out. She sank back onto the couch and curled up, pulling her knees to her chest.

As the night stretched on, she couldn’t help but wonder if she would ever feel safe again.

While Luca sat in the corner of the room, his dark eyes fixed on his phone as he scrolled through messages from his men, he couldn’t help but glance at Alessia. His step-sister by marriage, someone he barely knew yet found infuriatingly hard to ignore.

She wasn’t like the women he was used to in his world. She didn’t cower, didn’t simper for his attention. Instead, she fought back, even when she was clearly terrified. It annoyed him—and intrigued him in equal measure.

But Luca quickly pushed the thought aside. She wasn’t his concern. His priority was securing the family’s position and hunting down the men who had dared to attack his father. Anything else was a distraction.

---

Alessia, meanwhile, lay awake on the couch, staring at the cracked ceiling. Her mind raced with questions she didn’t have answers to, fears she couldn’t shake. She thought about her mother, about Vincenzo, about the life she had been thrust into without warning.

And then there was Luca. Cold, distant Luca. She hated him for the way he spoke to her, the way he looked at her like she was nothing. But there was something about him she couldn’t ignore—a quiet strength, a sense of control that both infuriated and reassured her.

She hated to admit it, but as much as she didn’t trust him, she felt safer with him than she did alone.

.