CHAPTER 20 – The Threat Reached Their Door…Again
1180 Words
Elena woke before sunrise.
A strange silence pressed against the walls—too still, too heavy. Normally, the forest beyond the fortress hummed softly with life.
This morning, it felt like the world held its breath.
Matteo still slept beside her, his hand resting protectively over her stomach. His breathing was slow, a little uneven, but peaceful.
Exhaustion clung to him—body recovering from bullets, mind recovering from loss.
She brushed her fingers through his hair and whispered,
“Rest. Just a little longer.”
Quietly, she slipped out of bed, careful not to jostle him.
She needed air.
Needed to clear her mind.
Needed to walk the property and remind herself that the world wasn’t always hunting her.
She stepped outside onto the back terrace, wrapping herself in a blanket against the early morning chill. The forest stretched endlessly—mist rising between the trees, soft light filtering through the leaves.
It looked peaceful.
It wasn’t.
She felt the shift before she heard it.
A crunch of leaves.
A breath.
A shadow.
“Elena.”
She froze.
A man stood ten feet away, emerging from the trees—not Luca, not Jules, not anyone she recognized.
Black clothing.
Gloved hands.
A gun at his hip.
His face covered except for his eyes—cold, merciless, assessing.
She backed up until her spine hit the stone wall.
Matteo’s voice echoed in her head: If anything happens, you protect the baby first.
Her voice scraped out. “Who… who are you?”
He tilted his head. “The one sent to retrieve you.”
Her blood ran cold.
Not kill.
Retrieve.
No.
No, no, no—
“You’re coming with me,” he said calmly, as if discussing the weather.
Elena bolted.
She ran for the nearest door—but the man was faster, grabbing her from behind. His hand clamped over her mouth, muffling her scream.
“Don’t fight,” he hissed into her ear. “We only need the child alive.”
Her vision blurred.
The world narrowed to terror and instinct.
She bit his hand—hard— tasting iron. He cursed, loosening his grip just enough—
Elena shoved her elbow into his ribs, twisted, and stumbled toward the stairs.
But he grabbed her hair, yanking her back with brutal force.
Her scream ripped through the air.
And Matteo woke.
The sound of Elena’s cry cracked through Matteo’s skull like a bullet.
Pain shot through his chest as he surged out of bed—but adrenaline drowned it instantly.
“Elena?”
No answer.
“Elena!”
He grabbed the gun beneath his pillow, stumbling, forcing his half-healed body down the hall and out onto the terrace.
What he saw tore a roar from his throat.
The masked intruder was dragging Elena toward the forest, his arm around her throat, her belly exposed and vulnerable as she kicked and clawed.
Matteo’s vision went red.
“LET HER GO!” he bellowed.
The intruder tightened his grip.
“Come any closer,” he warned, “and the baby dies first.”
Elena cried out, panic twisting her voice. “Matteo—don’t—!”
He aimed the gun with hands that did not shake, despite the tremors coursing through his injured body.
“You chose the wrong family,” Matteo growled.
The man laughed softly.
“Il Corvo wants his heir. He will take her alive. Your death is optional.”
Matteo stepped forward.
“You touch my wife again—” his voice dropped, dark enough to freeze the air,
“—and I will carve your heart out with my bare hands.”
The intruder smirked behind his mask.
“Then shoot, De Luca. If you miss, she dies. If you hit me, she falls. Either way… you lose.”
Elena struggled harder, gasping against his forearm.
“Matteo—help!”
That was all Matteo needed.
Rage exploded through him like wildfire.
He fired—
Not at the man.
At the ground beside his foot.
The intruder flinched, loosening his hold—
Elena twisted away, dropping to her knees.
Matteo lunged forward, ignoring the pain tearing through his side.
The intruder swung his gun toward her—
But Matteo slammed into him with full force, knocking the weapon out of his hand.
They crashed into the dirt, rolling violently.
The intruder grabbed Matteo’s injured side, pushing into the wound. Matteo choked on the pain—but instead of falling, he snapped.
He grabbed the man’s wrist and twisted until bone cracked.
The intruder screamed.
Elena crawled backward, hand protectively covering her stomach.
“Stay back!” Matteo shouted to her. His voice was feral, unrecognizable.
The man reached for a hidden knife.
Matteo grabbed his arm.
There was a sickening snap.
Then silence.
The intruder fell limp—unmoving.
Matteo staggered to his feet, breathing like a man who had outrun death twice. Blood seeped through his shirt again, his stitches torn.
But he didn’t care.
“Elena,” he rasped, stumbling toward her.
“Elena. Tesoro. Are you hurt?”
She rushed to him, arms shaking as she helped him stand.
“Are you hurt?! Matteo—you’re bleeding—again—”
He grabbed her face with both hands, frantic, desperate, scanning her for wounds.
“Did he touch you? Did he hurt the baby? Did he—”
“Matteo, I’m fine—I swear—I’m fine—”
He pulled her into him, crushing her against his chest, breathing her in like oxygen.
“Dio mio,” he whispered into her hair. “I thought— I thought I’d lose you. I thought—”
Her tears spilled onto his shoulder.
He trembled uncontrollably, arms tightening.
“I won’t let anyone take you,” he said, voice breaking. “Not him. Not Il Corvo. Not fate. Not death. No one.”
She cupped his face, forcing him to look at her.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she whispered. “Not without you.”
He kissed her—hard, desperate, shaking—as if needing proof she was alive.
Then voices echoed from the fortress.
Luca.
Jules.
Donatella.
Guns drawn.
“What happened?” Luca demanded, spotting the body.
“They found us,” Matteo said, voice cold and lethal.
“He got inside.”
Donatella’s face went pale. “If one got in—”
“There will be more,” Matteo finished.
He turned back to Elena, pulling her close.
“We’re not safe here,” he said softly.
“We have to move. Now.”
Elena nodded—but a shiver ran through her.
Because if Il Corvo’s men could find this fortress…
Then there was nowhere left in the world they couldn’t reach.
And Matteo knew it too.
He kissed her forehead.
“We go to the last place he’d expect,” he whispered.
Elena swallowed. “Where?”
Matteo’s eyes hardened.
“To the heart of the enemy.”
His grip tightened around her.
“And this time, Elena… we end this.”
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