Protect?
1297 Words
Richard Sinclair’s breathing turned ragged.
The gun never moved.
Alessandro’s hand was terrifyingly steady.
One pull of the trigger.
That was all it would take.
The guards around the hall stood frozen, too afraid to interfere. Even Dante remained silent now, sharp eyes studying every expression carefully.
Aurora could barely breathe.
Her father was on the floor.
Alessandro was ready to kill him.
And somewhere between the smoke-filled memories and the shattered pieces of truth—
she realized she no longer knew who the real monster was.
Richard slowly looked toward her.
Not pleading.
Never pleading.
But calculating.
Cruel.
“Aurora,” he rasped, blood staining his lip, “tell him.”
Alessandro’s eyes darkened dangerously.
Richard smiled weakly despite the gun aimed at him.
“Tell him what happened after Isabella died.”
Aurora stiffened.
Something cold crawled down her spine.
Richard laughed softly.
Broken.
Unstable.
“You think I ruined your life?” he whispered. “You have no idea what your mother did before she died.”
“Enough,” Alessandro said coldly.
But Richard kept staring at Aurora.
“She was going to leave us.”
Silence.
Aurora’s face drained completely.
Richard’s smile widened bitterly.
“She wanted to take you and disappear.” His voice cracked strangely. “She thought I was dangerous.”
Dante’s expression sharpened.
Alessandro’s finger tightened slightly against the trigger.
Richard looked directly into Aurora’s eyes.
“She was right.”
Aurora flinched violently.
And then—
another memory hit her.
Not smoke this time.
Voices.
Her mother crying.
“Please, Richard… not in front of her…”
A loud crash.
Glass breaking.
Aurora staggered backward again.
Alessandro immediately caught her before she could fall.
The moment his hand touched her—
she broke.
A shattered sob escaped her throat.
“I remember…” she whispered.
Richard went still.
Aurora’s entire body trembled violently.
“You hurt her…”
Richard’s jaw clenched.
“You always hurt her…”
The room became suffocatingly silent.
Even the guards looked disturbed now.
Aurora looked at her father with pure horror.
Not confusion anymore.
Recognition.
Richard saw it.
And for the first time—
his mask slipped completely.
Not powerful.
Not untouchable.
Just ugly.
Rotten.
Dangerous.
Alessandro watched Aurora carefully, his rage becoming something colder now.
Something lethal.
“She remembers everything,” Dante murmured quietly.
Richard suddenly snapped.
“She poisoned you against me!” he shouted at Aurora. “Everything I did was for this family!”
Aurora recoiled.
“No…” she whispered.
Richard’s breathing became frantic now.
“She wanted to destroy everything! She wanted to take you away from me!”
“She wanted to protect her daughter,” Alessandro said softly.
Richard froze.
Alessandro’s voice remained calm.
Too calm.
“She knew exactly what you were.”
The gun lowered slightly.
Not mercy.
Decision.
Richard noticed too late.
Alessandro looked toward one of his guards.
“Take him downstairs.”
Richard’s eyes widened instantly.
Real fear exploded across his face.
“No.”
The guard grabbed him roughly.
Richard struggled violently now.
“No! Alessandro—”
“Lock every exit,” Alessandro ordered coldly.
“NO!”
Aurora stared in confusion as Richard was dragged away.
Then she noticed something horrifying.
Dante looked disturbed.
Actually disturbed.
Aurora’s stomach dropped.
“What’s downstairs?” she whispered weakly.
Nobody answered.
Richard’s screams echoed through the mansion as guards dragged him away.
“No! DON’T TAKE ME THERE!”
Alessandro finally turned toward Aurora slowly.
His expression softened the moment he looked at her.
But his eyes—
his eyes were monstrous now.
“He made your mother die afraid,” Alessandro said quietly.
Aurora’s breath trembled.
Alessandro stepped closer.
“So now…”
His voice became deadly calm.
“He gets to feel fear too.”
And somewhere deep below the Sinclair mansion—
a heavy metal door opened.
The scream echoed through the mansion long after Richard disappeared downstairs.
Then—
silence.
Aurora stood frozen in Alessandro’s arms, her fingers gripping the front of his coat unconsciously, as though letting go would make the entire world collapse beneath her feet.
Nobody in the hall moved.
Nobody dared.
Because the atmosphere had changed completely now.
This was no longer revenge.
This was judgment.
Dante slowly stepped forward first.
“Alessandro.”
One word.
Careful.
Measured.
A warning disguised as calm.
Alessandro didn’t look at him.
His eyes remained on Aurora.
“She shouldn’t hear this.”
Aurora’s voice came out weak.
“Hear what?”
Nobody answered.
That terrified her more.
Downstairs—
something heavy slammed violently against metal.
Richard.
Another scream followed.
Closer this time.
Desperate.
Aurora flinched hard.
Alessandro immediately pulled her closer instinctively.
The movement was automatic.
Protective.
Possessive.
Dangerously gentle.
Aurora noticed all of it.
And somehow—
that frightened her too.
Because monsters were not supposed to hold people like this.
Yet Alessandro held her as if she were something breakable.
Something precious.
Another crash echoed below.
Then Richard screamed again—
“No! KEEP HIM AWAY FROM ME!”
Aurora’s heart stopped.
Him?
Dante’s expression darkened slightly.
Alessandro finally looked toward the staircase leading underground.
Cold fury sharpened his face.
“Interesting,” Dante murmured quietly.
Aurora looked between them anxiously.
“What’s happening down there?”
Still no answer.
Then—
footsteps.
Slow.
Measured.
Coming from below.
Everyone in the hall stiffened.
A man emerged from the underground staircase.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Black gloves stained with blood.
His expression completely emotionless.
Aurora had never seen him before.
But Richard’s terrified screaming exploded the second he appeared.
“NO! PLEASE!”
The stranger ignored it completely.
He stopped beside Alessandro silently.
Alessandro finally spoke.
“Did he confess?”
The man removed one glove slowly.
“Not yet.”
Aurora’s stomach twisted.
Not yet.
The stranger’s eyes shifted toward Aurora briefly.
And for the first time—
emotion flickered across his face.
Shock.
Real shock.
“She looks exactly like Isabella.”
The entire hall went silent again.
Aurora’s breath caught painfully.
The stranger stared at her for another long second before looking back at Alessandro.
“That’s why he kept her hidden.”
Dante narrowed his eyes immediately.
“Hidden?”
The stranger nodded once.
“He was afraid.”
Aurora frowned weakly.
“Afraid of what?”
This time—
the stranger answered.
“Afraid you’d remember what happened that night.”
A cold chill ran through her body.
The man reached into his coat slowly.
Aurora tensed instinctively.
But he only pulled out something small.
Burned.
Blackened by fire.
A silver locket.
Aurora stopped breathing.
Because she recognized it instantly.
Her mother’s.
Her hand trembled violently as she took it.
“How…?”
The stranger looked toward the basement.
“We found it in Richard’s private safe.”
Aurora opened the damaged locket carefully.
Inside was a tiny photograph.
Burned around the edges.
Her mother smiling softly while holding a little girl.
Aurora.
Tears filled her eyes immediately.
Then she noticed something else tucked behind the photograph.
A folded piece of paper.
Alessandro saw it too.
Aurora unfolded it slowly with shaking hands.
And froze.
It was a letter.
Written by Isabella.
But it wasn’t addressed to Richard.
It was addressed to—
Alessandro.
Aurora looked up at him in shock.
Alessandro’s entire body went still.
Dante’s eyes widened slightly.
The stranger quietly stepped backward.
Even he looked tense now.
Aurora looked back down at the letter.
Her mother’s handwriting blurred through her tears.
But one sentence stood out clearly.
“If anything happens to me… protect our daughter.”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Aurora looked at Alessandro slowly.
Confused.
Shaken.
Terrified.
Richard’s distant screaming echoed again from underground.
But nobody moved.
Because suddenly—
everything had changed again.
- Writer
