The Watcher
673 Words
Morning sunlight spilled through the curtains of Alessia Romano’s apartment, casting pale golden light across the living room. The city outside had already awakened—cars moving through traffic, distant horns echoing between buildings, people rushing toward another ordinary day.
But Alessia didn’t feel entirely at ease.
She stood in the kitchen, stirring sugar into her coffee, her thoughts drifting back to the strange man from the café.
She hated that she was still thinking about him.
His face had stayed in her mind far longer than it should have. The calm confidence. The way he spoke like he was used to being obeyed. And that warning…
Be careful walking home tonight.
She shook her head, annoyed with herself.
“Forget it,” she muttered.
Grabbing her bag, she headed out for work.
Across the street, inside a black sedan, two men watched the entrance of her building.
One of them, Luca, lowered his sunglasses slightly.
“There she is.”
His partner glanced up from his phone.
Alessia stepped out onto the sidewalk, adjusting the strap of her bag before heading toward the subway station.
Luca immediately dialed a number.
“She just left her building,” he said once the call connected.
On the other end of the line, Marco listened quietly before replying.
“Follow her. Don’t let her notice.”
The call ended.
The black car slowly pulled away from the curb, keeping a careful distance behind Alessia as she walked.
Inside the towering Moretti estate, Dante Moretti sat at the head of a long table in a private meeting room.
Around him were several of the most powerful men in the city’s underworld—captains, advisors, and enforcers of the Moretti family.
A tense discussion filled the room.
“The Ricci family is pushing into the northern district,” one of the men said. “They’re testing us.”
Another slammed his hand on the table.
“They think we’re weak.”
Dante listened in silence, his fingers tapping slowly against the polished wood surface.
Weak.
The word almost made him smile.
The Ricci family had always been ambitious, but ambition without intelligence usually ended in funerals.
Finally, Dante spoke.
“Let them move,” he said calmly.
The room fell silent.
“They believe they’re gaining ground,” he continued. “But what they’re really doing… is stepping exactly where I want them.”
The men around the table exchanged knowing looks.
This was how Dante worked.
He didn’t react emotionally. He didn’t rush.
He set traps.
And when his enemies realized it—
It was already too late.
Marco entered the room quietly and walked over to Dante’s side.
“She’s on her way to work,” he murmured.
Dante didn’t need to ask who.
For a moment, his attention drifted away from mafia politics… to the woman unknowingly moving through the city.
“Anything unusual?” Dante asked.
“No,” Marco replied. “Just routine.”
Dante nodded slightly.
But something about Alessia Romano continued to hold his interest.
Perhaps it was the contrast.
A woman like her had nothing to do with the violent world he ruled.
And yet…
Their paths had already crossed.
And Dante didn’t believe in accidents.
At that exact moment, Alessia exited the subway near her office building, completely unaware that a pair of watchful eyes followed her from across the street.
Luca leaned against a parked car, pretending to scroll through his phone while keeping her in sight.
“She just arrived at the law firm,” he texted Marco.
Across the city, Dante read the message.
For a brief second, he imagined walking into that office… watching the shock on her face when she saw him again.
The thought amused him.
But patience had always been his greatest weapon.
Dante slipped his phone back into his pocket.
“Soon,” he murmured to himself.
Because sooner or later…
Alessia Romano would step deeper into his world.
And when that happened—
There would be no turning back.
- Writer
