CHAPTER 6
801 Words
## The Price of Love
The hospital wing beneath the Moretti estate was silent except for the steady beep of monitors.
Kai hated hospitals.
Too many memories.
Too much weakness.
And yet here he was.
Lying in a private room with a bullet wound stitched across his shoulder while three armed guards stood outside the door.
A prisoner in his own home.
The door opened quietly.
Dante stepped inside.
“You should be resting.”
Kai stared at the ceiling.
“You should be minding your business.”
“That stopped being possible when you threw yourself in front of a bullet for a Romano.”
The room fell silent.
Kai's jaw tightened.
“So you've come to lecture me?”
“No.”
Dante pulled a chair closer.
“I came because Vittorio knows.”
Those three words hit harder than the gunshot.
Kai slowly sat up despite the pain shooting through his shoulder.
“What exactly does he know?”
Dante's expression darkened.
“He knows there's someone.”
Kai immediately thought of Luca.
His chest tightened.
“How?”
“Someone talked.”
Of course they did.
Someone always talked.
Someone always betrayed.
Dante leaned forward.
“Vittorio called a meeting tonight.”
Kai's stomach sank.
“And?”
“He wants the traitor found.”
The unspoken message hung heavily between them.
If Vittorio discovered Luca's identity—
Luca would die.
—
Across the city, Luca stood on the balcony of his apartment overlooking the river.
The rain had finally stopped.
For the first time in days, silence surrounded him.
Yet his thoughts refused to settle.
Because Kai had taken a bullet for him.
No hesitation.
No calculation.
Just instinct.
The memory haunted him.
A knock interrupted his thoughts.
Luca opened the door to find his younger sister, Sofia Romano.
Unlike most Romanos, Sofia hated the family business.
She walked inside immediately.
“You look awful.”
“Good evening to you too.”
“You look like you're in love.”
Luca nearly choked.
Sofia smirked.
“That's not a denial.”
“There is no one.”
“Luca.”
The warning in her voice made him sigh.
His sister had always seen through him.
Always.
Sofia crossed her arms.
“Who is he?”
Luca looked away.
Wrong move.
Her eyes widened immediately.
"Oh my God."
“Don't.”
“It's actually a man.”
“Sofia.”
“And from your expression, it's someone terrible.”
Luca groaned.
She gasped dramatically.
“It's a politician.”
“What?”
“You look horrified. It was a guess.”
Luca rubbed his face.
“I hate you.”
“No you don't.”
Sofia sat beside him.
Then her smile slowly faded.
“Whoever he is... be careful.”
The joking disappeared from her voice.
Luca looked down.
“I know.”
“No.” Sofia shook her head. “I don't think you do.”
Because this wasn't ordinary love.
This was the kind of love that started wars.
—
Later that night, the Moretti mansion felt colder than usual.
Kai stood before a long table where the family's leadership gathered.
Vittorio sat at the head.
Watching.
Waiting.
Hunting.
The old man folded his hands together slowly.
“A traitor exists within this family.”
Silence filled the room.
“No one leaves until we have answers.”
Kai immediately sensed something wrong.
Vittorio wasn't investigating.
He already knew something.
Or thought he did.
Then suddenly—
A photograph landed on the table.
Directly in front of Kai.
His blood ran cold.
The rooftop.
Rain.
Luca standing close.
Far too close.
Not a kiss.
But enough.
Enough to raise questions.
Enough to destroy lives.
Kai slowly looked up.
Vittorio's eyes never left him.
“Would you like to explain this?”
The room became deadly quiet.
Every gaze turned toward Kai.
Every weapon suddenly felt closer.
Kai's heart pounded once.
Twice.
Then he forced his expression back into place.
Cold.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
“It's intelligence gathering.”
Several people nodded immediately.
A reasonable answer.
A believable answer.
But Vittorio wasn't convinced.
The old man stared at him for a long moment.
Then smiled.
A terrible smile.
“One week.”
Kai's stomach dropped.
“One week to prove your loyalty.”
The threat was clear.
Fail—
And Vittorio would investigate further.
Find Luca.
Destroy him.
The meeting ended shortly afterward.
But as Kai walked alone through the mansion corridors, one realization followed him like a shadow.
For years, he had protected the Moretti empire.
Killed for it.
Bled for it.
Lived for it.
Now the same empire was threatening the one person he couldn't lose.
And for the first time in his life—
Kai wasn't sure which side he would choose.
- Writer
