Chapter 2: A Marriage Forced by Blood
783 Words
Aurora's mind went blank.
The silence inside the penthouse was suffocating.
Every guard stared at Alessandro as if they had misheard him.
Even the men who had served him for years looked stunned.
Aurora finally found her voice.
"...What did you just say?"
Alessandro buttoned his suit jacket as though he had merely discussed tomorrow's weather.
"I don't repeat myself."
Her heart pounded.
"I'm not marrying you."
His cold gray eyes met hers.
"You don't have a choice."
Anger replaced her fear.
"I do have a choice!"
"I don't even know you!"
"I came here to deliver documents!"
"I have my own life!"
"I have dreams!"
"And you're standing there talking about marriage?"
For the first time, Alessandro looked directly into her eyes.
"You also have enemies now."
Aurora frowned.
"What?"
He walked to the shattered window overlooking Rome.
"The men who attacked tonight weren't after me."
"They were after something much more valuable."
He held up the silver coin taken from the dead assassin.
"The Black Serpents."
"They leave no witnesses."
Aurora's blood ran cold.
"So..."
"If they discover you survived..."
"They will hunt you."
She shook her head.
"I'll go to the police."
Several guards exchanged amused glances.
Alessandro gave a faint smile.
"The police?"
"You think they can protect you?"
He pressed a button on his desk.
Several photographs appeared on a large screen.
Aurora gasped.
The pictures showed police officers shaking hands with dangerous-looking men.
Judges.
Politicians.
Business leaders.
Some faces she recognized from the news.
"They've bought half the city."
Alessandro said quietly.
"You wouldn't survive twenty-four hours."
Aurora refused to believe him.
"There must be someone honest."
"There is."
He nodded.
"But finding them before the Black Serpents find you..."
"...is unlikely."
She felt the room spinning.
Everything she believed about justice suddenly seemed fragile.
Meanwhile...
On the outskirts of Rome...
Inside an abandoned cathedral...
A man dressed in black stood before a long table.
His face remained hidden in the shadows.
Riccardo Moretti.
Leader of the Black Serpents.
One of his men knelt before him.
"We failed."
Riccardo slowly removed his leather gloves.
"And?"
"The witness escaped."
Silence.
Then...
Bang!
A single gunshot echoed through the cathedral.
The kneeling man's body collapsed onto the floor.
The remaining men didn't move.
Riccardo calmly lowered his pistol.
"I do not tolerate failure."
He looked toward another lieutenant.
"Find the girl."
"And if Alessandro protects her?"
Riccardo smiled.
"Then we'll make him watch her die."
Back at the penthouse...
Aurora sat alone in one of the guest rooms.
She stared at the engagement ring resting on the table.
A guard had placed it there.
Without asking.
Without explaining.
There was a knock.
The door opened.
An elegant woman entered carrying fresh clothes.
"My name is Isabella."
"I work for Mr. De Luca."
Aurora stood immediately.
"I want to leave."
"I'm afraid you can't."
"Please."
"My mother will be worried."
"I need my phone."
Isabella hesitated before handing Aurora a mobile phone.
"You may call her."
Relief flooded Aurora.
She quickly dialed her mother's number.
The call connected.
"Mom!"
"Aurora?"
"Oh thank God!"
"I've been calling you for hours!"
Tears filled Aurora's eyes.
"I'm okay."
"I just..."
She glanced toward Isabella.
"...had an accident."
"When are you coming home?"
Aurora couldn't answer.
Isabella gently took the phone.
"Mrs. Bennett."
"Your daughter is safe."
"She'll be staying with friends for a few days."
Before Aurora could protest...
The call ended.
She stared in disbelief.
"You lied!"
Isabella sighed softly.
"I protected her."
"The less your mother knows..."
"The safer she'll be."
Aurora buried her face in her hands.
She had never felt so trapped.
Late that night...
Alessandro stood alone in his office.
His closest adviser, Marco Vitale, entered quietly.
"You really intend to marry her?"
"Yes."
Marco folded his arms.
"That isn't like you."
"I know."
"Then why?"
Alessandro remained silent.
Finally he spoke.
"Because Riccardo doesn't know."
"Know what?"
Alessandro picked up the envelope Aurora had delivered.
Inside was a document marked:
CONFIDENTIAL
Marco's eyes widened.
"The evidence..."
Alessandro nodded.
"The professor discovered who betrayed my father."
Marco inhaled sharply.
"You mean..."
"The traitor has been inside our family for years."
Silence filled the room.
Marco looked toward the guest wing.
"So the girl..."
"...is carrying the key to exposing everything."
Alessandro's expression hardened.
"And that's exactly why she must survive."
Aurora lay awake in the unfamiliar bedroom.
Every time she closed her eyes...
She saw bullets.
Blood.
Masked gunmen.
And Alessandro's cold face.
Suddenly...
She heard footsteps outside her door.
The handle slowly turned.
Her heart nearly stopped.
Someone was coming inside.
Aurora looked around desperately for something to defend herself with.
The bedroom door slowly creaked open...
- Writer
