Chapter Four- When The Masks Fall
1272 Words
Ariyah woke to the sound of glass shattering.
Not softly. Not like an accident.
It exploded.
She sat bolt upright in bed, heart slamming so hard it hurt. For a split second, she thought she was back in that locked house again, back with the other girls, back waiting for the auction to begin.
Then she heard shouting.
Gunshots.
Real ones.
Her body reacted before her mind could. She rolled out of bed, feet hitting the cold floor, breath shallow and sharp. The lights flickered once, twice, then went out completely.
Darkness swallowed the room.
“No,” she whispered, panic rising. “No, no, no…”
The island had always felt quiet. Isolated. Safe in a terrifying, expensive way. But now the silence had shattered, replaced by chaos. She could hear boots pounding through hallways. Men yelling orders in harsh, unfamiliar voices.
This wasn’t a drill.
This wasn’t security training.
Someone had found her.
Her hands shook as she fumbled for the door, pressing her ear against it. More gunshots echoed outside, closer this time. Her chest tightened painfully.
They’re here for you, her mind screamed. They never stop hunting what they think they own.
She backed away from the door, panic clawing at her throat. She didn’t know where Luca was. She didn’t know if he was alive. And the worst, most terrifying thought of all…
What if he was part of this?
What if this was a test?
The handle rattled suddenly.
Ariyah screamed.
The door burst open, but it wasn’t one of the attackers.
It was Luca.
He looked nothing like the quiet, controlled man she had seen before. His suit jacket was gone. His shirt was open at the collar, smeared with blood that wasn’t all his. A gun was clenched in his hand, his expression sharp and lethal.
“Get up,” he said urgently. “Now.”
She scrambled to her feet, terror making her clumsy. “What’s happening?”
“They found the island,” he replied. “We’re leaving.”
Another gunshot rang out nearby, followed by a scream that cut off abruptly. Ariyah flinched, pressing her hands to her ears.
Luca grabbed her wrist. Not roughly, but firmly. Grounding. “Look at me,” he ordered.
She did.
“You trust me enough to live?” he asked.
Her throat closed. She didn’t know the answer. She didn’t trust him, but she trusted the men outside even less.
She nodded shakily.
“That’s enough,” he said. “Stay behind me. Don’t stop. Don’t look back.”
He pulled her into the hallway, moving fast. The mansion was no longer quiet or beautiful. Smoke curled along the ceiling. Broken glass crunched underfoot. One of the guards lay on the floor, unmoving, blood pooling beneath him.
Ariyah gagged.
Luca didn’t slow down.
They reached a side corridor when two armed men appeared ahead of them. Ariyah recognized them instantly.
The auction.
The same cruel eyes. The same smiles that had made her skin crawl.
“There she is,” one of them said, grinning. “Told you she’d still be here.”
Ariyah froze, terror paralyzing her.
Luca stepped in front of her without hesitation.
“She’s not for sale,” he said coldly.
The man laughed. “Everything has a price.”
The gunshot came so fast Ariyah barely registered it.
Luca fired first.
The man dropped instantly.
The second attacker raised his weapon, panic flashing across his face. Luca didn’t hesitate. Another shot rang out. Another body hit the floor.
Ariyah screamed.
Her legs buckled, but Luca caught her before she fell. He didn’t look at the bodies. His focus never left her.
“You see them now?” he said tightly. “You recognize them?”
She nodded, sobbing.
“They want you back,” he continued. “Dead or alive.”
Her breath hitched painfully. “Then why… why are they attacking you?”
His jaw clenched. “Because I don’t give them what they want.”
They moved again, faster now. The sounds of fighting echoed all around them. Ariyah’s mind spun, confusion tangling with fear.
If Luca was working with them, they wouldn’t be trying to kill him.
That truth settled heavily in her chest.
They reached a hidden stairwell that led down toward the docks. Luca shoved the door open, pushing her inside.
“Go,” he ordered. “Down. Don’t stop.”
“What about you?” she cried.
“I’ll catch up.”
She hesitated and that hesitation almost got her killed.
A shadow moved behind Luca. A gun raised.
Ariyah screamed his name.
Luca turned just in time. The gun fired. Luca staggered back, a sharp grunt tearing from his chest. Without thinking, he raised his weapon and fired.
The attacker fell.
Luca pressed a hand to his side, blood seeping through his fingers.
Ariyah ran back to him. “You’re hurt!”
“It’s not bad,” he lied, teeth clenched. “Move.”
They stumbled down the stairs together, Luca’s weight heavy against her shoulder. Every step felt like an eternity.
At the bottom, the sea roared violently. The dock was lit by harsh floodlights, illuminating chaos, guards fighting, boats burning, bodies scattered across the wood.
Luca guided her toward a smaller vessel.
Then a voice cut through the noise.
“You really do love playing the hero, Blackwood.”
Luca stiffened.
A tall man stepped forward from the shadows, clapping slowly. His smile was thin and cruel.
“You’ve made this very inconvenient,” the man continued. “Buying our merchandise. Hiding it. Turning deals into funerals.”
Ariyah’s heart slammed.
Merchandise.
Luca’s grip tightened protectively around her.
“She’s not merchandise,” he said flatly. “She’s a witness.”
The man laughed. “You think the law will save her?”
“I know it will destroy you,” Luca shot back.
The man’s eyes flicked to Ariyah. “You see? He knew all along what would happen to you. He dragged you into this.”
Fear surged but something else rose with it.
Anger.
Luca stepped forward, shielding her completely. “This ends tonight.”
Gunfire erupted again.
Ariyah didn’t know how long it lasted. Seconds felt like hours. She crouched behind crates as bullets flew, hands over her head, heart pounding.
Then silence.
Slow. Heavy. Unsettling.
She looked up.
The man from the auction lay face down on the dock, blood spreading beneath him. Luca stood nearby, breathing hard, gun still raised.
He looked exhausted. Haunted.
Dangerous.
Real.
Sirens wailed faintly in the distance.
Reinforcements.
Luca turned to her, eyes searching her face. “We have to go. Now.”
She nodded numbly.
As they sped away from the burning island, Ariyah stared back at the chaos fading into the night. Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
“You killed them,” she whispered.
“Yes,” Luca replied. “To protect you.”
Her chest tightened painfully. “The files… the girls…”
“They’re evidence,” he said quietly. “Every name. Every photo. Every transaction.”
She looked at him then, really looked.
This man had walked into hell for her.
“I was wrong,” she whispered.
Luca didn’t answer. He just stared ahead, jaw tight, eyes dark.
“No,” he said finally. “You were afraid. And fear makes sense.”
The boat cut through the water, carrying them toward the unknown.
And for the first time since the auction, Ariyah realized something terrifying and hopeful all at once.
She wasn’t trapped with a monster.
She was being protected by one.
- Writer
