Chapter 3 - The Traitor Found Them Before Dawn
Leora could hear footsteps.
One by one.
Slow.
Controlled.
The kind of footsteps that belonged to men who expected no resistance.
Leo was beside her in the darkness.
He whispered:
“Don't move.”
She nodded.
A flashlight passed through the broken doorway.
Then another.
“Search everything.”
Samuel's voice.
Leora's stomach turned.
A beam of light crossed the room.
Stopped inches from Leo's shoe.
Leo grabbed her hand.
They moved silently behind a wall.
One guard entered.
He looked around.
Then opened the maintenance closet.
Empty.
Another man entered.
Samuel remained outside.
“Check the basement.”
“There is no basement.”
“Then check the floor.”
Leora understood.
He knew.
They had to move.
Leo pointed toward a broken ventilation shaft.
Too small.
For him.
Not for her.
He whispered:
“You go.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“Leora.”
“No.”
“If they catch you, they won't know who you are.”
“They know me.”
“Then you matter.”
She stared.
He continued.
“They can use you.”
“We stay together.”
He looked at her.
Then nodded.
They crawled through the shaft.
It opened into an old drainage tunnel.
Water reached Leora's ankles.
Leo nearly collapsed.
She supported him.
Behind them, men entered the tunnel.
“Found them!”
They ran.
Well, Leora ran.
Leo stumbled.
She dragged him.
Bullets struck the brick around them.
They reached a locked gate.
Leo looked at it.
“No.”
“What?”
“It doesn't open.”
Leora pulled a hairpin from her pocket.
Leo stared.
“Seriously?”
“My mother taught me.”
“You're full of surprises.”
“I know.”
The lock clicked.
They escaped through the gate.
A forest opened ahead.
They ran until they could no longer hear the men.
By sunrise, they found an abandoned farmhouse.
Leo collapsed.
Leora dragged him inside.
He was burning with fever.
She knew the wound was infected.
She needed antibiotics.
There was a pharmacy in the nearest town.
Too far.
She called from an old landline.
A voice answered.
“Town clinic.”
Leora whispered:
“I need medicine.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Leora Higgins.”
There was a pause.
“Is Leo Moretti with you?”
Leora froze.
“How do you know that?”
The line went dead.
She stared at the phone.
Leo opened his eyes.
“What happened?”
“They know.”
“Who?”
“Everyone.”
He tried to stand.
“Then we leave.”
“You can't.”
“I have to.”
“You'll die.”
He looked at her.
“I'd rather die than get you killed.”
She crouched in front of him.
“Don't say that.”
“Why?”
“Because I already decided you're going to live.”
He looked at her.
Something unspoken passed between them.
Then he whispered:
“You shouldn't care this much.”
“I don't.”
“You do.”
She didn't answer.
He reached for her hand.
She let him.
“Leora.”
“Yes?”
“If I don't make it…”
“Stop.”
“I need you to hear me.”
“No.”
“I need you to know that…”
He struggled for breath.
“That I don't remember the last time someone chose me.”
Her eyes filled.
“You don't get to make me cry.”
He smiled.
“Sorry.”
“You're not.”
“No.”
For a moment, they simply held hands.
Then the farmhouse window shattered.
Gunfire.
Leora pulled Leo down.
Men surrounded the house.
Samuel shouted:
“Leo! It's over!”
Leo looked at Leora.
“Run.”
She shook her head.
“There's another exit.”
They moved through the cellar.
A hidden tunnel connected to an old church.
They emerged behind the cemetery.
Samuel followed.
The chase continued until they reached a stone bridge.
Leo was too weak.
They stopped.
Samuel appeared with four men.
“It's over.”
Leo stood in front of Leora.
“You sold us out.”
Samuel smiled.
“I saved myself.”
“From what?”
“Your father.”
Leo's face hardened.
Samuel continued:
“Your father was going to kill you.”
Leora looked at Leo.
“What?”
Samuel laughed.
“You really didn't know.”
Leo stared.
Samuel pulled a file from his coat.
“Your father signed a death order.”
“For me?”
“Yes.”
Leora felt Leo freeze.
Samuel dropped the papers.
“Read them.”
Leo looked down.
His father's signature.
And his own name.
The evidence seemed real.
Samuel smiled.
“Your father wanted you dead.”
Then he disappeared into the trees.
Leo stood frozen.
Leora stepped beside him.
“Do you believe him?”
He looked at the documents.
“I don't know.”
That was the first time she saw something stronger than fear in his eyes.
Betrayal.
They returned to the farmhouse.
Leo didn't speak.
For hours, he sat staring at the papers.
Finally, Leora asked:
“What happened between you and your father?”
Leo answered quietly.
“He blamed me for my mother's death.”
Leora's heart tightened.
“How?”
“She died protecting me.”
“From what?”
“An assassination attempt.”
He looked at her.
“She stepped in front of the bullet.”
Leora sat beside him.
“And your father blamed you?”
“Yes.”
“That isn't your fault.”
“He never forgave me.”
“What about you?”
“I never forgave myself.”
She touched his hand.
“You were a child.”
“I was twenty.”
“You were still someone's son.”
His eyes filled.
He looked away.
“I don't know what my father wants anymore.”
Leora squeezed his hand.
“Then find out.”
He looked at her.
“How?”
“By surviving.”
Outside, the storm finally ended.
Inside, something else had begun.
Leo Moretti had spent his entire life preparing for betrayal.
He had never prepared for kindness.
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And Leora Higgins had spent hers believing she was insignificant.
Neither knew that by the end of the week, both would have to choose between the families they were born into and the lives they wanted.
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