Twin Shadows
822 Words
Two identical voices in the dark should have been my first real warning.
The days after the attack blurred together. Alessio kept me close inside the penthouse, but something felt increasingly wrong. One moment he was cold and controlling, barking orders and expecting perfect obedience. The next moment he would pull me into his lap, kiss my neck, and call me "little fire" with a playful grin that did not match the man I thought I knew.
"You are acting strange," I told him one afternoon while we ate lunch.
Alessio looked up from his phone with a raised eyebrow. "Am I? Maybe marriage is changing me."
He smiled, but it did not reach his eyes.
Later that same evening he cornered me in the bedroom, his mood completely different. He was distant again, almost angry. "You will wear what I choose tonight. No arguments."
I nodded quietly. The shifts in his behavior left me confused and uneasy. Sometimes he called me "baby." Other times it was just "Liana" in that cold tone. I told myself it was stress from the attack and the war with Victor Kane. I tried to ignore the growing knot in my stomach.
But I could not ignore it forever.
That evening, Alessio received a phone call and stepped into his office. I waited a few minutes, then quietly slipped out of the bedroom. I crept down the hallway and pressed myself against the wall near the slightly open door. I needed answers.
His voice carried clearly. "Luca, this is getting out of hand. She is starting to notice the differences. You need to stay away for a while."
The other voice on speaker sounded almost exactly like him. "You are the one who wanted to keep her. I had her that first night too. Do not forget that, brother."
My heart stopped. Luca? Brother?
"You had your fun," Alessio replied sharply. "She belongs to me now. The contract is clear. Stop pushing this."
The conversation continued with heated words, but I had heard enough. I backed away slowly, my legs shaking. Twins. There were two of them. The thought made me dizzy. I hurried back to the bedroom before he could catch me.
I barely had time to compose myself when Alessio returned. "Get dressed. We are going out tonight. I need to show my wife off at the club."
I forced a smile and nodded. My mind raced the entire time I got ready. Was I losing my mind, or had my sister really thrown me into bed with two men?
The underground club owned by the Romano family was deep beneath the city. Heavy bass music pulsed through the air. Red and black lights flashed over the crowded dance floor. Beautiful people mixed with dangerous ones. Alessio kept a possessive hand on my lower back as we moved through the VIP section.
"Stay close to me," he ordered.
I stayed glued to his side, but my eyes kept scanning the room. Every tall man with dark hair made my pulse jump. Was Luca here somewhere watching me?
We had only been there for twenty minutes when trouble found us.
A large man with a scar across his cheek suddenly grabbed my arm and yanked me away from Alessio. "Victor Kane sends his regards, Mrs. Romano."
I screamed as he tried to drag me toward a side exit. People around us scattered. Alessio moved like lightning. He slammed his fist into the man's face with brutal force. The attacker stumbled, but two more men joined the fight.
"Get your f*****g hands off my wife!" Alessio roared.
He fought like a beast. One punch broke the first man's nose. He grabbed the second attacker and smashed his head against a table. Blood splattered across the floor. The music cut off and people started running for the exits.
I backed away in terror, my heart in my throat. Alessio was winning, but then another man appeared from the shadows behind the attackers. He moved with the same deadly grace. He grabbed the scarred man who had first touched me and snapped his arm with a sickening crack.
The new man turned toward me.
My blood ran ice cold.
He looked exactly like Alessio. Same sharp jaw. Same dark eyes. Same powerful build. Identical in every way.
Alessio straightened up, breathing hard, blood on his knuckles. He stepped beside the second man. They stood shoulder to shoulder, two perfect copies staring at me.
I froze between them, horror washing over me.
The second man wiped blood from his hand and smirked. His eyes locked onto mine with dark amusement.
"Hello, Liana," he said smoothly. "I have been waiting to meet you again since that first night."
The floor seemed to tilt beneath my feet. My mind screamed for answers as I stared at the two identical men.
There were two of them.
And they had both claimed me.
- Writer
