Everyone sighed the moment she walked in.
Not softly. Not politely.
Like people who already regretted the next ten minutes of their life.
She noticed, of course and laughed.
"Oh wow," she said cheerfully, dropping her bag on the table. "Is this my fan club or did I miss something?"
Her friends exchanged looks.
She immediately started talking to a random group near the window, laughing too loudly, gesturing too much, telling stories nobody asked for.
One of her friends leaned closer to another and muttered,
"Oh my God, she really isn't our friend."
The girl in question didn't care.
She never did.
She was the kind of girl whose energy never ran out. Who talked to strangers like old friends. Who filled silence because she hated it. Who smiled even when her world was quietly falling apart.
Daughter of a businessman.
A businessman whose name was now crawling across news headlines with words like bankrupt and arrested.
Still she smiled.
Later that evening, she waited outside campus like always.
Phone in hand. Earphones in. Mind elsewhere.
Her father's driver was late.
After a few minutes, a familiar black car stopped in front of her.
She barely looked up as she opened the door and got in, still scrolling.
"Traffic today is crazy, huh?" she said casually.
Silence.
Something felt… off.
She finally looked up.
And froze.
This wasn't her driver.
The man in the front seat wore a dark coat, sharp posture, and glasses that hid nothing about the danger in his eyes.
Her phone slipped slightly in her hand.
"Oh," she said slowly. "You're not"
"I know," the man replied calmly.
Her heart skipped.
The name hit her mind like a warning siren.
Lorenzo Moretti.
Thirty-five. Businessman to the world. Criminal to those who knew better.
The man her father owed money to.
The man who shouldn't even know she existed.
She stared at him for a second longer.
Then
She laughed.
"Ew," she said, wrinkling her nose. "You look so bad with those glasses."
The car went dead silent.
Lorenzo glanced at her through the rearview mirror. His stare could've cut steel.
She tilted her head, completely unbothered. "What? I'm just saying. You look way scarier without them. These make you look like someone's grumpy uncle."
His jaw tightened.
She immediately leaned back, changing the topic like nothing happened.
"You know," she continued cheerfully, "this reminds me of my ex. He was super possessive. Like, super annoying. He kept calling me non-stop and I was like"
"SHUT UP."
The shout exploded inside the car.
Lorenzo slammed his fist against the steering wheel.
The girl went quiet.
For exactly three seconds.
"Ups" she said lightly.
Then she continued.
"So anyway, he kept calling and calling and I blocked him but then he started using his friend's phone and I swear"
Lorenzo gritted his teeth.
Oh my God, he thought.
This girl isn't scared at all.
He glanced at her again in the mirror. She was smiling, talking to herself, waving her hands like this was a road trip and not a mistake.
Why am I bothering with this? he thought darkly.
I should've sent my men.
She leaned forward slightly. "Also, can I say something? Kidnapping someone right after campus? Very dramatic. But maybe work on the silence part. It's awkward."
His eye twitched.
She kept talking.
Laughing.
Living.
" SHUT up...just shut up" he said with anger
And for the first time since this entire mess began, Lorenzo Moretti realized something unsettling...
This wasn't going to be easy.