The Return
922 Words
Chapter One
Serena Valenti had been smiling for the past thirty minutes.
She couldn't help it.
The city outside the car window was familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. The tall buildings, crowded streets, expensive boutiques, and rows of restaurants seemed to awaken memories she had almost forgotten.
She leaned closer to the window, her eyes following everything with childish excitement.
“We're really back,” she said softly.
Her younger sister, Elara, lifted her head from her phone.
“You've said that at least five times.”
Serena turned toward her with a laugh.
“Because I still can't believe it.”
Elara rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
“You're acting like we've been gone for fifty years.”
“It feels like it.”
Their mother laughed from the front passenger seat.
“You were seven when we left, Serena. You probably remember less than you think.”
“I remember enough.”
Serena smiled again as she looked outside.
She remembered the old house.
The enormous garden where she used to chase butterflies.
The summer afternoons she spent playing with Elara.
And most of all, she remembered how happy her family had been.
She had always been a naturally cheerful girl, but growing older had softened some of that childish excitement. At twenty, Serena had become more composed, though her curiosity and warm personality had never disappeared.
Her long dark hair rested over her shoulders, occasionally brushing against her face whenever the wind slipped through the slightly opened window.
She pushed it away and looked at her father.
“Are you sure we're staying this time?”
Her father smiled.
“Of course.”
“For good?”
“For good.”
Serena's eyes brightened.
Their mother turned slightly in her seat.
“We've been away long enough.”
Her father nodded.
“The city has changed. It's peaceful now.”
Serena noticed the certainty in his voice.
“Really?”
“Really.”
He glanced at her through the rearview mirror.
“The things that happened here years ago are finished. The people who caused trouble are gone. There's nothing for us to worry about anymore.”
Serena nodded.
She didn't know much about what had happened before they left.
Whenever she had asked as a child, her parents had changed the subject.
She had eventually stopped asking.
Now, she had no reason to.
If her parents believed they were safe, she believed them.
Besides, the city looked peaceful.
People laughed on sidewalks. Cars moved through the streets. Music drifted from open restaurant doors. Children ran beside their parents.
Nothing looked dangerous.
Nothing looked like a city that had once been controlled by powerful criminal organizations.
Those organizations were supposedly nothing more than history now.
At least, that was what everyone believed.
Elara suddenly leaned forward between the seats.
“Dad, are we close?”
Her father laughed.
“Very close.”
“Good. My legs are dying.”
“You've been sitting for two hours.”
“Exactly.”
Serena laughed.
“You're so dramatic.”
“And you're annoying.”
“I'm your favorite sister.”
“You're my only sister.”
“Exactly.”
Their mother shook her head, laughing as the two girls continued arguing.
For a moment, everything felt perfect.
The Valenti family was together.
They were returning home.
And, after years of living somewhere else, they finally believed they could have the peaceful life they had always wanted.
The car turned onto a quieter road.
Serena immediately recognized the surroundings.
Her eyes widened.
“This is it?”
Her father smiled.
“This is it.”
A pair of enormous gates appeared ahead.
They slowly opened.
Beyond them stood their new home, surrounded by beautiful gardens and tall trees. The house itself was elegant without being overwhelming, with large windows reflecting the afternoon sunlight.
Elara stared through the window.
“Okay.”
Serena looked at her.
“Okay what?”
“I approve.”
Serena burst out laughing.
“You approve?”
“Yes. Very generously.”
Their father shook his head.
The car stopped in front of the house.
Serena stepped out and breathed in deeply.
For the first time in years, she felt like she could finally breathe.
Her mother came beside her and placed an arm around her shoulders.
“Welcome home.”
Serena looked at the house.
Then at her family.
A genuine smile spread across her face.
“It's good to be home.”
None of them knew that their return had already reached the ears of someone who rarely missed anything happening in the city.
Across the city, in a quiet room high above the streets, a phone rang.
A man sitting beside a window picked it up.
He didn't speak.
The caller didn't waste time.
“Lucifer.”
Silence.
“The Valentis are back in town.”
The man's eyes remained fixed on the city.
“The entire family arrived today.”
He slowly lifted the cigarette between his fingers.
A quiet puff.
Smoke escaped his lips, drifting lazily through the air.
For a moment, there was nothing.
Then the corner of his mouth lifted.
A faint smirk.
“Interesting.”
The call ended.
Lucifer lowered the phone.
He took another slow drag from his cigarette and watched the smoke disappear into the darkness.
The Valentis had come home.
And they had no idea that the city they believed had forgotten them...
hadn't forgotten at all.
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