Episode 6: Safe House
1220 Words
The Romano mansion had become a fortress.
Armed guards patrolled every corridor.
Security cameras monitored every entrance.
No one entered without approval.
No one left without permission.
Yet Luca Moretti knew one uncomfortable truth.
Fortresses only worked when you knew where the enemy was.
And right now, they didn't.
The interrogation room beneath the mansion smelled of concrete and tension.
One of the captured attackers sat handcuffed to a steel chair.
His face was bruised.
His confidence was fading.
Across from him stood Luca.
Silent.
Patient.
Dangerous.
The attacker shifted uncomfortably.
"You're wasting your time."
Luca didn't respond.
The silence stretched.
Five seconds.
Ten.
Twenty.
The man finally looked away.
Luca spoke.
"What's your employer's name?"
Nothing.
Luca slid a photograph across the table.
The picture showed Sophia leaving a bookstore weeks earlier.
The attacker's eyes widened before he could stop himself.
Luca noticed.
Interesting.
"You've seen this before."
Silence.
Another photograph appeared.
Then another.
Then another.
The attacker swallowed.
"Who collected these?"
Still nothing.
Luca leaned forward.
"The man you're protecting sent you to die."
The attacker's jaw tightened.
"He didn't send us to die."
"No?"
Luca pointed toward the photograph.
"Then why wasn't he there himself?"
For the first time, uncertainty appeared in the man's eyes.
And Luca knew he'd hit a nerve.
Upstairs, Sophia sat alone in the library.
The events at the marina replayed endlessly in her mind.
The shattered glass.
The masked men.
The gunfire.
The fear.
She wrapped her arms around herself.
For years, danger had existed only in stories she heard from her father's world.
Now it had a face.
A voice.
A purpose.
And that purpose was her.
The library door opened.
Sophia looked up.
Her father entered.
For once, Don Alessandro Romano didn't look like the most feared man in the city.
He looked tired.
Worried.
Human.
He sat beside her.
Neither spoke for several moments.
Then Sophia asked the question she'd been avoiding.
"Am I the reason people get hurt?"
Her father looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
"Those people at the restaurant."
Her voice cracked slightly.
"They were just having lunch."
Alessandro's expression softened.
"None of this is your fault."
"But they came for me."
"They chose their actions."
Sophia stared at the floor.
The guilt remained.
The fear remained.
And beneath both emotions was another feeling.
Anger.
Someone had turned her life into a target.
Someone had decided she belonged to them.
She hated it.
That evening, Luca received new information.
Marco entered the security office carrying a file.
"You need to see this."
Luca took it.
Inside were financial records recovered from one of the attackers' phones.
Several payments.
Several accounts.
Several names.
One stood out immediately.
Luca's eyes narrowed.
"No."
Marco nodded grimly.
"That's what I said."
The name belonged to someone connected to the Romano organization.
Not an enemy.
Not a rival.
One of their own.
A traitor.
Luca closed the folder.
"How many people know?"
"Just us."
"Good."
Because if this information was correct, the danger was closer than anyone realized.
Much closer.
The decision was made within the hour.
Sophia had to disappear.
Temporarily.
Secretly.
Completely.
A safe house.
Only a handful of people would know the location.
The fewer who knew, the better.
Sophia wasn't thrilled.
"What do you mean I'm leaving tonight?"
Luca stood across from her in the mansion's study.
"Exactly what it sounds like."
"I'm not hiding."
"You were almost kidnapped."
"I'm aware."
"Then act like it."
Sophia crossed her arms.
"And what if I say no?"
"You won't."
The certainty in his voice irritated her.
"Why not?"
"Because despite your stubbornness, you're smart."
Sophia opened her mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
Then sighed dramatically.
"I hate when you're right."
"It's becoming a habit."
She pointed at him.
"Don't get used to it."
For the first time, the corner of Luca's mouth twitched.
Almost a smile.
Almost.
Two hours later, they were gone.
A black SUV carried them away from the city under the cover of darkness.
Rain tapped softly against the windows.
The city lights slowly disappeared behind them.
Neither spoke much.
Sophia stared outside.
Luca monitored the road.
After nearly an hour, she finally broke the silence.
"Where are we going?"
"A safe house."
"Very informative."
He ignored her sarcasm.
She rolled her eyes.
"Do you ever talk about normal things?"
"Sometimes."
"Like what?"
He thought about it.
"I once spent ten minutes arguing about whether pineapple belongs on pizza."
Sophia blinked.
"You're joking."
"I'm not."
"Who won?"
"I did."
"Which side were you on?"
Luca glanced at her.
"Pineapple doesn't belong on pizza."
Sophia gasped.
"You lost."
For the first time that night, both of them laughed.
The moment was brief.
But real.
And neither knew what to do with it.
The safe house sat deep in the countryside.
Surrounded by trees.
Far from the city.
Far from danger.
Or so they hoped.
It was a large cabin overlooking a lake.
Quiet.
Remote.
Secure.
Sophia stepped out of the vehicle and stared.
"This is a safe house?"
Luca grabbed their bags.
"You expected a bunker?"
"A little."
The cabin looked surprisingly normal.
Comfortable even.
She followed him inside.
The interior was warm and rustic.
Wooden floors.
Stone fireplace.
Large windows facing the water.
For a moment, it almost felt like a vacation.
Then she remembered why she was there.
Later that night, Sophia couldn't sleep.
The unfamiliar surroundings didn't help.
Neither did the memories.
Eventually she gave up and wandered downstairs.
The living room was dimly lit.
A fire crackled softly.
Luca sat in an armchair near the window.
Awake.
Of course.
Sophia wasn't even surprised anymore.
"You really don't sleep."
"I sleep."
"When?"
"Rarely."
She sat on the couch opposite him.
For several minutes, silence filled the room.
Not awkward.
Just quiet.
Then she asked softly,
"Were you scared today?"
Luca looked at her.
The question caught him off guard.
"Why?"
"Because I was."
Her honesty surprised even herself.
Luca stared into the fire.
Then answered.
"Yes."
Sophia blinked.
That wasn't the answer she expected.
"You were?"
His voice remained calm.
"When they reached the restaurant."
A pause.
"When I lost sight of you."
The words settled between them.
Sophia suddenly found it difficult to look away.
Because he wasn't speaking as a bodyguard.
He was speaking as a person.
And for the first time, the wall around Luca Moretti cracked.
Just a little.
Just enough.
Hundreds of miles away, another man sat in darkness.
A photograph rested in his hands.
Sophia.
Smiling.
Unaware.
The leader studied the image carefully.
Then looked at a map spread across the table.
Several locations were marked.
One had just been crossed out.
The mansion.
Another remained untouched.
The safe house.
A slow smile spread across his face.
"So that's where they went."
One of his men frowned.
"How did we find them?"
The leader folded the photograph.
"I told you before."
His eyes gleamed.
"We're closer to the Romanos than they realize."
The room fell silent.
A terrible realization dawned on the messenger.
There really was a traitor.
And that traitor was still feeding information to the enemy.
The leader stood.
"Prepare the next move."
His smile widened.
Because Sophia Romano thought she was hidden.
Thought she was safe.
Thought she had escaped.
She was wrong.
- Writer
