Adriana's POV
My heart stopped.
The gun...
It was pointed at me.
For a second, everything around me disappeared.
The voices.
The footsteps.
The guards.
Even my own breathing.
Only the dark barrel of the pistol existed.
And the stranger behind it.
His face was hidden beneath a black mask.
Only his eyes were visible.
Cold.
Patient.
As if he had waited years for this exact moment.
"Adriana!"
Alessio's voice ripped through the silence.
Before I could even blink, his arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me behind him.
"No!" I shouted.
He ignored me.
He always ignored danger when it came to me.
The masked man tilted his head slightly.
Almost....almost like he was amused.
Then—
Bang!
The gunshot echoed through the hallway.
The marble walls trembled with the sound.
One of Alessio's guards collapsed beside us, blood spreading beneath him.
"He missed..." someone whispered.
"No," Alessio growled.
"He never intended to kill him."
His body was tense in front of mine.
A shield.
Always a shield.
The masked man lowered his weapon just enough for me to notice something.
He wasn't rushing.
He wasn't frightened.
He was studying us.
Studying me.
Why?
Who was he?
Our guards opened fire.
Bullets slammed into the walls.
Glass shattered.
But the stranger had already disappeared behind the hidden door.
"Damn it!"
Luca cursed before leading several men after him.
"Move!"
Their footsteps echoed through the corridor before fading into silence.
Everything became strangely quiet.
Too quiet.
I slowly stepped away from Alessio.
"I'm fine."
He turned so quickly that his eyes locked onto mine.
"You call this fine?"
"I'm alive."
"Barely."
His jaw tightened.
Then his hands grabbed my shoulders.
He looked me over from head to toe.
Checking for injuries.
Checking for blood.
Checking if I'd lied.
"I said I'm okay," I whispered.
His breathing was uneven.
"You don't understand what almost happened."
"I do."
"No."
His voice broke.
"You don't."
His forehead rested against mine.
"If I had lost you..."
He couldn't finish.
I felt my chest tighten.
This man...
The most feared Don in Italy...
Couldn't even say the words.
I slowly placed my hand against his cheek.
"I'm still here."
His eyes closed.
For just one second.
Like hearing those words gave him permission to breathe again.
"I promised I'd never leave you," I whispered.
"And I keep my promises."
He opened his eyes.
"You'd better."
A tiny smile escaped me.
"You sound like you're threatening me."
"I am."
Despite everything...
Despite the blood on the floor...
Despite the dead guard...
He made me laugh.
He sighed softly before pulling me into his arms.
This hug was different.
Not possessive.
Not desperate.
Just...
Relief.
I buried my face against his chest.
His heartbeat was racing.
Mine matched it.
"I was terrified," he admitted quietly.
I looked up.
"You?"
"I fear nothing."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"Except losing you."
Those five words shattered every wall around my heart.
I wrapped my arms around him tighter.
"I love you."
The confession escaped before I could stop it.
Silence.
Complete silence.
His body froze.
I could hear my own heartbeat pounding in my ears.
Maybe I had spoken too soon.
Maybe—
He lifted my chin gently.
His grey eyes softened in a way I'd never seen before.
"You have no idea..."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"...how long I've wanted to hear those words."
His lips brushed my forehead.
"I love you too, Adriana."
Not as his wife.
Not as his responsibility.
Not as the girl who had been handed to him to repay a debt.
Just...
Adriana.
Tears burned my eyes before I could stop them.
He smiled softly.
"Why are you crying?"
"I hate emotional moments."
He chuckled.
"Liar."
"I am."
He kissed the corner of my eye, catching a tear before it could fall.
A sudden ringtone interrupted us.
The warmth disappeared instantly.
Alessio answered.
"What?"
His expression darkened.
"When?"
...
"Seal every exit."
...
"Nobody leaves the estate."
He ended the call.
"What happened?" I asked.
"They searched the hidden passage."
"And?"
"They found nothing."
I frowned.
"He vanished?"
"No."
Alessio looked toward the hidden door.
"They found something much worse."
He held out his hand.
Resting in his palm...
...was a silver coin.
Old.
Heavy.
Its surface carried an unfamiliar crest—a crowned serpent wrapped around a dagger.
"I've never seen that symbol before," I whispered.
Alessio's face had gone pale.
"You know it?"
He nodded once.
"I hoped I'd never see it again."
"Tell me."
He remained silent for several seconds.
Finally...
"My grandfather told me about them when I was a child."
"Them?"
He looked directly into my eyes.
"They're not a family."
"They're not a cartel."
"They don't fight for territory."
I swallowed hard.
"Then who are they?"
His voice turned dangerously quiet.
"They destroy mafia empires from the shadows."
"They wait."
"They watch."
"And when they finally make their move..."
He closed his fist around the coin.
"...they leave no survivors."
A cold shiver raced down my spine.
The silence stretched between us.
No one spoke.
Even the guards who remained alive looked unsettled, exchanging uneasy glances.
One of them finally cleared his throat.
"Don..."
Alessio didn't look away from the coin.
"What?"
"The surveillance cameras."
His eyes narrowed.
"What about them?"
"We checked every recording from the last twenty minutes."
"And?"
The guard swallowed.
"There isn't a single frame showing the masked man entering the estate."
A chill crawled down my spine.
"That's impossible," I whispered.
"We thought the same, Mrs. De Luca."
He handed Alessio a tablet.
I stepped closer.
The footage showed the hallway exactly as I remembered it.
The guards.
The hidden door.
Me.
Alessio.
Everything...
Except the masked man.
The hidden door slowly opened by itself.
The guards reacted.
I reacted.
Even Alessio turned toward it.
But on the screen...
No one came out.
It looked as if all of us were staring at empty air.
I felt the blood drain from my face.
"I saw him," I breathed.
"I know I did."
Alessio's fingers intertwined with mine immediately.
"I believe you."
"There has to be an explanation."
"There will be."
His voice was calm, but I knew him well enough to hear the anger buried underneath.
He looked at Luca.
"Search every inch of this estate again."
"Even the underground tunnels?"
"Especially the underground tunnels."
Luca nodded once.
"It'll be done."
As everyone hurried to obey, Alessio gently squeezed my hand.
"They wanted us frightened," he murmured.
I looked up at him.
"They've succeeded."
He shook his head.
"No..."
His gaze hardened with the quiet fury of a man preparing for war.
"They've made one mistake."
"What?"
A dangerous smile touched his lips.
"They threatened what's mine."
For a moment, the room felt colder.
Not because of the stranger...
But because I knew that look.
Someone had declared war on the De Luca family.
And Alessio De Luca never lost a war.
Suddenly...
I understood why the masked man hadn't shot Alessio.
Or the guards.
He wanted me.
Not because I was weak.
Because I was the fastest way to destroy the most powerful man in Italy.
And somehow...
I had the terrifying feeling...
That this was only the beginning.