CHAPTER 7
By breakfast, the Moretti estate no longer felt like a home.
Guards stood at every entrance. Two men watched the courtyard from the upper balcony, while another pair searched the grounds beyond the eastern wall. The usual quiet of the house had disappeared beneath clipped orders, hurried footsteps, and the occasional crackle of a radio.
Elara stood at the long library table, studying the documents Luca had managed to save.
Three columns.
Matteo. Isolde. The Alliance.
Almost every missing file belonged to one of them.
She moved a paper beneath another.
"This isn't random."
Luca looked up from the security reports.
"What?"
She pointed to the dates.
"These files were taken first."
Dante came closer.
"How do you know?"
"Because the references are still here."
She tapped a line on one of the surviving documents.
"This mentions a meeting record. That record is gone. This one mentions my mother's correspondence. Gone too."
Alessandro stood at the opposite side of the table, arms folded.
"Meaning?"
"The person who took them knew exactly what to look for."
Luca's eyes narrowed.
"Someone familiar with the archive."
"Or someone who had access to your private records," Elara said.
His gaze met hers.
"I've considered that."
"Have you?"
The question landed harder than she intended.
Luca straightened.
"Yes."
"Then tell me why you didn't."
"Because I didn't want to accuse someone without proof."
"You haven't had a problem keeping other things from me."
Alessandro's attention shifted between them.
"Elara."
She ignored him.
She picked up another page.
"You knew those files were important."
"Yes."
"Then why didn't you tell me everything?"
Luca said nothing.
That silence was worse than an argument.
Elara's chest tightened.
She had begun trusting him.
Perhaps too quickly.
She put the document down.
"I need air."
She walked toward the door.
Alessandro followed.
"You shouldn't go outside."
She turned.
"Why?"
"Because we don't know who helped the intruder."
"You don't know who helped the intruder because nobody tells me anything."
His jaw tightened.
"That's not fair."
"Neither is being kept in a house where everyone knows more about my life than I do."
Dante appeared in the doorway.
"She's right."
Alessandro glanced at him.
Dante shrugged.
"She is."
Elara looked from one man to another.
"You said I was involved."
"I said you were in danger," Alessandro replied.
"And somehow that always becomes the same thing."
He stepped closer.
"You're not luggage, Elara."
"Then stop carrying me from one locked room to another."
Something changed in his expression.
He looked at the guards.
"Leave us."
They obeyed.
Alessandro returned his attention to her.
"All right."
Elara blinked.
"All right?"
"You want answers. You'll get them."
She wasn't sure whether to believe him.
Behind them, Luca quietly gathered the surviving papers.
His face remained unreadable.
But Elara noticed the way his fingers tightened around the folder.
She looked back at him.
"You knew those files were important."
"Yes."
"Then why didn't you tell me everything?"
Again, silence.
This time, Elara did not walk away.
She waited.
And Luca knew that whatever trust existed between them had just been placed on trial.
Luca shut the office door.
Elara remained standing.
The hidden room behind the bookcase was open, its shelves stripped of several folders. The emptiness made the theft feel personal.
"You think I took them," Luca said.
"I think you know more than you're telling me."
"That's different."
"Is it?"
He leaned against the desk.
"Tell me what you think."
"You could have moved those files yourself."
His expression changed.
Not anger.
Hurt.
"Why would I steal the records I've spent years collecting?"
"To make me believe someone else did."
Luca stared at her.
"You really think I'm capable of that?"
"I don't know what you're capable of."
The answer struck him.
For once, his easy smile disappeared.
"Fair."
Elara crossed her arms.
"You hide everything."
"I was raised to."
"That's convenient."
"It's not convenience."
"Then what is it?"
Luca looked toward the shelves.
"My family taught me that information is power. You don't give people power unless you know what they'll do with it."
"And you think I'm dangerous?"
"I think everyone is dangerous."
"Even me?"
"Especially you."
She frowned.
"Why?"
"Because you make me want to stop calculating."
The words escaped before he could soften them.
Elara stared at him.
Luca looked away.
He hated how easily she had begun reaching places no one else could.
"You know how to find everyone else's secrets," she said quietly.
"Yes."
"But you don't know how to tell the truth about yourself."
His eyes returned to hers.
"No."
The honesty left her without an answer.
The door opened.
Alessandro stepped inside.
"What happened?"
Luca's expression hardened.
"This isn't your conversation."
"She's under my protection."
Elara turned sharply.
"I'm standing right here."
Both men stopped.
She looked between them.
"I'm not a problem you two need to solve."
Dante appeared behind Alessandro.
"Apparently, none of us learned that lesson."
Alessandro looked at him.
Dante's eyes moved toward Luca.
Then back to Alessandro.
"You're not angry because the files disappeared."
Alessandro's face hardened.
"Then why?"
Dante's answer came without hesitation.
"Because she trusted him."
Silence filled the room.
Elara stared at Alessandro.
He said nothing.
Dante folded his arms.
"You've been watching them for weeks."
"I've been watching the situation."
"No."
Dante shook his head.
"You've been watching her."
Luca gave a quiet breath.
"This is becoming embarrassing."
Elara looked at all three.
"You are all jealous."
Nobody denied it.
Her heart beat faster.
The realization should have frightened her.
Instead, it made something inside her loosen.
These men had spent days treating her like a responsibility.
Now they were looking at her as a woman.
That distinction mattered.
Elara stepped toward the door.
"Come with me."
Alessandro frowned.
"Where?"
"Somewhere we can talk without anyone pretending this is about security."
She walked out.
After a brief silence, the three men followed.
For once, none of them knew what she intended to say.
The sitting room overlooked the gardens.
Late afternoon light spilled across the floor, turning the windows gold.
Elara stood beside the fireplace.
The three men remained several feet away.
She looked at each of them.
"I want one honest conversation."
Dante nodded.
"All right."
"What do you actually want from me?"
Alessandro answered first.
"I want you alive."
Elara shook her head.
"That's not enough."
His expression tightened.
"No."
She turned to Dante.
"I want you to stop looking at me like I'm the woman who betrayed your family."
Dante's jaw worked.
"I don't."
"You used to."
"Yes."
"And now?"
He looked directly at her.
"Now I see you."
The words were simple.
They carried more weight than she expected.
She looked at Luca.
"What about you?"
He took a breath.
"I want you to keep trusting me."
"Why?"
"Because I don't think I've wanted anyone's trust before."
Elara's chest tightened.
She looked away.
"What happens if I leave?"
Nobody answered.
The silence told her everything.
Alessandro finally spoke.
"I don't want you to leave."
She looked at him.
"But?"
"But I won't stop you."
Her eyes widened.
"You mean that?"
"Yes."
He held her gaze.
"The door will be open."
Dante nodded.
"You're not Matteo's debt."
Luca added softly, "And you're not our property."
Elara swallowed.
For days, she had expected these men to demand something from her.
Instead, they were giving her something far more dangerous.
A choice.
She looked at Alessandro.
His cold expression had softened.
At Dante.
The anger she once feared had become something warmer.
At Luca.
His guarded eyes held no calculation now.
She realized she was attracted to all three.
The thought terrified her.
She took a slow breath.
"I don't know what happens after this."
"Neither do we," Alessandro said.
Dante moved one step closer.
"Maybe that's the point."
Luca's mouth curved slightly.
"You've spent your entire life being told what happens next."
Elara looked at him.
"And you?"
"I've spent mine trying to know before it happens."
She almost smiled.
"Does that work?"
"Not with you."
Her smile appeared.
Small.
Real.
The room became quiet.
Elara walked toward Luca.
He watched her approach but did not move.
She stopped in front of him.
Their eyes met.
Then she turned toward Alessandro.
His breathing changed.
Finally, she looked at Dante.
No one reached for her.
No one tried to decide for her.
That was what gave her courage.
She whispered, "I don't want to be afraid of what I feel."
Luca's voice was barely above a breath.
"Then don't be."
Elara stepped closer.
And closed the distance.
Her lips touched Luca's.
For one suspended moment, neither of them moved.
Luca had imagined many things since meeting her.
He had never imagined this.
Not because he didn't want it.
Because he knew how easily desire could become another form of control.
So he waited.
Elara was the one who decided whether the moment continued.
She didn't step away.
Instead, her fingers curled lightly into the front of his shirt.
Luca's hand rose to her cheek.
He kissed her again, gently.
Nothing rushed.
Nothing demanded.
The world beyond the room seemed distant.
When they separated, Elara's breath trembled.
Luca searched her face.
"You chose that."
"I know."
His thumb rested briefly against her cheek.
"Good."
Elara glanced toward Alessandro.
He stood perfectly still.
For once, his control looked like effort.
She expected anger.
Instead, he said quietly, "Then it was yours to choose."
Something in her chest eased.
Dante gave a low laugh.
"You're making this very difficult."
Elara smiled.
"You said I was trouble."
"You are."
"Then you should have known better."
Dante stepped closer.
"I did."
His gaze dropped briefly to her lips before returning to her eyes.
That look sent a warm shiver through her.
Alessandro noticed.
So did Luca.
Yet there was no argument.
No claim.
Only the strange understanding that whatever existed between them had changed.
Elara touched her lips.
The kiss had been brief.
But it had broken something open inside her.
She had spent so long believing that being vulnerable meant surrendering control.
Now she understood the difference.
She had chosen this.
The realization made her feel stronger, not weaker.
Luca's eyes shifted toward the windows.
His expression changed.
Elara noticed.
"What?"
He didn't answer immediately.
The room had become strangely quiet.
No footsteps outside.
No guards speaking.
No distant hum from the estate.
Alessandro turned toward the door.
"Dante."
"I hear it."
"What's wrong?" Elara asked.
Dante's eyes moved toward the corridor.
"Nothing."
That answer was too quick.
Then every light in the room went out.
Darkness swallowed them.
Elara gasped.
Alessandro moved instantly.
His hand found hers.
"Stay with me."
This time, she didn't resist.
Somewhere beyond the door, a lock clicked.
Then silence.
Luca whispered, "The power."
Dante's voice became hard.
"Someone shut it off."
A second later, something struck the eastern wing.
The sound echoed through the house.
Alessandro tightened his grip on Elara's hand.
The night had changed.
Emergency lights should have come on.
They didn't.
The darkness was complete.
Dante drew his weapon.
"Stay behind me."
Alessandro positioned himself between Elara and the corridor.
Luca pulled out his phone.
"No signal."
"Generator?" Alessandro asked.
"Dead."
"That isn't possible."
Luca looked toward the security panel.
"It is if someone shut it down manually."
Elara listened.
The house was silent.
Then she noticed something.
A thin line of light beneath a door farther down the corridor.
She pointed.
"There."
The three men followed her gaze.
"The archive," Luca said.
Dante moved forward.
Alessandro caught his arm.
"Wait."
They listened.
Footsteps.
One.
Two.
Then nothing.
Elara's pulse hammered.
A faint smell reached her.
Smoke.
She turned toward Luca.
"Something's burning."
His expression changed.
"The archive."
They moved.
Dante went first.
Alessandro kept Elara close.
Luca followed behind them.
A sudden explosion shook the eastern wing.
Glass shattered.
Elara stumbled.
Alessandro caught her around the waist and steadied her.
"I'm fine."
"Stay behind me."
"No."
He looked at her.
She met his eyes.
"I'm coming."
For a second, he looked ready to argue.
Then another explosion sounded.
"Fine," he said. "Stay between us."
They reached the corridor.
Smoke rolled beneath the archive doors.
A figure in black appeared at the far end.
Dante raised his weapon.
"Stop!"
The figure ran.
Luca pointed.
"He's heading for the archive!"
Dante sprinted after him.
Alessandro pulled Elara toward the stairs.
"No."
She resisted.
"The records."
"We don't know what's inside."
"My father's records are in there."
Alessandro looked at her.
She saw the decision in his face.
He nodded once.
"Stay close."
They reached the archive as the doors burst open.
Flames licked across the edge of a desk.
Papers scattered through the smoke.
Dante emerged from the opposite doorway.
"He's gone."
Luca rushed inside.
"He took something."
"What?" Alessandro asked.
Luca searched the shelves.
"The Vesperi file."
Elara froze.
"The one with my father's name?"
"Yes."
A heavy crash sounded above them.
Alessandro looked up.
Someone was moving across the upper floor.
Dante turned.
"I'll get him."
"No," Alessandro said. "Stay with Elara."
Dante hesitated.
Then nodded.
Elara looked at the burning documents.
One page drifted across the floor and stopped near her shoe.
She bent and picked it up.
Only one sentence remained visible through the smoke.
The Vesperi daughter must never learn who ordered the betrayal.
Her blood went cold.
She looked toward Luca.
He had seen it too.
Then another shadow crossed the doorway.
The intruder was still inside the house.
And now they knew exactly what he wanted.