Chapter Three — Protection
224 Words
The first threat arrived three days later.
It wasn’t dramatic. No gunshots. No shattered glass. Just a car following her too long. A man watching her reflection in a storefront window. A message with no sender and no words.
Elena didn’t panic.
She went home, locked the door, and sat still long enough to confirm what she already knew.
This wasn’t random.
She called Luca.
He answered on the second ring.
“Where are you?” he asked.
“At home.”
“Stay there.”
Within minutes, the street filled with quiet efficiency—men who didn’t run, didn’t speak loudly, didn’t look at her unless necessary.
Luca arrived last.
He stood just inside her doorway, scanning the space, cataloging exits, threats, weaknesses. Only then did his attention settle on her.
“You understand now,” he said.
“That this is your world?” she asked.
“That it touches anything you let it.”
“And if I don’t let it?”
Luca stepped closer, his voice low but steady.
“Then it touches you anyway. Just without my permission.”
Elena searched his face—not for comfort, but for truth.
“And this protection,” she said. “What does it cost?”
“Nothing yet.”
“Yet,” she repeated.
A pause.
“Yet,” he agreed.
- Writer
