Chapter Four: The Last Wish
773 Words
The photograph slipped from Ariana's trembling fingers.
It landed on the wet grass beside the open briefcase.
She barely noticed.
Her eyes remained locked on the six men smiling into the camera as if they were lifelong friends.
Her father.
A younger Lucien.
And four faces violently crossed out with red ink.
Only one of us survived.
"What does this mean?" she whispered again.
Lucien picked up the photograph carefully.
His thumb brushed over Marco Moretti's face before he slipped it back into the envelope.
"It means your father was keeping a secret."
"My father never kept secrets from me."
The elderly consigliere sighed.
"Every parent says they'll tell their child everything."
He looked directly at Ariana.
"Then life gives them a reason not to."
"I don't believe you."
"You don't have to."
The old man tapped the briefcase with his cane.
"But that doesn't change what's inside."
Ariana's breathing became uneven.
"I want answers."
"You deserve them," Lucien replied.
"But not here."
She laughed bitterly.
"You've been saying that since you arrived."
"Because this cemetery is no longer safe."
As if on cue, another one of Lucien's men rushed toward them.
"Boss."
Lucien turned immediately.
"What is it?"
"We searched one of the dead attackers."
"And?"
The guard handed him a silver coin.
A black serpent was engraved on one side.
Lucien's expression hardened.
"The Vesper Syndicate."
The consigliere cursed under his breath.
"They're involved already?"
Lucien nodded once.
"They're moving faster than expected."
Ariana folded her arms.
"Would someone please explain what any of that means?"
Lucien slipped the coin into his pocket.
"It means the people hunting you aren't ordinary criminals."
"They're an international syndicate."
"They don't leave witnesses."
"They don't negotiate."
"And once they choose a target..."
"They never stop."
A chill spread through Ariana's body.
She wanted to dismiss everything he said as another lie.
But too many people had died today.
Her father.
Mr. Romano.
The men lying motionless across the cemetery.
Someone wanted her dead.
That much was undeniable.
Lucien extended his hand toward her.
"Come with me."
She stared at it.
"No."
His hand remained where it was.
"If you leave with me, you'll live."
"If I don't?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at the fresh grave where her father had just been buried.
Then he quietly said,
"Your father didn't die protecting you for nothing."
Those words struck deeper than she expected.
Before she could respond, her phone vibrated inside her handbag.
She frowned.
The screen displayed an unknown number.
She answered cautiously.
"Hello?"
Silence.
Then...
A distorted male voice.
"You should have died with your father."
Her heart stopped.
The caller continued.
"Tell De Luca he can't hide you forever."
The line went dead.
Ariana stood frozen.
Lucien noticed the color drain from her face.
"What happened?"
She slowly lowered the phone.
"They..."
Her voice shook.
"They know I'm with you."
Lucien gently took the phone from her hand.
His eyes narrowed at the unknown number.
"They're getting bold."
The consigliere looked toward the cemetery gates.
"No."
"They're sending a message."
Lucien nodded.
"And I'm about to send one back."
He handed the phone to one of his guards.
"Trace every call made to this number."
"Yes, Boss."
The guard disappeared immediately.
Ariana took a slow step backward.
Everything was happening too fast.
Her father was dead.
Strangers were trying to kill her.
A mafia boss claimed to know everything about her life.
None of it made sense.
Lucien walked toward her.
His voice softened for the first time.
"I know you're afraid."
"I'm not afraid of you."
"No."
He gave a faint nod.
"You're afraid of the truth."
She looked away.
Because he was right.
She wasn't ready to discover that the man who had raised her might have lived an entirely different life.
Lucien reached inside his coat.
For a split second, Ariana stiffened.
Instead of a weapon...
He pulled out a folded document.
Its edges were worn with age.
Across the top, in bold letters, were the words:
LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF MARCO MORETTI
Lucien held it out to her.
"Your father left something else."
She reached for it with shaking hands.
Before she could unfold the first page...
A single sentence caught her eye.
It was written in her father's unmistakable handwriting.
"If you are reading this, Ariana... it means I failed to keep my greatest promise."
Her vision blurred with tears.
Lucien watched her silently.
He knew what came next.
Because he had already read the rest.
And hidden inside that will...
...was the truth about the arranged marriage that would change Ariana's life forever.
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