The car jerked to a halt so suddenly that Aria's shoulder slammed into the door. The screech of tires echoed through the narrow stone street, bouncing off walls that seemed to lean closer with every breath.
Ahead of them, a barricade waited. Armored SUVs lined the road like an iron curtain, engines rumbling low and men spilling out in perfect synchronization. Their headlights glared into the black car's windshield, bleaching Aria's face pale, leaving her blinking against the light.
This wasn't an ambush.
This was theater.
Her heart raced in uneven beats. She felt it in her throat, her ears, her ribs.
The driver muttered a curse, his knuckles bone-white against the steering wheel. Beside her, Lorenzo shifted forward, pistol already in his hand. His face was shadowed but his jaw was locked tight, as if he was calculating exactly how much blood it would cost to break through.
Aria found her voice, though it cracked like glass.
"Don't. If you shoot, they'll slaughter us."
Lorenzo didn't look at her. His eyes were fixed on the wall of men ahead, black suits pressed sharp even in the early dawn, Sebastian's crest gleaming like a brand. His voice was low, iron and ice.
"They'll slaughter us anyway."
From the center of the blockade, one man stepped forward. Tall, broad, his stride confident, rehearsed. He didn't lift his gun. He only raised a single hand, commanding silence without needing to shout.
When he spoke, his voice carried like a blade cutting clean through smoke.
"Mrs. De Luca. Your husband is waiting. Step out of the vehicle, and no more blood needs to be shed tonight."
The title ripped through her.
Mrs. De Luca.
As if it were carved into her bones, as if it owned her, no matter how far she ran.
Lorenzo let out a humorless laugh, dark and sharp.
"Waiting to cage her again? Or bury her alive in silk so no one hears her scream?"
The soldier didn't flinch. His gaze was steady, sharp enough to pin Aria through the windshield.
"Your lies are transparent, Romano. We've seen the footage. You dragged her into your world. You put a weapon in her hands. You made her a criminal." His voice dropped lower, almost gentle. "But it's not too late, madam. Come home, and the city will be spared your husband's wrath."
Aria's stomach twisted. The words were venom wrapped in silk. Come home. The city spared. Her life traded for peace.
Her chest rose and fell too fast. She felt Lorenzo's hand brush hers, quick, grounding, like a tether pulling her back into her body. His voice was for her alone, low enough that the night almost swallowed it.
"Don't listen. They'll say anything to break you."
Her throat tightened. "And what if they're right?"
His eyes cut to hers, dark fire, unrelenting. "They're not."
But the doubt clung to her ribs like smoke. Because wasn't that what all this was? Streets set ablaze. Innocents trapped in a war that wasn't theirs. All because of her.
Her whisper barely escaped.
"Why me, Lorenzo? Why are you risking everything? Am I just… another piece in your game against Sebastian?"
For one heartbeat, the question hung heavy. His jaw tightened, his grip on the pistol flexing. Something raw flickered in his eyes—something unguarded, dangerous, real.
Then he leaned close, his breath warm against her ear, voice rasping with something that wasn't strategy.
"You're the only piece that matters."
Her breath caught.
Outside, the soldier's command thundered again, louder, sharper:
"Madam, step out now. This is your final chance. Choose safety… or chaos."
Every weapon angled toward her. Not Lorenzo. Not the driver. Her.
Her trembling hand found the door handle. Slowly. Hesitant. Was she stepping toward freedom? Or surrender? Or betrayal?
Lorenzo's hand clamped around her wrist. His grip was steel.
"Aria, don't."
She met his eyes, her lips trembling. "I have to end this."
And then,
CRACK!
The rear window shattered. Glass exploded inward, raining sharp against her hair, her skin. The driver jerked forward with a strangled sound, crimson blooming across his shoulder as his head hit the wheel.
For one suspended second, the world froze.
Then chaos broke open.
Gunfire ripped through the air, deafening, merciless. Men shouted. Boots thundered on pavement. The blockade dissolved into screaming engines and tearing bullets.
Her door wrenched open from the outside. Hands grabbed for her arm, pulling.
And the only thought blazing through her head was,
I shouldn't have hesitated.