The proposition
360 Words
She didn’t sleep that night.
Matteo’s words replayed in her mind like a siren’s song.
I should be closer.
What did he want from her? Her father had refused to ally with the De Lucas in the final years of his life. He believed Matteo was too volatile, too hungry. If he was in Palermo now, it wasn’t coincidence—it was strategy.
The next morning, her father’s lawyer handed her a sealed envelope.
“A letter. He wanted you to have it after the funeral,” he said.
Elira waited until she was alone to open it.
My sweet girl,
If you're reading this, I'm gone. I only ask you to be brave. There's a ledger I kept—hidden in the villa’s cellar. Find it. And if De Luca comes to you, listen. He may be the only one who can keep you alive.
Trust no one but your instincts. And him.
—Papa
The villa smelled of old paper and cedar. Dust danced in beams of morning light as she opened the cellar door. The ledger was where he said it would be—wrapped in velvet, locked in a chest that hadn't been touched in years.
Inside were names. Dates. Transactions. Blood-stained pages of truth.
And then, footsteps.
Elira turned sharply, her heart stalling. Matteo stood in the doorway, eyes scanning her.
“You found it,” he said simply.
“How did you—?”
“I have my ways.”
She clutched the ledger. “If you think I’m giving this to you—”
“I don’t need it,” Matteo said. “I need you.”
He stepped closer, slowly. She backed against the stone wall.
“You have no idea what kind of war your father was holding back,” he whispered. “Now that he’s gone, every family is circling like wolves. You holding that ledger puts a target on your back.”
“Why do you care?”
His gaze softened—barely.
“Because you’re not your father. And because I made him a promise. If anything happened to him, I’d protect you. With my life.”
- Writer
