Breaking
845 Words
Siena blinked against it, curled under Aiden’s sheets. His arm was draped over her waist, his breath steady behind her. Safe. Warm. Familiar.
So why did she feel like she was drowning?
She slipped out of bed carefully, avoiding the creaky floorboard. She couldn’t face him. Not yet. Not after what happened last night.
Not after kissing Jace… and then letting Aiden hold her like she was still whole, talk less of the whole thing with Luca Moretti.
Her lips still tingled from Jace’s desperation. That moment haunted her more than it should’ve. But what haunted her more was how quickly she’d let Aiden touch her after.
Guilt chewed at her.
She splashed water on her face in the bathroom and stared at her reflection.
Who are you even becoming?
***
By the time Aiden woke, Siena was dressed and pacing the living room, jittery with too much coffee and not enough clarity.
“Morning,” he said groggily, rubbing his eyes.
She nodded without looking at him. “I’m going out.”
His brows shot up. “Why? Where?”
“Nowhere dangerous.”
“Siena…”
She cut him off. “Please don’t start. I need air.”
“You always need air”
“Remember yesterday-“
She didn’t give him a chance to argue.
.
**
On her way out, her phone buzzed.
Unknown Number: Cute Apartment. But maybe don’t leave with your watch dog next time”
Her stomach flipped.
Another message.
Unknown Number: You're easy to find when you’re not with your watchdog.
She looked around, panic rising.
That’s when she made the mistake.
She replied.
Siena: Who is this?
The typing bubbles danced before the reply came.
Unknown Number: Someone who knows your real name.
Her throat dried.
Then another message came in—this time with an address.
. On the edge of town.
And one line: Come if you want the truth.
She didn’t tell Aiden.
Didn’t text Jace.
Didn’t think.
She just went.
***
She walked. Block after block.
It wasn’t until she passed a row of sleeping stores and dimly lit buildings that she noticed how quiet it had gotten.
Too quiet.
She turned.
The black SUV had been tailing her for two blocks.
Her heart climbed into her throat.
She wasn’t getting texts from the unknown number anymore.
Siena spun on her heel, heading in the opposite direction, but it was too late.
A door opened. Two men stepped out.
She didn’t even get to scream.
***
The warehouse was ice-cold and smelled like rust and rot.
Siena’s wrists were bound, her hoodie torn at the shoulder. Her cheek stung from the slap one of them had given her when she bit him during the struggle.
Her knees ached against the cement floor.
There were three of them now. All in black, no faces visible except one. The youngest of the three. He had a jagged scar across his eyebrow, and he kept staring at her like she was something he couldn’t believe was real.
“Who are you?” Siena snapped, chest rising and falling fast.
No one answered.
Instead, Scarface tilted his head, like he was studying a puzzle.
“I know you,” he finally said.
“Boss didn’t send us to get just any girl”
His voice was gravel. Low, but not entirely cruel.
She stiffened. “I don’t know you.”
“You were smaller,” he murmured, eyes narrowing. “Used to cling to your father's leg at meetings. You had that stupid silver pendant.”
Siena’s blood turned to ice.
“What did you say?”
He didn’t answer her.
But someone else stepped into the room. A fourth man. Older. Calm. Well dressed in a charcoal suit that looked out of place in this rotting place.
And when he stepped into the light
Siena’s stomach flipped.
She didn’t know him… but something in her soul recognized him.
Her vision blurred.
Was it fear?
Or memory?
The man crouched before her, too close.
“You’ve grown,” he said, his voice smooth like venom. “And yet… you still look like her.”
Siena blinked hard. “Who the hell are you?”
He smiled faintly.
“You can call me Leo.”
She flinched.
Leo.
Leo.
That name twisted something in her chest. She didn’t know why… but her body reacted like it had been struck.
Leo’s eyes flicked to her neck.
“No pendant?”
She said nothing.
“She lost it,” Scarface offered. “Or pawned it.”
Leo chuckled. “No. She wouldn’t. That pendant’s a key, after all.”
A key?
“What do you want from me?” Siena hissed.
Leo stood, straightened his sleeves.
“Answers,” he said. “And if I’m right, your uncle will want to see you.”
Her heart slammed into her ribs.
“My… what?”
But no one replied.
The door slammed shut behind them.
And Siena was left alone, chained to the floor, her heartbeat louder than the silence.
- Writer
