**Lucia's POV**
As soon as Stefano left, I slipped back into the room, my hand already reaching for the drawer by the bed. My chest felt tight, my heart pounding loudly, but my fingers didn’t shake as I pulled it open.
There it was — the tiny black recorder with its red light still blinking, a slight smile spreading across my face as I picked it up. “Got you!”
Every word, every moan, and every sound we made was recorded, sitting quietly in my hand like my own little insurance policy.
He always believed he was in control, but I learned the hard way that nobody gets to control me, not after what I’ve been through and not after everything I survived to get here.
The sudden ring of my phone startled me. I rolled my eyes, already knowing who it was before I even looked at the screen.
Elar
