Chapter 3 - Midnight Confessions
By two in the morning, the mansion had settled into a suffocating quiet, broken only by the steady rhythm of waves crashing against the rocky lake shore below.
I couldn't sleep. The guest suite Luca had given me was luxurious—Egyptian cotton sheets, a fireplace, and a balcony overlooking the water—but every creak in the floorboards sounded like an ambush. Wearing an oversized sweater and leggings, I slipped barefoot down the spiral staircase to find some water.
The light beneath Luca’s office door was glowing.
I meant to walk past it. Truly, I did. But the muffled sound of a harsh argument made my feet stall on the plush runner.
“...Coretti knows about the offshore accounts,” Luca’s voice was like grinding steel. “Someone inside the payroll department leaked Nora’s administrative access logs. That’s how they triangulated her sister’s schedule.”
“Boss, we need to eliminate the leak immediately,” another voice—Marco, his head of security—replied grimly. “And we need to move the girl out of state.”
“No,” Luca snapped. “Nora stays here. Under my eyes.”
“With respect, boss, having a civilian this close during a mob war makes you vulnerable. Coretti is looking for your throat, and you’re handing him a knife by protecting her.”
A heavy pause settled. “She is not a civilian,” Luca said, every word drenched in unyielding conviction. “She is my weakness. And the moment Coretti realizes that, he will bring his entire army to my front lawn. Which is precisely where I intend to slaughter them.”
My breath hitched audibly.
Inside the room, the voices abruptly stopped. A second later, the heavy door swung open, and Luca stood there, holding a file folder. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing intricate tattoos tracing along his forearms—symbols of loyalty and bloodlines.
Marco stepped out, gave me a cautious, respectful nod, and disappeared down the hall.
“Listening at doors, Nora?” Luca murmured, leaning against the doorframe. “I thought I trained you to be better at covert observation.”
“You’re using me as bait,” I whispered, horrified. “You just told Marco that I’m your weakness so Coretti will come here.”
Luca reached out, his thumb brushing against my lower lip before I could pull away. The touch was burning, sending an illicit thrill straight down my spine.
“I am using myself as the anvil, Nora,” he murmured, his thumb trailing down the curve of my jaw. “Coretti thinks he’s hunting a girl. He doesn't realize he’s walking into an execution chamber. I would burn this entire city to ash before I allowed anyone to put a single scratch on you.”
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“Why?” My voice was barely a whisper. “I’m just your records keeper, Luca.”
His eyes darkened, gleaming with raw hunger in the dim corridor. “You have never been just anything to me.”
