I was so cruel to her.I punished her for the crime of loving me enough to risk everything. For wanting me so desperately that she created an entire identity just to be close to me. For being brave enough to take what she wanted in a world that told her she had no choices.
And I made her pay for it.
I told myself it was necessary, that she needed to understand the consequences of her deception. That I couldn't forgive her, couldn't trust her, couldn't let myself be vulnerable to someone who'd lied to me so completely.
What she did was wrong… but a part of me has always understood why she did it. I just never wanted to let myself admit it, because that would mean admitting that deep down, even if I’d known she was Giulia… maybe I would have done it anyway.
Maybe I wouldn’t have been strong enough to stop us.
And I love her. I don’t think I stopped loving her, even when I hated her.
And now she's in that warehouse, terrified and alone, and she thinks I hate her. She doesn't know that the thought of losing her is tearing me apart, that I would burn this entire city to theground to get her back. If Alessandro hurts her, I will make him beg for death.
And if I don't get to her in time, she never will.
"Luca."
Romeo's voice cuts through my spiral. I look up to find him watching me with an expression I can't read. "The Castellanos are sending twenty soldiers. DeLucas are sending fifteen. We'll have the warehouse surrounded in two and a half hours, maybe three."
Three hours. The words echo in my head, and something cold settles in my chest.
Three hours is a lifetime when you're in a warehouse with a man who feels humiliated and wants revenge. Three hours is enough time for Alessandro to get frustrated and decide that killing Giulia is worth more than whatever concessions he might get from Dante. Three hours is enough time for her stress to spike, for the baby's heart rate to become dangerous, for something to go catastrophically wrong.
Three hours is too long.
My phone rings.Unknown number.I answer it on the first ring.
"Luca Moretti." Alessandro's voice is smooth and pleasant, like we're old friends catching up. "I hope you're having a productive evening."
Every muscle in my body goes rigid. Romeo's eyes snap to mine, and he immediately starts signaling to the tech team to trace the call.
"Where is she?" My voice is flat and deadly.
"Your wife? She's with me. Safe and sound. For now." There's a pause, and I can hear background noise—the echo of a large space, the murmur of voices. "She's very beautiful, Luca. I can see why you couldn't resist. Even pregnant, she's stunning."
The possessiveness in his voice makes me want to reach through the phone and rip his throat out. "If you hurt her?—"
"You'll what? Kill me? I'm looking forward to seeing you try. But first, we're going to have a conversation about what it costs to disrespect the Marchesi family."
Dante is beside me now, his hand out for the phone. I put it on speaker instead.
"Alessandro." Dante's voice is calm, controlled. "Let's discuss this like reasonable men."
"Reasonable?" Alessandro laughs, and there's an edge to it that makes my skin crawl. "There's nothing reasonable about what your family did to mine. You rejected our alliance. You made it clear we weren't good enough for your precious daughter. And then you killed twelve of our people in coordinated strikes while your daughter played the perfect wife at a charity gala."
"Business," Dante says simply. "Nothing personal."
"Everything is personal." The pleasant tone is gone now, replaced by something harder. "You want your daughter back? Do you want your grandchild to be born? Then you're going to give me what I'm owed. And above all else, you’re going to send Luca Moretti to me."
The line goes dead. For a moment, no one moves or speaks. Then Dante turns to his tech team. "Did we get a location?"
"Confirmed. Same warehouse the informant identified. He's not even trying to hide."
"Because he doesn't need to," Romeo says grimly. "He’s counting on the idea that we can't assault the place without risking Giulia. He's got her as a shield."
"There is no other way." My voice sounds distant, disconnected. "He wants me. That's the price."
"Fuck that." Romeo steps between Dante and me. "We're not sacrificing you. We'll get the allies in position, we'll coordinate the assault, we'll extract her before?—"
