Chapter 1
Chapter 1: The night everything changes
Aurora’s POV
If someone had told me a year ago that my life would fall apart so completely, I would have laughed in their face.
Back then, I had everything I thought I needed.
A boyfriend I’d been with for six years. A best friend I trusted with my life. A job that didn’t pay much, but it was mine. A small home that, despite its imperfections, had once felt safe.
Now, I had none of it.
My job was gone because of my boyfriend. My so-called best friend had betrayed me and destroyed the little trust I had left in people. And the man I’d spent six years loving had slowly become someone I barely recognised.
Someone I was afraid of.
Tonight was no different.
“Aurora!”
His voice echoed through the apartment.
I froze.
The sound of his footsteps grew louder, uneven and heavy.
“Where are you, bitch?”
The bedroom door slammed open.
I pressed both hands over my mouth, desperately trying to silence the sob that threatened to escape.
I was curled up inside the bathroom, my knees pulled tightly against my chest. I could smell the alcohol on him even from the other side of the door.
He knew I was home.
He always knew.
“Aurora!” he shouted again.
A loud bang shook the bathroom door.
I flinched.
“Get out before I find you.”
Another bang.
“Or you’re going to regret it.”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
I knew better than to answer.
I’d learned that silence was sometimes the only thing that kept things from getting worse.
The pounding continued for several minutes before finally stopping.
Nothing.
I waited.
One minute.
Then two.
Then five.
My heart was still hammering against my ribs when I slowly lowered my hands.
I listened carefully.
Nothing but silence.
I carefully opened the bathroom door.
He was lying across the bed, his back turned toward me. The empty bottle of alcohol on the floor told me everything I needed to know.
He was asleep.
This was my chance.
I moved quietly toward the closet and pulled out the bag I’d hidden weeks ago.
I’d been preparing for this moment without allowing myself to admit it.
Inside were a few clothes, my phone charger, some toiletries, and the small amount of cash I’d managed to save before he’d forced me to quit my job.
It wasn’t much.
Barely enough to survive a week.
But it was enough to leave.
I glanced at him one last time.
For six years, I’d convinced myself that things would get better.
That he’d change.
That the man I’d fallen in love with was still somewhere beneath the anger, the alcohol and the violence.
I was wrong.
I quietly slipped out of the bedroom.
Then I left the apartment.
The moment the door closed behind me, I ran.
I didn’t stop.
I didn’t look back.
I ran as though my life depended on it.
Because it did.
By the time I reached the park, my lungs were burning and my legs were trembling.
I dropped onto a bench, clutching my bag against my chest as I struggled to catch my breath.
It was past midnight.
The park was almost completely deserted.
Darkness stretched between the trees, swallowing the paths beneath their branches. Every unfamiliar sound made my heart jump.
I looked around.
What was I going to do now?
I had no job.
No home.
No best friend.
No one to call.
For the first time, the reality of what I’d done settled over me.
I’d escaped.
But where was I supposed to go?
I lowered my head, fighting back another wave of tears.
Maybe leaving hadn’t been the beginning of my new life.
Maybe it was the beginning of the end.
Then headlights appeared through the trees.
I looked up.
A black SUV rolled into the park.
Then another.
Then another.
My body went rigid.
Several men stepped out of the vehicles.
And they weren’t there for a picnic.
I watched from a distance as they surrounded a terrified-looking man who seemed to have nowhere left to run.
My instincts screamed at me to leave.
Instead, I froze.
Then I saw the man who stepped out of the final SUV.
He was different from the others.
The men around him immediately moved aside.
He didn’t need to ask them to.
They simply knew.
He walked toward the terrified man with an unnerving calmness; his dark eyes fixed on his target.
There was something about him.
Something cold.
Dangerous.
The kind of presence that made the air feel heavier.
I quickly slipped behind a large tree, praying no one would notice me.
The man in front of the group dropped to his knees.
“Please,” he begged. “Mr. Giovanni, please. I can explain.”
The stranger stared at him without a flicker of emotion.
“I swear I never meant to betray you.”
Silence.
Then the stranger raised his gun.
My breath caught.
The gunshot shattered the silence.
I slapped both hands over my mouth.
The man collapsed.
Blood spread across the ground beneath him.
I stared in horror.
I’d never seen anyone die before.
My entire body began trembling.
Who were these people?
And who was that man?
I needed to leave.
Now.
I slowly backed away from the tree.
Then—
Crack.
I froze.
Something moved in the bushes behind me.
“Ah!”
A scream escaped before I could stop it.
I covered my mouth.
Too late.
I heard footsteps.
My heart dropped.
Run.
I grabbed my bag and sprinted into the darkness.
I didn’t dare look back.
But I could hear them coming.
And I knew they had seen me.
Alessandro’s POV
Tonight was supposed to be simple.
One problem.
One traitor.
One execution.
The man had been stealing from me for months, believing I wouldn’t notice.
That was his mistake.
I noticed everything.
The moment we arrived at his house, he bolted.
“Non lasciate che quel bastardo scappi!” I ordered.
Don’t let that bastard escape.
My men immediately followed.
Within minutes, we had him surrounded.
I stepped out of my SUV and adjusted the cuffs of my suit.
The man froze when he saw me.
Fear filled his eyes.
Good.
Fear was useful.
People revealed who they truly were when they were afraid.
“Mr. Giovanni, please.”
He dropped to his knees.
“I swear I didn’t betray you. Please. I have a family. They need me.”
I stared down at him.
“You should have thought about your family before you stole from me.”
His lips trembled.
“I can pay you back. I swear—”
“No.”
One word.
He went silent.
I pulled out my gun.
“You made your choice.”
His eyes widened.
“Please—”
The gunshot echoed through the night.
His body hit the ground.
I lowered the gun.
Problem solved.
I turned away.
Then I heard it.
A scream.
I stopped.
My men looked toward the sound.
Another noise followed.
Someone was running through the trees.
I narrowed my eyes.
“What are you waiting for?” I asked coldly.
“Prendila!”
Get her.
Dante and Enzo immediately took off after her.
I watched them disappear into the darkness.
A witness.
That was the last thing I needed.
“Ragazza stupida,” I muttered.
Stupid girl.
Running wouldn’t save her.
Aurora’s POV
My lungs burned.
My legs were screaming at me to stop, but I couldn’t.
I didn’t know where I was going.
I only knew I needed to get away.
I glanced over my shoulder.
One of the men was gaining on me.
Then another appeared.
My heart pounded harder.
There were two of them.
Maybe three.
I ran faster.
The road was just ahead.
If I could cross it, maybe I could find someone.
Maybe I could scream for help.
Maybe—
A pair of arms suddenly wrapped around my waist.
“No!”
I screamed and kicked violently.
The man lifted me off the ground as though I weighed nothing.
“Put me down!”
I punched his back repeatedly.
Nothing.
It was like hitting a brick wall.
“Please!” I sobbed. “Please, don’t kill me!”
Shut the fuck up,” the other man snapped.
“Somebody help me!”
My scream echoed across the empty road.
No one came.
The man carrying me finally stopped and dropped me onto my feet.
I stumbled forward.
I ran.
Three steps.
Four.
Then I slammed straight into something solid.
I fell backward onto the ground.
My eyes travelled upward.
Not a wall.
A man.
The man from the park.
The one who had pulled the trigger.
He stood over me, completely still.
His face was emotionless.
His dark eyes stared down at me as though I were nothing more than an inconvenience.
I scrambled backward.
“Please...”
My voice broke.
He didn’t move.
“Please don’t hurt me.”
Nothing.
“I won’t tell anyone what I saw. I swear.”
Still nothing.
Tears blurred my vision.
“I won’t tell anyone. Please.”
He crouched slowly in front of me.
For some reason, that was even more terrifying.
His eyes remained fixed on mine.
Cold.
Unreadable.
I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
And somehow, that scared me more than anything.
One of the men stepped forward.
“Boss?”
The stranger didn’t answer immediately.
He continued staring at me.
Then he gave the smallest nod.
A sharp pain pierced my arm.
I looked down.
One of the men had injected something into me.
“No...”
My vision began to blur.
I tried to crawl away, but my body suddenly felt impossibly heavy.
“What... did you...”
The words barely left my lips.
The last thing I saw was the mysterious man standing above me, his expression still completely unreadable.
Then the darkness swallowed me whole.
