I didn't remember leaving the warehouse.

Only the way Luca's arms locked around me as if letting go would mean losing me forever.

When I woke again, I was in the penthouse bedroom the same luxurious cage I'd seen my first night here. Soft lighting. Clean sheets. No ropes. No blood.

For a moment, I wondered if it had all been a nightmare.

Then I felt it.

The soreness in my wrists. The bruise blooming across my shoulder.

Real.

I pushed myself upright slowly. The room was quiet, but not empty.

Luca stood near the window, his back to me, sleeves rolled up. His hands were red-scrubbed raw, as if he'd tried to wash something invisible away.

"You should be resting," he said without turning.

"I slept," I replied hoarsely. "Now I want answers."

He exhaled slowly, the sound heavy. "You were kidnapped by Victor Romano."

"I know," I said. "He wanted information."

"And?" Luca asked.

"I told him nothing."

"I know."

I swung my legs over the bed, wincing. "How?"

Luca turned to face me. His eyes were dark, burning with something I hadn't seen before.

"Because he didn't live long enough to extract it."

A chill crawled up my spine.

"You killed him," I said.

"Yes."

The word was simple. Final.

I swallowed. "Because of me?"

Luca's jaw tightened. "Because he crossed a line."

I studied him carefully. "You said I was disposable."

Silence.

"That was a lie, wasn't it?" I pressed.

He looked away.

"I don't lie," he said.

"That wasn't an answer."

He crossed the room and stopped in front of me. Close enough that I could feel the heat of him, the tension vibrating beneath his skin.

"The men who married me before you," Luca said quietly, "were targeted the moment the ring went on their finger."

My breath hitched. "They were men."

"Yes," he agreed. "And they died anyway."

I stared at him, heart pounding. "So why marry at all?"

"Because marriage creates visibility," Luca replied. "And visibility draws enemies into the light."

Realization struck me hard. "You used them."

"Yes."

"And me?" My voice shook despite my effort to steady it.

He met my gaze fully now. "You were supposed to be bait."

The words sliced through me.

I stood abruptly, ignoring the ache in my body. "You used my life to draw out your enemies."

"I planned to protect you," he said firmly.

"That doesn't make it better!"

"It makes it necessary," Luca snapped. Then he stopped, reining himself in. "This world is built on blood and strategy. Emotion gets people killed."

"And yet you broke your own rules," I shot back. "You came for me."

His silence was deafening.

"You didn't have to," I whispered. "If I was just bait."

Luca's hands curled into fists. "They touched you."

"So?" I challenged. "They touched the others too, didn't they?"

His expression hardened, then cracked.

"Yes," he said. "And I waited."

The admission sucked the air from my lungs.

"You let them die," I said softly.

"I believed distance kept me alive," Luca replied. "I was wrong."

I wrapped my arms around myself. "Then what makes me different?"

Luca stepped closer. "Because you didn't break."

"I was terrified," I said.

"And you still looked him in the eye," Luca said. "You didn't beg. You didn't bargain. You survived."

Something heavy settled between us.

"This wasn't how it was supposed to go," Luca continued. "You weren't meant to matter."

I laughed bitterly. "Congratulations. I matter now."

"Yes," he said. "And that makes you dangerous."

"To you?" I asked.

"To everyone."

A knock came at the door.

Marcus entered, his face grim. "Sir. The Rossis are mobilizing. They know you executed Romano."

Luca nodded once. "Good."

"They're calling it a declaration of war."

Luca's lips curved slightly. "It is."

Marcus glanced at me. "There's more."

Luca's eyes flicked to him. "Speak."

"We intercepted a message," Marcus said. "They're not coming for territory."

My heart began to race.

"They're coming for her," Marcus finished.

Silence crashed down around us.

Luca turned to me slowly.

"You hear that?" he asked.

I nodded numbly.

"They want my wife," Luca said. "And they won't stop."

"What happens now?" I asked.

Luca reached out and lifted my chin gently, forcing me to meet his gaze.

"Now," he said, voice dark and resolute, "I stop pretending this marriage is just a contract."

My pulse thundered. "What does that mean?"

"It means," Luca said, "anyone who touches you from now on dies."

A phone buzzed on the table beside him.

Marcus glanced at the screen, then stiffened. "Sir... it's from an encrypted channel."

Luca took the phone.

His expression changed instantly.

"What?" I asked.

He handed me the phone.

On the screen was a single message.

The wives weren't the targets.

You were.

We're coming to finish what we started.

My blood turned to ice.

They moved me before sunrise.

No explanation. No warning.

I woke to the sound of boots on marble and the low murmur of men speaking into earpieces. Luca stood beside the bed, already dressed, his expression carved into something hard and unreadable.

"Get up," he said quietly. "We're leaving."

My heart stuttered. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere no one knows you exist."

That didn't make me feel safer.

Within minutes, I was escorted through private corridors I hadn't known existed. The penthouse-my cage, my illusion of safety disappeared behind us as we descended into an underground garage filled with armored vehicles.

Luca opened the back door of one himself. "In."

The engine roared to life, and we were gone.

The city was still half asleep as we sped through empty streets, taking sharp turns, switching routes, doubling back. I noticed everything the way Luca never looked away from the road for more than a second, the way the men in the front car scanned rooftops.

"You think they'll follow us?" I asked.

"They already are," Luca replied.

My stomach dropped.

The drive lasted nearly an hour. When we finally stopped, we were nowhere near Manhattan's glow. Trees surrounded us. A quiet, isolated stretch of land.

The safe house looked ordinary too ordinary. A modest two-story home tucked away behind thick hedges.

"This is it?" I asked.

"Yes."

Inside, the house was fortified in ways invisible from the outside. Reinforced doors. Surveillance screens. Armed men positioned at every corner.

"This place has never been compromised," Marcus said as he followed us in.

I hugged my arms around myself. "Until now."

Luca glanced at me sharply. "Don't say that."

The door shut behind us with a heavy finality.

"This is where you stay," Luca said. "You don't leave. You don't answer calls. You don't speak to anyone except me or Marcus."

"I'm still a prisoner," I said quietly.

He met my gaze. "You're alive."

I didn't argue.

Hours passed slowly. Too slowly. Every sound made me jump. Every shadow felt like a threat.

I found Luca in the study later, standing over a table littered with maps and documents. Red markings. Names. Times.

"You're planning something," I said.

He didn't look up. "I'm ending this."

"By killing everyone?" I asked.

He paused. "If necessary."

I swallowed. "This war... it's because of me."

"It's because of me," Luca corrected. "You're just the excuse."

I stepped closer. "Then let me help."

He looked at me then, sharply. "No."

"I won't hide while people die for me," I said.

"This isn't bravery," Luca snapped. "It's suicide."

"Then teach me how to survive," I shot back.

The silence between us was electric.

Finally, Luca exhaled slowly. "You don't understand what you're asking."

"Make me understand."

He stared at me for a long moment, then nodded once. "Fine. But once you see this world clearly, there's no turning back."

He handed me a thin file.

My name was on the cover.

I frowned and opened it.

Photos spilled out me at work, me at school, me with my father. Dates. Locations. Notes.

"They've been watching you," Luca said. "Long before you signed the contract."

My pulse roared. "Why?"

"Because you're not as random as you think," he replied.

I flipped to the last page.

A photograph of my mother.

Young. Smiling.

Standing beside a man I had never seen before.

Except I had.

He was in another photo.

Victor Romano.

My hands trembled. "My mother... knew him?"

Luca's voice was low. "She worked for him."

The room spun. "That's impossible. She died when I was a child."

"Yes," Luca said. "And her death was not an accident."

The words crushed the air from my lungs.

"They didn't take you to threaten me," Luca continued. "They took you because you're unfinished business."

A sudden explosion rocked the house.

The lights went out.

Gunfire erupted outside.

Men shouted.

Marcus burst into the room. "Sir! Perimeter breach!"

Luca grabbed my arm. "Stay behind me."

I barely had time to nod before the windows shattered.

And through the smoke, I saw them.

They had found us.