Chapter 11: The Girl They Wanted
1080 Words
"I FOUND THE GIRL!"
The shout echoed through the hidden chamber.
Every gun in the room turned toward Aria.
Time seemed to slow.
Fear gripped her chest.
Not because they wanted the key.
Not because they wanted money.
They wanted her.
"Luca!"
Before she could react, Luca pulled her behind a steel shelf.
Bullets exploded against the metal.
Sparks filled the air.
The chamber became a warzone.
Marco and the guards returned fire immediately.
Several attackers fell.
But more kept coming.
"They're heading for Aria!" Marco shouted.
"I know!"
Luca's voice carried pure fury.
Aria had never seen him like this before.
His eyes were ice.
His jaw clenched.
Every movement precise and deadly.
A man charged toward their position.
Luca fired once.
The attacker dropped instantly.
Another appeared.
Luca fired again.
And again.
Each shot found its target.
For the first time, Aria truly understood why people feared him.
This wasn't simply a mafia heir.
This was a man raised for war.
A predator among predators.
And right now, he was protecting her.
---
The battle lasted less than ten minutes.
But it felt like hours.
Eventually, the last attacker fell.
Silence settled over the chamber.
Only heavy breathing remained.
Marco checked the perimeter.
"Clear."
Nobody relaxed.
Not yet.
Luca grabbed Aria's shoulders.
His hands tightened slightly.
"Are you hurt?"
The concern in his voice surprised her.
"No."
He visibly exhaled.
Only then did he release her.
The small gesture didn't go unnoticed.
Neither did the fact that he had checked her before himself.
Marco approached.
"Boss."
Luca turned.
"What?"
"We caught one alive."
The announcement changed everything.
Luca's eyes darkened immediately.
"Where?"
"Outside."
A dangerous smile appeared on Luca's face.
The kind that made grown men nervous.
"Good."
Aria suddenly felt sorry for the prisoner.
---
The surviving attacker sat tied to a chair.
Blood trickled from a cut above his eye.
Yet despite his injuries, he smiled.
A mistake.
A very big mistake.
Luca stood in front of him.
Silent.
Watching.
Waiting.
The tension was unbearable.
Finally, Luca spoke.
"Who sent you?"
The man laughed.
Luca didn't.
"Who sent you?"
Silence.
The prisoner's smile widened.
"You'll never stop them."
Wrong answer.
Luca punched him.
Hard.
The chair nearly tipped over.
Blood splattered onto the floor.
Aria flinched.
The attacker groaned.
But he still smiled.
"They're coming."
Luca crouched.
His voice became dangerously quiet.
"Who?"
The man looked directly at Aria.
And smiled again.
A cold chill ran through her body.
"The Queen."
The room fell silent.
"What queen?" Marco demanded.
The prisoner's eyes remained fixed on Aria.
"The rightful Queen."
Aria frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
The man laughed weakly.
"You really don't know."
Luca grabbed him by the collar.
"Explain."
The attacker spit blood onto the floor.
Then spoke four words.
Words that changed everything.
"Her mother was royalty."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Aria stared.
"What?"
The man looked at her.
"Pity."
His smile returned.
"Nobody told you."
Luca's expression hardened.
"What royalty?"
The prisoner laughed again.
"You'll find out soon enough."
Then suddenly—
His body jerked violently.
Everyone froze.
Blood spilled from his mouth.
"What happened?" Marco shouted.
The man collapsed.
Dead.
Just like that.
Luca immediately searched him.
Nothing.
No wound.
No bullet.
No knife.
Then Marco found it.
A tiny capsule hidden inside one of the prisoner's teeth.
Poison.
He had killed himself.
Or been prepared to.
The Serpents clearly valued their secrets.
---
Hours later, they returned to the estate.
No one spoke during the drive.
Everyone was thinking about the same thing.
Her mother was royalty.
It sounded ridiculous.
Impossible.
Yet so did everything else lately.
Aria sat alone in the library.
The silver key rested on the table.
Beside it lay her mother's journal.
She opened it again.
Searching.
Reading.
Looking for answers.
And finally—
She found a hidden page.
One she somehow missed before.
The paper had been glued together.
Carefully.
Intentionally.
Her hands trembled as she separated it.
Words appeared.
Her mother's handwriting.
Aria immediately began reading.
If you've reached this page, then the Serpents are already hunting you.
Her heart pounded.
You deserve the truth.
She continued.
My real name is Elena Valentina Drakov.
Aria froze.
That wasn't her mother's name.
At least not the one she knew.
I was born into the House of Drakov.
The words meant nothing to her.
Until she read the next sentence.
And everything changed.
The House of Drakov ruled one of the oldest criminal empires in Europe.
Aria's breath caught.
No.
No way.
Her mother hadn't simply been connected to the Serpents.
She had belonged to something far bigger.
Far more powerful.
The journal continued.
When I fell in love with Victor, I abandoned everything.
A tear slid down Aria's cheek.
I chose family over power.
Another line followed.
The Serpents never forgave me.
Suddenly, everything made sense.
The attacks.
The threats.
The obsession.
They weren't hunting a key.
They were hunting a bloodline.
Her bloodline.
A knock interrupted her thoughts.
She quickly wiped her eyes.
"Come in."
The door opened.
Luca entered.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then he noticed the open journal.
"You found something."
Aria nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
Luca sat opposite her.
"What is it?"
She looked directly at him.
"My mother wasn't who I thought she was."
His expression became serious.
"What do you mean?"
Aria swallowed.
Then told him everything.
Every word.
Every secret.
Every revelation.
By the time she finished, Luca looked stunned.
Which was saying something.
Because Luca Moretti rarely looked surprised.
"This changes everything."
"That's what I'm afraid of."
Silence followed.
Heavy silence.
Then Luca leaned forward.
His eyes locked onto hers.
"Listen carefully."
Aria waited.
"Whatever your bloodline is."
His voice was steady.
"Whatever secrets your family hid."
He reached across the table.
His hand covered hers.
Warm.
Strong.
Safe.
"It changes nothing between us."
Her heartbeat accelerated.
Neither moved away.
Neither wanted to.
For a moment, the world felt quiet.
Peaceful.
Then Luca's phone rang.
The interruption shattered the moment.
Luca answered.
His expression darkened immediately.
"What happened?"
A pause.
Then another.
The color drained from Marco's face on the other end.
Luca slowly stood.
Every muscle in his body became tense.
Dangerously tense.
"What is it?" Aria asked.
Luca lowered the phone.
His jaw clenched.
"The Serpents just attacked one of my safe houses."
Fear crept into her chest.
"Were there casualties?"
Luca looked directly at her.
And delivered the worst possible news.
"They took your father."
- Writer
