CHAPTER 11: LINES IN THE ASHES
1953 Words
Mia’s fingers hovered over the screen, heart hammering in her chest.
Julian DeMarco wasn’t the type to panic. Calculated, composed, and as cold as the courtrooms he ruled—if he was messaging her out of the blue, it wasn’t just urgent. It was dangerous.
She took a breath and called.
He picked up on the first ring.
“Mia,” he said. No pleasantries, no hesitation.
“You need to get away from Salvatore Ricci. Now.”
Her spine stiffened. “Julian, what the hell are you talking about?”
“There’s a sealed indictment coming down. Federal. Multiple RICO counts. They’re naming everyone in his inner circle—including you.”
Her mouth went dry. “That’s not possible.”
“It is. And it’s happening fast. Your name’s on a draft list because of a financial transfer linked to his offshore holding in Malta. You didn’t think sleeping with him would stay off the books, did you?”
She staggered back a step, phone trembling in her grip.
“I didn’t... that transfer wasn’t me. I never touched his accounts.”
“No, but your digital signature did. Which means someone’s framing you. Or worse—he knew this would happen and didn’t stop it.”
Her thoughts spun like a hurricane. This couldn’t be real. Salvatore wouldn’t—
Except he would. If it meant keeping control. If it meant winning the game.
“I have to go,” she said tightly.
“Mia.” Julian’s voice softened.
“I’m trying to help you. Don’t let whatever this is between you and him burn you to the ground.”
But she was already ending the call, already reaching for her keys. Her heart was a war drum in her chest.
If Salvatore betrayed her…
No. She couldn’t believe it. Not yet.
But she had to know.
***
Mia’s heart pounded as she paced through the penthouse, unable to shake the words Julian had delivered. The weight of betrayal pressed down on her chest, each breath a struggle. She had trusted Salvatore. With her body. With her mind. But now, doubt slithered through her veins like poison, slow and insidious.
She grabbed her purse, the familiar weight of her phone and the glass shards of her carefully constructed walls. The question wasn’t whether she was going to leave. The question was how.
Would she confront him, or would she run?
She couldn’t just leave. Not when she was this close. The need to know—to understand—was a hunger inside her she couldn’t ignore.
Her mind raced as she made her way to the door. Then, without thinking, she turned toward his office instead.
***
Salvatore’s office was sleek, modern—much like him. Expensive, immaculate, and hiding secrets beneath layers of sophistication. It was the perfect mask for a man who knew how to manipulate every inch of his life, to bend things to his will.
Mia stood in the doorway, the weight of her decision anchoring her to the spot.
She wasn’t some naïve woman. She was a lawyer. A prosecutor. She knew how to dig. But had Salvatore known that she would one day question him? Had he set this trap for her from the very start?
The thought made her stomach churn.
The desk gleamed, reflecting the soft light from the floor-to-ceiling windows. The one place he never let anyone into, the one place he protected more fiercely than anything.
With a surge of determination, Mia walked toward the desk. Her fingers grazed the edge of the polished wood before moving toward the drawers.
Her heart thundered in her chest, anticipation and fear battling for dominance.
The first drawer yielded nothing but paperwork, neatly stacked—nothing of consequence. But the second drawer was different. Locked.
Her breath caught, but she didn’t hesitate. Mia had spent years breaking down walls—literal and figurative—and this one was no different.
She pulled a small tool from her bag, worked the lock with practiced precision, and the drawer opened with a soft click. Inside, there were stacks of documents, binders, and a slim black folder that didn’t belong. She pulled it out, her pulse racing as she flipped it open.
It was a financial statement—something about a wire transfer. And beneath it, a list of names. Mia’s own was circled in red ink, linked to an account in Malta. But what struck her more than the names was the document attached—a confirmation of an offshore bank transaction.
She swallowed hard. This wasn’t just a misunderstanding. This wasn’t a mistake. This was deliberate.
Her fingers trembled as she scanned the paper. Salvatore had known. And the thought of him—of how easily he’d manipulated her—sickened her.
She backed away from the desk slowly, the document still clutched in her hand.
***
Suddenly, the door behind her clicked open, and Mia froze. The unmistakable sound of Salvatore’s footsteps echoed in the hallway. He had arrived.
Her heart sank. She couldn’t run. Not now.
She turned to face him, clutching the evidence like a weapon.
His eyes went from cold to burning with something else—something darker as he took in the sight of the papers in her hand.
“You shouldn’t have looked,” he said softly, his voice like velvet over steel. But there was no warmth in it now.
Mia didn’t back down. “You set me up.”
He took a step forward, his shadow falling over her.
“It’s not what you think.”
But the words felt hollow. She knew him too well now. This was the man who’d destroyed everyone in his path—how could she believe him now?
She stepped back, eyes never leaving his, the truth clawing at her throat.
“Then explain it. Explain why my name is on this transfer. Explain why you let me dig this deep.”
Salvatore’s eyes darkened, the mask slipping.
“You’ve got it wrong,” he said, his voice low and strained.
“I never meant for you to get involved in this way. But you were always going to be a part of it, Mia. You have no idea how deep this goes.”
Mia’s heart hammered in her chest, but her resolve hardened.
“Don’t lie to me. You used me. You manipulated me into this world—and now you expect me to sit back and let it all unfold?”
She took a step forward, holding the papers out to him, the weight of betrayal heavy in her eyes.
“You could have trusted me. You could have told me the truth. Instead, you kept me in the dark, playing your games.”
Salvatore’s jaw clenched. He reached out to take the papers from her hand, but Mia pulled them away, not allowing him the satisfaction of taking control of the situation.
“I never wanted to pull you in this deep,” Salvatore said, his voice barely above a whisper, filled with a strange, tortured honesty.
“But the moment I saw you, I knew you’d be part of this. You were always going to be a pawn, Mia. I just... I didn’t expect to fall for you.”
His words hung in the air between them, an admission that cut through the thick tension like a knife.
Mia stared at him, her breath caught in her throat. He fell for me? The thought twisted something deep inside her. She couldn’t reconcile the man who’d used her with the one who’d just admitted something so raw, so vulnerable.
“You fell for me?” she repeated, her voice barely more than a whisper. Her pulse was erratic, her emotions a tangled mess.
“Yes,” Salvatore said, his eyes locking with hers, the darkness within them still burning, but with something else—regret? Vulnerability?
Mia took a step back, the overwhelming weight of the moment crashing down on her.
“You played me,” she spat.
“I wasn’t your pawn, Salvatore. I was me—I was someone you could have trusted. Someone who could have helped you, but you chose to hide behind this damn empire you’ve built.”
He shook his head, running a hand through his hair in frustration.
“You think I wanted this life for you? I never wanted you to be part of this game. But there’s no way out. There never has been. And when you walked in here, when you started to uncover everything, I knew I couldn’t let you go. Not without pulling you in even deeper.”
Mia’s hands trembled, her thoughts spiraling as she grappled with his confession. She had never expected this. She had never thought that he, of all people, would have the decency to be vulnerable with her. But what did that even mean? Did it change anything?
Could she even trust him?
Her head ached with the confusion. Her body screamed for release, for the tension to break, but it was only getting tighter, more unbearable.
“Tell me the truth, Salvatore,” she demanded, her voice shaking.
“What’s your endgame? What do you want from me?”
Salvatore’s eyes softened for a fraction of a second, then hardened once more.
“I want you to be with me. I want you to stand beside me when this is all over. Because whether you like it or not, Mia, you’re a part of this now. And there’s no going back.”
Her breath caught in her throat as the enormity of his words hit her. She was a part of this. And she could no longer pretend she wasn’t.
Mia’s mind reeled. She had never been a passive player in her life. She’d always been the one pulling the strings. But now, standing in front of Salvatore, she realized just how tightly the ropes of fate had pulled around her.
She had a choice, but it didn’t feel like one. Could she walk away from him? Could she even try to escape the pull between them?
“Then why are you still lying to me?” Mia’s voice wavered, but her anger was clear, cutting through the layers of confusion.
“Why don’t you tell me what you really want?”
Salvatore stepped closer, his presence consuming the space between them. His voice dropped to a whisper, thick with intensity.
“I want you, Mia. All of you. I want to break down every wall you’ve built and make you see what I see. What we could have.”
Mia stood frozen, her mind swirling. The dangerous truth hung in the air, wrapping around her like a storm. She knew now that there was no walking away from this. No simple escape. Salvatore had never been just a man—he was a force, an overwhelming tide that was slowly pulling her in.
But did she want to be swept away?
She couldn’t answer that question yet. Not with the storm still brewing in her heart. Not when she felt both betrayed and trapped, yet oddly... drawn to him.
“Why?” she whispered, her voice shaking with something raw—something that scared her.
“Why me, Salvatore?”
“Because you’re the one I’ve always been searching for,” he said, his eyes never leaving hers.
“I didn’t know it at first. But I do now.”
Mia stood in the silence that followed, her heart caught between anger, desire, and fear. The truth was right in front of her, raw and undeniable.
She had to decide. And the weight of that decision would change everything.
- Writer
