THE TRUTH HE DEMANDS
773 Words
Amina’s hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
She sat across from Luca at a long wooden table in a smaller room than before—no windows, no decorations, just a single light overhead casting sharp shadows. A cup of untouched tea sat in front of her, steam curling upward like a warning.
“This isn’t an interrogation,” Luca said calmly.
“It feels like one,” she replied.
He didn’t deny it.
Andrei stood near the door, silent, arms crossed. Luca lifted a hand slightly, and Andrei stepped outside, closing the door behind him.
They were alone.
Amina swallowed. “So… what happens now?”
“Now,” Luca said, leaning back slightly, “you tell me exactly what you saw. From the moment you turned that corner.”
Her chest tightened.
“I already told the police—”
“No, you didn’t,” Luca interrupted gently. “If you had, they would already be dead.”
Her breath caught.
He wasn’t threatening her. He was stating a fact.
Amina clasped her hands together to stop the shaking. “Okay,” she whispered. “Okay.”
She closed her eyes.
“I was walking home,” she began. “Behind a club. I heard arguing. One man was kneeling. His hands were tied. He was bleeding.”
Luca didn’t move. Didn’t blink.
“He begged,” she continued, her voice cracking. “He said he had a family. Matteo didn’t care.”
Her nails dug into her palms.
“He shot him. Once. Like it was nothing.”
Silence filled the room, thick and heavy.
“When Matteo turned,” she said softly, “he saw me. And I knew… I knew I wasn’t supposed to survive that moment.”
Luca’s jaw clenched hard enough for the muscle to jump.
“Did he say anything else?” Luca asked quietly.
“Yes.” She hesitated. “He said something about… you.”
Luca’s eyes sharpened. “What exactly?”
Amina opened her eyes. “He said you’d kill him if I got away.”
For the first time since she met him, Luca looked away.
Just for a second.
“That’s all?” he asked.
“Yes.”
Another stretch of silence.
Then Luca stood, slowly, deliberately, and walked to the far wall. His hands braced against the table as he lowered his head.
“I should’ve handled him sooner,” he muttered.
Amina stared. “Handled him?”
Luca straightened. His face was calm again—but something darker had settled behind his eyes.
“You don’t need to worry about Matteo anymore,” he said.
Her heart skipped. “What does that mean?”
“It means,” Luca replied, turning back to her, “he won’t come near you again.”
That didn’t reassure her.
“You keep saying I’m safe,” she said, standing suddenly. “But no one explains why this happened. Why me?”
Luca stopped a few feet away from her.
“Because you’re a witness,” he said. “And witnesses disappear.”
She flinched. “That’s comforting.”
“You asked for the truth,” he said. “This is it.”
Amina took a steadying breath. “Then tell me one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“If I hadn’t run into you… would I be alive right now?”
Luca didn’t answer immediately.
When he finally did, his voice was low and honest.
“No.”
The room seemed to tilt.
Amina pressed her hand to the table, grounding herself. “So I owe you my life.”
“No,” Luca said firmly. “You owe no one anything.”
She looked up at him, eyes shining. “Then why do you act like I belong to you?”
The question hung between them.
Luca stepped closer—not invading her space, but close enough that she felt his presence like gravity.
“Because once I protect something,” he said, “I don’t abandon it.”
Something in his tone made her chest ache.
Before she could respond, Luca’s phone buzzed. He glanced at it, his expression hardening instantly.
“Stay here,” he said.
“Luca—”
“That wasn’t a suggestion.”
He left the room quickly.
Amina stood frozen, heart racing.
Moments later, raised voices echoed faintly through the walls. Urgent. Angry. Dangerous.
She caught only fragments.
“…movement near the port—”
“…Matteo’s people—”
“…tonight—”
Amina’s stomach twisted.
Whatever protection Luca had promised…
it was already being tested.
And she was right in the middle of it.
- Writer
