Chapter 2 — The Moretti Estate
1707 Words
Serena stared at Dante as though he had just spoken another language.
"You're coming with me."
Those four words echoed in her head.
She pulled her wrist away from him.
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
Dante's expression didn't change.
"You don't have a choice."
"I do."
"No, Serena. You don't."
She hated how calmly he said it.
As if her entire world hadn't just collapsed.
As if her father wasn't dead.
As if she hadn't just watched a symbol appear beneath her skin.
Her mother stepped forward.
"Serena..."
Serena turned toward her.
"Mom, tell him to leave."
Her mother looked away.
That hurt more than anything Dante had said.
"Mom?"
Her mother's eyes filled with tears.
"I can't."
Serena's chest tightened.
"You can't?"
"There are things you don't understand."
"Then explain them!"
Her voice broke.
"You've been hiding this from me my entire life."
"I was protecting you."
"From what?"
Her mother looked toward Dante.
"From them."
Serena followed her gaze.
Dante stood near the broken doorway, surrounded by men who looked like they belonged in a war rather than a family home.
"Who are they?"
"My family."
Serena frowned.
"Your family?"
Dante nodded.
"The Morettis."
She looked around.
"Why would your family care about mine?"
Dante's answer was immediate.
"They don't."
He looked at her.
"They care about the blood pact."
Serena swallowed.
"Then explain it."
Dante was silent.
Her mother finally spoke.
"Years ago, before either of our families became what they are now, the Vales and Morettis made an agreement."
"An agreement?"
"A blood pact."
Serena looked at her palm.
"The symbol?"
Her mother nodded.
"Your grandmother carried it."
Serena stared at her.
"My grandmother?"
"Yes."
"And you?"
Her mother hesitated.
"I was never awakened."
"What does that mean?"
Dante answered.
"The bloodline doesn't awaken in everyone."
Serena looked at him.
"Then why did mine?"
"Because you're the final heir."
The words made her stomach twist.
"Final heir to what?"
Dante stepped closer.
"Something your family has spent generations protecting."
"What?"
He didn't answer.
Serena's frustration boiled over.
"You keep saying things like that and expecting me to understand!"
Dante's jaw tightened.
"You're not ready."
"I'm not ready?"
She laughed bitterly.
"My father is dead. Men broke into my house. Something is glowing underneath my skin, and apparently my family has been hiding a supernatural bloodline from me."
She stepped closer to him.
"I think I'm ready for some answers."
For the first time, Dante looked almost amused.
Almost.
"You have your father's temper."
Serena's expression hardened.
"Don't talk about my father."
Dante's eyes darkened.
"I knew your father."
"You hated him."
"Yes."
The honesty surprised her.
"Why?"
"Because he betrayed mine."
Serena stared at him.
"What did he do?"
Dante didn't answer.
Instead, he turned toward one of his men.
"Get the cars ready."
Serena shook her head.
"No."
Dante looked at her.
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what happened."
"You're leaving."
"I'm not leaving my mother."
Dante glanced at Serena's mother.
"Your mother is coming too."
Serena paused.
"What?"
Her mother looked surprised.
Dante continued.
"Your house is compromised."
"Where are we going?"
"The Moretti estate."
Serena almost laughed.
"Absolutely not."
Dante's expression remained calm.
"Then stay here."
He gestured toward the shattered window.
"The people who attacked this house know exactly where you are."
Serena looked around.
The broken windows.
The damaged furniture.
The blood on the hallway floor.
Her stomach turned.
Dante continued.
"You have no security left."
"I can call the police."
"You can."
"And?"
"They won't understand what they're walking into."
Serena stared at him.
"You really expect me to trust you?"
"No."
Dante stepped closer.
"I expect you to understand that I'm currently your safest option."
She hated that he might be right.
Her mother touched her shoulder.
"Serena."
She looked at her.
"Please."
That single word made Serena's resistance weaken.
She looked back at Dante.
"How long?"
"Until we know who's behind the attack."
"And then?"
"We decide what happens next."
Serena narrowed her eyes.
"You promise?"
Dante held her gaze.
"I don't make promises I can't keep."
Something about the way he said it made her believe him.
Not trust him.
But believe him.
She turned toward the staircase.
"I need to get my things."
Dante nodded.
"Five minutes."
"Ten."
"Five."
"Eight."
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"Six."
Serena stared at him.
"You're irritating."
"So I've been told."
She walked away.
Dante watched her disappear upstairs.
One of his men approached.
"Sir."
Dante's expression changed immediately.
"What?"
"We found something."
The man handed him a small black envelope.
Dante opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
His face hardened.
It showed Serena.
Not tonight.
Not even recently.
The photograph had been taken three days earlier.
Serena was leaving a café.
Someone had been watching her.
Dante flipped the photograph over.
Three words were written on the back.
**SHE HAS AWAKENED.**
His fingers tightened around the paper.
"Where did you find this?"
"In her father's study."
Dante looked toward the stairs.
"Does she know?"
"No."
"Keep it that way."
The man nodded.
Dante folded the photograph and slipped it into his coat.
He had spent years preparing for the possibility that the bloodline might awaken.
But he hadn't expected it to happen now.
And he certainly hadn't expected Serena Vale to be the one carrying it.
A scream came from upstairs.
Dante moved instantly.
"Serena!"
He rushed toward the staircase.
He found her standing in the hallway, staring at her bedroom door.
Her face was pale.
"What happened?"
She pointed.
"My room."
Dante looked inside.
Everything had been disturbed.
Drawers were open.
Clothes were scattered across the floor.
Someone had searched the room.
But that wasn't what frightened Serena.
She pointed toward the wall.
There was a message written across it.
In red.
**WE KNOW WHAT YOU ARE.**
Dante's expression became cold.
Serena stepped backward.
"Who wrote that?"
Dante didn't answer.
She looked at him.
"Dante."
He walked toward the wall.
His fingers hovered over the writing without touching it.
"This isn't ordinary ink."
"What is it?"
"Blood."
Serena's stomach turned.
"Whose?"
Dante looked at her.
"I don't know."
A strange sensation moved through Serena's body.
The symbol on her palm began glowing again.
Dante noticed.
"Don't touch the wall."
"I wasn't going to."
The glow intensified.
Serena suddenly heard something.
A whisper.
She looked around.
"Did you hear that?"
Dante's expression changed.
"Hear what?"
"Someone."
She closed her eyes.
There it was again.
A voice.
Faint.
Almost like someone whispering from very far away.
**Find the door.**
Serena opened her eyes.
"What door?"
Dante stared at her.
"What did you hear?"
"Someone said something."
"What?"
She looked at the wall.
"Find the door."
Dante became completely still.
His expression was no longer controlled.
"What?"
"Find the door."
He stepped toward her.
"Serena, what exactly did you hear?"
She repeated it.
Dante looked at the symbol on her palm.
Then at the wall.
Then back at her.
"Your father left something behind."
"What?"
"A message."
"Where?"
Dante looked around the room.
"Somewhere only you can find."
Serena's heart raced.
"My father knew this would happen?"
"I don't know."
"You said you knew him."
"I did."
"Then tell me something."
She stepped closer.
"Did my father know I was different?"
Dante didn't answer.
Serena's eyes filled with anger.
"You did."
He remained silent.
"You knew."
"Yes."
The answer broke something inside her.
"You knew?"
"I suspected."
"And you didn't tell me?"
"It wasn't my secret to tell."
Serena laughed bitterly.
"Everyone keeps saying they're protecting me."
She wiped her eyes.
"But nobody ever asks me what I want."
Dante looked at her for several seconds.
Then he said quietly,
"You're right."
Serena wasn't expecting that.
He continued.
"Your life has been controlled by people who believed they knew what was best for you."
His gaze hardened.
"I won't make that mistake."
She looked at him.
"Then tell me the truth."
"Not tonight."
"Dante—"
"Tonight, you survive."
He walked past her.
"Tomorrow, I'll start giving you answers."
Serena watched him leave.
For the first time since he'd entered her life, she wasn't sure whether she hated him.
That frightened her more than anything.
---
The drive to the Moretti estate took nearly an hour.
Serena sat in the back seat beside her mother.
Dante was in another vehicle ahead of them.
She watched the city pass through the window.
Georgia looked different tonight.
Every street felt unfamiliar.
Every shadow seemed dangerous.
Her mother reached for her hand.
"I'm sorry."
Serena looked at her.
"For what?"
"For not telling you."
"You should have."
"I know."
"Why didn't you?"
Her mother looked out the window.
"Because once you knew, there would be no going back."
Serena looked at the symbol on her palm.
"There already isn't."
Her mother sighed.
"No."
She looked at her daughter.
"There isn't."
The convoy turned through a set of enormous iron gates.
Serena stared.
The Moretti estate appeared beyond them.
It wasn't simply a mansion.
It looked like a fortress.
Tall stone walls surrounded the property.
Security guards stood everywhere.
Cameras covered every entrance.
The building itself was enormous, with dark windows and towering columns.
Serena swallowed.
"This is where he lives?"
Her mother nodded.
"Yes."
Serena looked toward the vehicle ahead.
Dante stepped out.
He stood beneath the entrance lights.
Waiting.
She opened the door.
The moment her feet touched the ground, the symbol on her palm pulsed.
Dante looked at her.
She looked back.
Neither spoke.
But Serena knew one thing.
Her life had changed.
There was no going back.
She had entered the world of the Morettis.
And somewhere inside that world was the truth about her father.
Her family.
Her blood.
And the man who seemed to know more about her than she knew about herself.
Dante walked toward her.
"Welcome to the Moretti estate, Serena."
She looked at the enormous house behind him.
Then at him.
"This doesn't feel like a welcome."
His lips curved slightly.
"It isn't."
Serena's heart skipped.
"Then what is it?"
Dante's expression turned serious.
"Protection."
He looked toward the dark forest surrounding the estate.
"Because whoever attacked your family tonight..."
He paused.
"...will come looking for you next."
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