Chapter 6 - The War Began The Moment He Called Her Family
Dominico survived.
But barely.
He was moved to a private hospital under Lucien's protection.
Enzo's son, Silas, declared war.
Ports were attacked.
Warehouses burned.
Money disappeared.
Three men loyal to Lucien were killed within forty-eight hours.
But Lucien refused to let the violence reach Saraphina.
She hated being hidden.
"I can help."
"You already are."
"By sitting here?"
"By staying alive."
She glared at him.
"You said you wouldn't treat me like a child."
"I promised I wouldn't control your choices."
He looked at her.
"But I can still be terrified of losing you."
She went quiet.
That was the first time he had admitted fear.
Saraphina stepped closer.
"You won't lose me."
"I almost did before I even knew your name."
She touched his face.
"Then know it now."
He kissed her.
It wasn't gentle.
It wasn't planned.
It was desperate.
The kind of kiss that came from two people who had spent too long pretending they didn't need each other.
When they separated, Lucien rested his forehead against hers.
"I love you."
Saraphina closed her eyes.
"I love you too."
But their happiness lasted only hours.
A message arrived.
A photograph.
Rosa.
The housekeeper.
Bound in a chair.
Saraphina's face went pale.
"She's alive."
Lucien took the phone.
A message followed.
Bring Saraphina.
Alone.
Lucien's answer was immediate.
"No."
Saraphina looked at him.
"We have to."
"We have to rescue Rosa."
"Yes."
"I'm coming."
"No."
She stared.
"You just said—"
"I'm not sending you to him."
"Then let me choose."
Lucien looked at her.
He realized something.
Saraphina had spent her entire life being told what she was allowed to do.
He wasn't going to become another person who made those decisions.
"All right."
They went together.
The location was an abandoned warehouse.
Rosa was there.
Silas stood behind her.
"You brought him."
Saraphina stepped forward.
"Let her go."
Silas smiled.
"You were always the key."
"I don't have anything you want."
"You have your mother's memory."
He lifted a small device.
"We found footage from the night Matteo died."
Saraphina stared.
"What footage?"
"You."
A screen turned on.
This time the video was clear.
A six-year-old Saraphina stood in the hallway.
She watched a man shoot Matteo.
She watched her mother scream.
Then she heard a voice.
A male voice.
"Where is the evidence?"
The child Saraphina answered.
"In the piano."
Silas stopped the video.
Lucien looked stunned.
"The piano."
Saraphina frowned.
"Our house had an old piano."
Silas smiled.
"Your mother hid the evidence inside it."
Then explosions rocked the warehouse.
Silas's men panicked.
Lucien's security team had arrived.
In the chaos, Saraphina ran toward Rosa.
She cut the ropes.
"Are you hurt?"
Rosa shook her head.
"I'm fine."
Lucien grabbed Saraphina.
"Move."
They escaped.
Back at the estate, Saraphina remembered the piano.
Her father's old house.
The one nobody used.
They went there immediately.
Inside the piano, beneath the wooden frame, they found a metal box.
Inside was a flash drive.
And a letter.
For Saraphina.
"My daughter,
I knew you would eventually find this.
When you do, understand one thing.
The person who betrayed us was never outside the family.
It was someone you trusted.
Someone who watched you grow up.
Someone who believed your memories could be erased.
Look carefully at the people around you.
The truth is closer than you think.
Love, Mother."
Saraphina looked around.
Everyone stood silent.
Then her eyes landed on Eleanor.
No.
Not Eleanor.
Rosa.
Saraphina's face changed.
Rosa began to cry.
"I'm sorry."
Lucien stepped forward.
"How long?"
"Twenty years."
Saraphina couldn't speak.
May you like
Rosa whispered:
"I was forced."
