The Message
1065 Words
The rest of the day passed in a blur of aching muscles and a mind that refused to settle. By late afternoon, the mansion had quieted into an unnatural stillness — the kind that made you feel watched even when you were alone. I showered, dressed, and tried to force myself to relax, but the silence pressed in too tightly.
Luca had disappeared hours ago.
Typical.
I found myself wandering the halls, drawn toward the library — the only room in the mansion that didn’t feel like it belonged to him. The scent of old paper and leather eased something in my chest, and for a moment I let myself breathe.
But the moment didn’t last.
A sharp, mechanical click echoed through the room.
The security door slid shut behind me.
My stomach dropped.
Before I could turn, the lights dimmed, and a soft whir came from the corner. One of the wall-mounted screens flickered to life, the security feed flashing across it in grainy black and white.
The camera was pointed at the rear gates.
A car idled outside — unfamiliar, sleek, tinted windows. A man stepped out, face obscured by a hood, but something about his posture made my blood run cold.
Then he looked directly into the camera.
As if he knew I was watching.
The hood fell back.
My breath caught in my throat.
I recognized him.
Not his name.
Not his voice.
But his eyes.
They were the same eyes I’d seen last night, just before Luca dragged me away from the intruder. The same cold, emotionless stare that had pinned me with frightening clarity.
He was alive.
He was back.
And he had a message.
The man lifted one hand and held up a small object toward the camera — a silver coin. Not just any coin. A coin stamped with the symbol I’d seen etched into Luca’s weapons, on the ring he never removed, on the gates of the estate:
The crest of the Marcelli.
The man smirked — slow, mocking — and let the coin fall to the ground. He stepped on it once, grinding it into the dirt, before turning and walking back to the car.
The vehicle rolled away without headlights, disappearing into the dusk.
The feed cut out.
The security door unlocked with a soft click.
I exhaled shakily, my heart pounding so hard I felt it in my fingertips. The message was clear, too clear:
They weren’t afraid of Luca.
They wanted him to know they weren’t finished.
And they had chosen to send the message through me.
A chill crawled down my spine.
Before I could decide what to do, heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway. The door swung open, and Luca stepped inside, his expression immediately sharpening at the look on my face.
“What happened?” he demanded.
I opened my mouth, but the words tangled. “I… someone was at the gates. He wanted you to see him. I think— I think it was the same man from last night.”
Luca’s posture went rigid. “Show me.”
I moved aside as he strode to the control panel. His fingers flew across the screen, bringing up the footage. The moment the man revealed his face, Luca’s jaw clenched so hard I heard the faint grind of teeth.
When the coin dropped, Luca’s breath left him in a slow, lethal exhale.
“Bastardo,” he whispered, the word filled with venom.
He replayed the short clip again. Then again. Each time, his eyes darkened a shade, until they looked like polished obsidian.
“Who is he?” I asked, although a part of me didn’t want the answer.
Luca didn’t look at me when he spoke. “A ghost.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting right now.”
Something inside me snapped. “So I’m just supposed to accept that without question? He was staring into the camera like he knew I’d be watching. Like he—”
“Like he wanted to rattle you,” Luca cut in sharply. “And clearly, he succeeded.”
My throat tightened. “You think I’m weak.”
“I know you’re unprepared,” he corrected coldly. “But weakness? That’s a choice. One you can choose not to make.”
I hated that his words struck something inside me — not anger, not fear, but the stubborn desire not to disappoint him.
Luca turned off the monitor and finally faced me. “From now on, you do not wander the mansion alone.”
“I wasn’t wandering—”
“You were in the library.”
So he had been watching me.
A strange shiver moved through me, equal parts unsettling and intoxicating.
He stepped closer, his voice lowering. “He left that coin because he wants you afraid. He wants you isolated. He wants you doubting me.”
I swallowed. “Should I be?”
His eyes locked on mine, and the intensity of his stare nearly stole the air from my lungs.
“No,” he said quietly. “You should fear him. You should fear everyone who wants what I have. But me?” He brushed a thumb lightly across my jaw, almost absent. “I am the only person in this world who has something to lose if you die.”
My heartbeat stuttered.
Luca’s expression shifted — still hard, but laced with something darker, something almost protective.
“You will stay where I can see you,” he continued. “You will train twice a day from now on. And you will not open a single door in this house without telling me first. Am I understood?”
A command, not a request.
Still, I nodded.
“Good.”
He turned to leave, but paused in the doorway.
“And one more thing,” he added without looking back. “If he comes again, you run. You do not speak. You do not hesitate. You run — and you call for me.”
His voice dropped lower, rougher.
“Because if he lays a hand on you again… I will burn the entire city down to find him.”
Then he disappeared into the hall, leaving the library drowning in quiet once more.
But nothing felt quiet inside me. Not after the message.
Not after Luca’s words.
- Writer
