LOVING MY ENEMY'S SON

CHAPTER 3 - HIDE... NO MATTER WHAT

Loving My Enemy's Son

By Ann E

Chapter 3 – Hide... No Matter What

The Romano mansion burned like a dying kingdom.

Towering flames devoured the grand estate, turning its elegant halls into an inferno. The night sky glowed orange as collapsing beams crashed through the roof, sending showers of sparks into the darkness.

Fresh tears blurred her vision.

"I miss you..." she whispered so softly that even the wind almost stole the words away.

A shadow appeared outside the hedge.

Gabriel.

He had remained nearby ever since she broke down beside her parents. He hadn't interrupted her grief.

Some goodbyes deserved silence.

He looked at the burning mansion before turning back to the little girl .

"Tiara."

She didn't answer.

Her empty eyes never left her parents.

Gabriel slowly crouched several feet away so he wouldn't frighten her.

"Your mother wanted you to live."

Still...

Silence.

After a long moment, Tiara's lips finally moved.

"I don't want to."

Her broken whisper made Gabriel's chest tighten.

He understood.

To a child who had lost everything...

Tomorrow didn't feel like hope.

It felt like punishment.

Before he could speak again, one of his men hurried toward him.

His footsteps stopped abruptly.

"Sir."

Gabriel looked up.

The man's face had gone pale.

"What is it?"

He pointed toward the estate gates.

"Lights."

Gabriel immediately turned.

At first, he saw only smoke.

Then...

Two white headlights pierced through the darkness.

Another pair appeared behind them.

Then another.

A convoy of black SUVs rolled slowly through the broken gates.

Gabriel's expression hardened.

He recognized them instantly.

The killers had returned.

One of his men cursed under his breath.

"They're checking for survivors."

Gabriel's eyes shifted to Tiara.

If they found her now...

Everything her parents had sacrificed would be meaningless.

He raised one hand.

"Positions."

His men disappeared into the darkness without making a sound.

Weapons were quietly drawn.

No one spoke again.

The only sound was the crackling fire.

The SUVs stopped.

Doors opened.

Masked men climbed out one after another.

Their leader stepped onto the scorched driveway and surveyed the burning estate.

His voice was cold.

"Search everything."

The men spread out immediately.

Flashlights swept across the ruined garden.

Across the fountain.

Across the flowerbeds.

Across the trees.

Tiara's breathing became uneven.

She recognized those masks.

Those voices.

Those were the men who had murdered her parents.

She quickly covered her mouth with both hands, terrified that even the sound of her breathing would betray her.

The beam of one flashlight drifted closer.

Closer.

It stopped just beyond the hedge.

Heavy boots crushed flowers as a masked man walked toward her hiding place.

One step.

Then another.

Only a few feet separated them now.

Tiara squeezed her eyes shut.

Please...

Please don't find me...

Nearby, Gabriel's fingers tightened around his pistol.

Every one of his men stood perfectly still, waiting for his command.

If the killers found her...

A gunfight would be unavoidable.

The masked man lifted his flashlight higher.

The bright beam slowly moved toward the hedge.

Another inch...

Another—

"Boss!"

A voice called from the mansion.

"We've searched the west wing! Nothing!"

The masked man paused.

He glanced back toward the burning house.

Then lowered his flashlight.

"Coming."

He turned around and walked away.

Gabriel didn't relax.

Not yet.

The leader stood silently near the fountain, watching the flames consume what remained of the Romano estate.

His eyes narrowed.

"If anyone escaped..."

He slowly holstered his pistol.

"...they won't stay hidden forever."

A chill ran through Gabriel.

This wasn't over.

Not even close.

The killers weren't leaving because they were satisfied.

They were leaving because they believed they had already won.

The leader gave one final glance around the garden.

Then he climbed back into the lead SUV.

One by one, the engines started.

The convoy rolled through the broken gates and disappeared into the darkness.

For several long seconds...

Nobody moved.

Gabriel listened until the sound of the engines completely faded.

Only then did he lower his weapon.

He walked back toward the hedge.

"Tiara."

Slowly, she opened her eyes.

She was still shaking.

Still staring toward the place where her parents lay.

Gabriel's voice softened.

"They're gone."

She didn't answer.

A single tear slipped down her soot-covered cheek.

Gabriel looked toward the burning mansion.

The fire was spreading rapidly.

The roof groaned ominously.

They couldn't stay any longer.

He extended his hand toward her.

"It's time to leave."

Tiara looked at his hand.

Then back at the flames consuming her home.

Her lips trembled.

"...Can I say goodbye?"

Gabriel's heart sank.

He gave a slow nod.

"Yes."

And together...

They stepped out from the hedge.

Gabriel stepped through the hedge and stopped beside Tiara.

"It's time."

For a long moment, she didn't move.

Her tear-filled eyes remained fixed on the two figures lying motionless in the garden.

"My mommy..."

Her voice cracked.

"My daddy..."

Gabriel followed her gaze.

The flames cast a golden glow over Alessandro and Isabella Romano, making them look almost peaceful despite the horror of what had happened.

There was nothing he could say that would ease the pain in the little girl's heart.

So he simply nodded.

"Go."

Tiara ran.

Her small feet stumbled over broken stones as she crossed the garden.

She dropped beside her father first.

"Daddy..."

Her tiny hands shook his shoulder.

"Please wake up..."

Nothing.

She shook him again, harder this time.

"You said we'd go horseback riding tomorrow."

Silence.

Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks.

She crawled to her mother and grabbed her cold hand with both of hers.

"Mom..."

Her voice broke into sobs.

"You promised..."

"You promised you wouldn't leave me."

She buried her face against her mother's chest, crying as though her heart would break into pieces.

Gabriel stood a respectful distance away.

None of his men spoke.

Even the hardened soldiers lowered their eyes.

No child should ever have to say goodbye like this.

After several minutes, Gabriel slowly walked closer.

He knelt beside Tiara.

"We have to go."

She shook her head.

"I don't want to."

"I know."

"I'll stay here with them."

Gabriel closed his eyes briefly.

"If you stay..."

His voice was gentle.

"...the people who killed your parents will come back."

Tiara froze.

"They'll find you."

"They'll hurt you."

"And your parents gave their lives to stop that from happening."

Those words reached her.

She looked at her parents one last time.

Then, with trembling fingers, she kissed her mother's hand.

"I love you, Mommy."

She turned to her father.

"I love you too, Daddy."

"I'll be brave..."

Just like Mommy asked.

Gabriel carefully lifted her into his arms.

This time...

She didn't resist.

She simply rested her head against his shoulder, clutching the little black phone tightly against her chest.

His men opened the SUV door.

As Gabriel placed her inside, Tiara looked through the window.

The Romano mansion continued to burn.

The curtains in her bedroom caught fire.

The balcony where her father used to wave to her every morning disappeared behind thick smoke.

Then...

A deep rumble echoed through the estate.

Everyone looked up.

The weakened roof gave way.

With a thunderous crash, the upper floor collapsed into the raging flames.

The sound echoed across the valley.

Tiara stared without blinking.

Her home...

The only home she had ever known...

Was gone.

A single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Goodbye..."

She whispered so softly that only Gabriel heard her.

"Goodbye, Mommy..."

"Goodbye, Daddy..."

Gabriel quietly closed the SUV door.

The convoy pulled away from the burning estate.

Neither of them looked back again.

---

An hour later...

The convoy entered a heavily guarded estate hidden deep within the mountains.

Massive iron gates opened automatically.

Armed guards saluted as the vehicles passed.

The estate disappeared behind towering pine trees, invisible from the outside world.

Gabriel carried the sleeping Tiara inside.

A doctor was already waiting.

Without saying a word, he examined the bite wound on her hand, cleaned the cuts on her feet, and covered them with fresh bandages.

She never woke.

She never cried.

She only slept, exhausted by grief.

Gabriel stood outside the room, watching through the glass window.

One of his most trusted men approached quietly.

"What happens now, sir?"

Gabriel's eyes never left the sleeping child.

"She can never return."

"The killers believe everyone in the Romano family is dead."

"If they discover she's alive..."

He didn't finish the sentence.

He didn't need to.

The man understood.

Gabriel walked to a nearby table where a file lay waiting.

Across the front were the words:

TIARA ROMANO

He opened it.

Inside were photographs of a smiling little girl with her parents.

Family birthdays.

Vacations.

School awards.

A life stolen in a single night.

Gabriel slowly closed the file.

"The girl called Tiara Romano died tonight."

His men exchanged uneasy glances.

He placed the file inside a locked cabinet.

"From this moment..."

"...the world must never know she survived."

Just then, hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway.

A guard rushed toward them, holding the small black phone.

"Sir."

Gabriel turned.

"We examined the phone."

"It wasn't ordinary."

He removed the back cover and took out the battery.

Something tiny slipped onto the table.

A memory card.

Everyone fell silent.

Gabriel picked it up carefully.

His instincts told him this tiny piece of plastic was worth more than millions.

Perhaps...

It was worth an entire family.

He inserted it into a computer.

The monitor flickered.

One encrypted folder appeared.

Nothing else.

Gabriel frowned.

He clicked on it.

A single title appeared on the screen.

PROJECT BLACK CROWN

The color drained from his face.

He stared at the words in stunned silence.

Then, almost under his breath, he whispered,

"...Dear God."

To be continued...