Chapter 6: Ashes of Home
1074 Words
"It's been attacked."
The words echoed inside Aria's head.
For a moment, she couldn't breathe.
Couldn't think.
Couldn't move.
"What did you say?"
The guard looked uncomfortable.
"The Romano mansion was attacked approximately twenty minutes ago."
"No."
Aria shook her head immediately.
"No, that's impossible."
She had left only a few hours earlier.
The house had been fine.
Her father had been fine.
Everything had been fine.
Or at least she had thought so.
"My father."
Her voice cracked.
"My father was there."
The guard looked toward Luca.
Not Aria.
Luca's expression hardened.
"Answer her."
The guard swallowed.
"We don't know his condition yet."
Fear exploded inside her chest.
Without thinking, Aria ran toward the nearest vehicle.
"I'm going home."
Luca caught her wrist.
"No."
She spun around.
"Let go of me."
"Not until you calm down."
"My father could be hurt!"
"Which is exactly why you're not going."
His grip tightened slightly.
Not enough to hurt.
Enough to stop her.
Aria's eyes filled with angry tears.
"You don't understand."
For the first time, Luca's voice softened.
"I understand more than you think."
"Then let me go."
"No."
The single word shattered her remaining patience.
She yanked her arm free.
"Stop controlling everything!"
The guards immediately looked away.
Nobody seemed willing to witness what happened next.
Luca's jaw tightened.
"Aria."
"No."
She stepped backward.
"I'm tired of this."
Her breathing became uneven.
"You're always deciding things for me."
"Because someone has to."
The words slipped out before he could stop them.
Silence followed.
Dangerous silence.
Aria stared at him.
Hurt flashing across her face.
Something inside Luca immediately regretted saying it.
But before either could speak—
A phone rang.
One of the guards answered.
His expression changed instantly.
Then he handed the phone to Luca.
"It's Marco."
Luca took the call.
"What?"
The conversation lasted less than thirty seconds.
When he ended the call, his face was unreadable.
That frightened Aria more than anger would have.
"What happened?"
Luca looked at her.
The answer came slowly.
"Your father is alive."
Relief crashed over her.
Her knees nearly gave out.
Thank God.
Thank God.
But then she noticed something.
Luca wasn't relieved.
Not completely.
Which meant there was more.
"What aren't you telling me?"
His eyes darkened.
"The mansion was set on fire."
Aria froze.
"What?"
"The main structure suffered extensive damage."
Her heart sank.
"No..."
The image of her childhood home filled her mind.
Birthday parties.
Christmas mornings.
Family dinners.
Memories.
Years of memories.
Gone.
Just like that.
"Why?"
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew.
Or perhaps because someone did.
And wasn't ready to say it.
---
Two hours later, Luca reluctantly agreed to take her to the property.
By then, emergency crews had contained the fire.
Smoke still rose into the evening sky.
The sight nearly broke her.
The Romano mansion looked like a corpse.
Blackened walls.
Broken windows.
Collapsed sections of roof.
The beautiful home she had grown up in barely existed anymore.
Tears filled her eyes.
"No..."
She stepped out of the SUV.
The smell hit her immediately.
Smoke.
Ash.
Burned wood.
Burned memories.
Everything she loved reduced to ruins.
Aria walked forward slowly.
As if approaching a grave.
A familiar voice called her name.
"Aria!"
She turned.
Her father.
Alive.
Before she could stop herself, she ran.
"Dad!"
He caught her in his arms.
For the first time in days, she allowed herself to cry.
Not from fear.
Not from frustration.
Relief.
Pure relief.
"You're okay."
"I'm okay."
His voice shook.
"I thought..."
"So did I."
They stood there for several moments.
Neither willing to let go.
Eventually, her father stepped back.
Only then did she notice the bandage around his forehead.
"What happened?"
His expression darkened.
"There was an explosion."
Her eyes widened.
"An explosion?"
He nodded.
"The fire wasn't accidental."
Luca approached quietly from behind.
The atmosphere immediately changed.
Her father noticed him.
So did everyone else.
The workers.
The firefighters.
The police officers.
Respect.
Fear.
Suspicion.
All directed toward Luca Moretti.
One detective approached.
"Mr. Moretti."
Luca looked at him.
"What?"
"We found something."
The detective handed over a plastic evidence bag.
Inside was a small metal object.
At first, Aria couldn't tell what it was.
Then she noticed the engraving.
A symbol.
A black serpent.
Luca's expression instantly turned cold.
Dangerously cold.
"What does it mean?" Aria asked.
Nobody answered.
Her father looked pale.
The detective looked nervous.
Even the guards exchanged uneasy glances.
That terrified her.
Because if all these people were worried—
The situation had to be serious.
Finally, Luca spoke.
"The Serpents."
Aria frowned.
"The what?"
"A criminal organization."
The detective nodded.
"They've been quiet for years."
Her father looked away.
Too quickly.
Aria noticed.
And so did Luca.
A strange silence followed.
Luca slowly turned toward him.
"You know something."
It wasn't a question.
Her father's face lost color.
"Victor."
Aria's pulse quickened.
"Dad?"
He remained silent.
"Dad."
Finally, he spoke.
Three words.
Three words that changed everything.
"They're after her."
The world seemed to stop.
Aria stared at him.
"What?"
Her father closed his eyes.
Pain filled his face.
"The attack."
"The debt."
"The threats."
His voice trembled.
"It was never about me."
Fear crawled down Aria's spine.
"What are you talking about?"
Nobody answered immediately.
Because the truth was apparently worse than anything she imagined.
Luca's gaze never left Victor Romano.
"Tell her."
Her father's hands shook.
"I can't."
"You don't have a choice."
Aria looked between them.
Confusion.
Fear.
Frustration.
Everything mixed together.
"Tell me what?"
Her father swallowed hard.
Then finally said the words.
"The people who attacked us..."
His voice cracked.
"They've been looking for you since the day you were born."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Aria stared at him.
Certain she had heard wrong.
"What?"
Her father looked as though he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.
"The truth about your mother."
Her heartbeat thundered.
The truth?
"What truth?"
Tears appeared in his eyes.
The sight terrified her.
Because Victor Romano never cried.
Not even when the company collapsed.
Not even when the mansion burned.
Yet now—
He looked completely broken.
"The woman who raised you wasn't your biological mother."
Aria stopped breathing.
"What?"
The word emerged as little more than a whisper.
Around them, the smoke continued rising into the darkening sky.
But Aria barely noticed.
Because her entire world had just shifted.
And somehow—
She knew the worst was still coming.
- Writer
