Chapter Five—The Assignment
1162 Words
Eight years had flown by like a blur.
From the ashes of a m******e, I’d built a new life, Aria Costa, cybersecurity expert, top of my career, proud mom of twins… and still haunted by a name I refused to speak.
That morning started like most others with chaos and cereal.
“Luca, no! Don’t microwave your juice!” I shrieked, lunging for the appliance as my seven-year-old grinned, wild curls flopping over his mischievous eyes.
“It’s an experiment, Mommy!” he giggled.
Beside him, his sister Liana rolled her eyes, already dressed for school in her tiny NASA hoodie. “He thinks he’s a scientist. He’s not. He’s just weird.”
“Hey!” Luca protested.
“Enough,” I sighed, trying not to laugh as I set the table. “Finish your breakfast, or we’ll be late. And no microwaving anything with eyes.”
They cracked up. And for a moment, I let myself breathe, let the laughter of my miracle babies wash over me. They were the best thing that had ever happened to me. Even after all the pain, they were worth it.
After the chaotic breakfast, we packed lunches, found mismatched socks, and battled over whose turn it was to sit in the front seat. Just a normal morning. Until I reached the office.
Mira, my boss’s assistant, greeted me with a weirdly tight smile. “She wants to see you. Right now.”
I blinked. “Everything okay?”
“She didn’t sound mad. But she didn’t sound not mad either.”
Noted.
I walked into Elena Davis’s sleek glass office, minimalist, clinical, and intimidating. She was the kind of boss who never repeated herself and always smelled like lavender and bloodlust.
I straightened my blazer and stepped in. She didn’t even look up. “Close the door.”
“Sit.”
I did, already bracing.
Never a good sign.
“Everything alright?” I asked.
She finally looked at me. “You’re going to Italy.”
I blinked. “Sorry, what?”
“You’ve been assigned to lead the international defense integration for Gallo Tech. Their servers were breached last week. Big hit. They requested our best.”
My mouth felt dry. “That’s not a casual breach.”
“Nope. That’s why you’re going.” She tapped her keyboard, flipping the screen around. “They’re offering triple your current rate. Lodging, driver, and full tech access. You’ll be stationed in Florence. Six weeks. Maybe more.”
Italy.
Triple?
I blinked. “That’s… generous, but… Italy?”
“We already sent out files of our top experts, and they asked for you. By name.”
My heart dropped into my stomach.
“Which company did you say again?” I asked, throat tight.
“Gallo Tech company, CEO: Dominic Gallo.”
There it was.
That name. That knife.
Blood roared in my ears. “I…I can’t go to Italy.”
Elena blinked. “What?”
“I’m sorry. I appreciate the opportunity, but I can’t accept it.”
Her expression changed in an instant. “You signed a global mobility clause, Aria. This isn’t a request. It’s an assignment. And if you refuse, your contract will be terminated immediately.”
My stomach twisted. “You can’t be serious.”
She slid a document toward me. “Page four, section three. Read it.”
I didn’t have to. I remembered signing it years ago, when I was desperate and tired and needed stability for my kids.
“Look,” she said, her tone softening just enough. “You’ll be set up in private housing. Top-rated international school options for the twins. We’ll even fly your nanny or sitter over.”
“I don’t have a nanny.”
“Then bring whoever helps you. You’ll have full support. But this is happening.”
I walked out of her office in a fog, her words ringing like a gavel.
Terminate your contract.
Start over.
I’d spent years climbing out of the wreckage. I couldn’t go back to scrubbing code for scraps and working late-night freelance jobs while worrying about rent and asthma meds. Not again.
But Italy? Dominic?
That was a past I’d buried under concrete.
That night, as I tucked the twins into bed, Liana yawned and wrapped her arms around me. “Mommy, you’re quiet today.”
“Just tired, baby.”
“Did something bad happen?”
I smiled and kissed her forehead. “Not yet.”
I sat beside Luca’s bed, brushing the hair from his forehead. “You know I love you, right?”
He nodded. “Even when I microwave stuff.”
“Especially then,” I whispered.
When they drifted off, I stood by the window, staring out at the lights of the city that had given me refuge.
I had survived once. I could do it again.
But what if going back meant facing the one man who’d destroyed everything?
Or worse, what if he discovered what I’d been hiding all along?
I picked up my phone and called the one person I could trust.
“Aria?” Lila’s voice was groggy. “Is everything okay?”
“I need a favor,” I whispered. “A big one.”
“…How big?”
“I’m coming back to Italy. For six months. I have to take an assignment there. I can’t leave the twins behind.”
Silence.
Then “Italy? Italy?! Is everything alright? I hope it's not what I’m thinking, Aria.” she asked.
“Revenge or answers are the last things on my mind right now. I need answers, but right now my children come first.
“It’s about my job and my children’s future.”
“So what do you need?” she asked.
“I need help with the twins.”
“This shouldn’t be a discussion, Aria. Of course I will love to take care of my cutie pies,” she reassured.
“I won’t want their identity exposed, Lila.”
Lila sighed. “I assume this has something to do with the ‘unmentionable billionaire you slept with and never saw again but secretly had babies with’?”
“You’re enjoying this.”
“A little.”
I let out a breath. “Thank you, Lila, for everything. It won’t have been easy without you.”
“I know.”
By morning, I’d made the call.
Rachel’s voice was cool when I told her. “So you’ll accept the assignment?”
“Yes. You said my kids would be comfortable.”
“Yes, that’s part of the contract.”
“We are good then.”
Because if I was walking into a storm, I was walking in prepared.
And if Dominic Gallo was still the man I remembered, then I needed every defense, firewalls, backup plans, and two wide-eyed witnesses who would unknowingly challenge the most powerful man in Italy.
They were his, after all.
Even if he didn’t know it yet.
- Writer
