The Getaway
🌑 Chapter 1 — The Getaway
The plane touched down in Valoria, a city where the sea glittered like spilled diamonds and the nights hummed with secrets. Lena Marquez pressed her forehead to the window, watching the coastline curve like a smile waiting just for her. She had dreamed of this trip for months—sunlight, quiet mornings, and time alone with Elias Rowan, the man who made her feel like the world could finally slow down.
Elias nudged her shoulder. “You’re staring like you’ve never seen an ocean before.”
She laughed softly. “Not like this. It feels… unreal.”
He reached for her hand, warm and steady. “Good. You deserve unreal.”
They stepped out into the warm Valoria breeze, the air thick with salt and the faint scent of citrus. The city was alive—vendors calling out in melodic accents, couples strolling hand‑in‑hand, the distant sound of a violin drifting from a balcony. It was the kind of place where love stories were born.
And where some were stolen.
Their hotel sat on a cliff overlooking the water, all white stone and cascading bougainvillea. Lena stood on the balcony, letting the wind lift her hair as she watched the waves crash far below. Elias wrapped his arms around her from behind, his chin resting on her shoulder.
“Finally,” he murmured. “Just us.”
She leaned into him, letting the moment settle into her bones. For the first time in a long time, she felt safe. Whole. Seen.
But somewhere far below, on the street that wound along the cliffside, a black car slowed to a stop. A man stepped out—tall, sharply dressed, his presence cutting through the evening like a blade. His eyes lifted to the balcony.
And froze.
Lena.
His breath caught, a sound almost too soft to hear. For years he had searched—through cities, through rumors, through shadows. For a face. For a name. For the ghost of a girl who should not exist.
And now, impossibly, she stood above him, laughing in the arms of another man.
His jaw tightened. The wind tugged at his coat, but he didn’t move. Didn’t blink. Didn’t breathe.
Dante Vescari, head of the most feared mafia dynasty in Valoria, had finally found what he’d been hunting his entire life.
And he would not lose her again.
Up on the balcony, Lena shivered suddenly, though the air was warm. Elias noticed.
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” she said, rubbing her arms. “Just… weird feeling. Like someone walked over my grave.”
He kissed her temple. “You’re safe with me.”
She smiled, but the unease lingered, curling in her stomach like smoke.
Below, Dante stepped back into his car, his voice low and certain as he spoke to the driver.
“Prepare everything. Tonight, we begin.”
The car pulled away, disappearing into the maze of Valoria’s streets.
Lena watched the sun sink into the sea, unaware that her life—her past, her future, her very identity—had just been claimed by a man who believed she belonged to him.
And he would stop at nothing to take her.
