The next few days blurred into one long ache.
Luiz slept wherever the dark would hide him — empty storage sheds near the docks, benches under the wharf's metal awnings, sometimes even behind the fish market when the night grew cold. Every movement was a reminder of the bruises stitched into his skin. But pain, at least, meant he was still breathing.
He didn't see Evan again. He couldn't. The man had already risked enough for him.
But someone else did find him.
"Didn't think I'd see you crawling around the docks again," a voice said one morning.
Luiz turned sharply. A tall man stood leaning against a post — dark jacket, calloused hands, eyes too tired for his age. Darius.
They'd known each other for years — back when Luiz was still pretending to be the quiet, obedient Valentine son, and Darius was one of the dock workers loading the family's wine shipments.
"You look like hell," Darius said, tossing him a small loaf of bread.
"Feels worse," Luiz muttered, catching it. "You still working for them?"
"Not anymore," Darius said. "Got out before they started digging too deep. Word is, they're cleaning house — anyone who knows too much disappears."
Luiz froze mid-bite. "So it's true then. They're silencing people."
Darius's expression darkened. "They want their empire spotless. And you, kid, are the biggest stain."
Luiz looked down at his trembling hands. "Then I need to disappear for real."
"Where will you go?"
He hesitated, staring toward the skyline where the school's clock tower rose faintly against the dawn. "Back there."
Darius frowned. "School? You've lost your mind."
"It's the only place they won't look first. And I can't live like this forever. If I want to help my brother… I need to stand on my own again."
Darius studied him, then sighed. "You'll need papers, a place, and a name that doesn't ring alarms."
Luiz looked up. "Can you do that?"
"I can try," Darius said. "But you owe me — big."
"Add it to my collection," Luiz said, forcing a smirk.
Three days later, Luiz stood outside the gates of his old academy, a borrowed identity tucked inside his jacket. The buildings loomed white and perfect, like they hadn't watched his world collapse.
He walked through the courtyard quietly, ignoring the stares. The whispers came fast — fragments of rumor and disbelief.
"That's him, right? The Valentine boy.""He came back? After what happened?"
Luiz kept his eyes ahead. The walls felt smaller now — suffocating — but this was his only chance to start over.
The office staff barely looked twice at Darius's forged records. A small donation under a false name helped smooth the process.
By noon, Luiz was sitting in class again, the hum of normal life pressing against him like static. For the first time in weeks, there was no shouting, no bruises, no blood — just the steady rhythm of pages turning.
Across the room, a familiar face lifted her head. Mara — the girl from the party he should never have been at. Her eyes widened slightly, but she didn't speak. Kelvin, his old roommate, sat two rows behind, staring at him with a mixture of shock and caution.
Luiz lowered his gaze. He wasn't ready for either of them yet.
But the silence didn't bring peace.
It brought something else.
A feeling.
Like eyes watching from somewhere he couldn't see.
That night, as he left campus, a car slowed beside him — sleek, black, windows tinted.
It stopped just long enough for a faint voice to slip through the gap in the window.
"Welcome back to the island, Luiz."
Then it was gone, the taillights fading into the rain.
He stood there, pulse hammering, the night pressing heavy against his lungs.
He'd escaped the cage — but the ghosts of the Valentine name had followed.
And this time, they weren't just watching.
They were waiting.