Chapter 14: Echoes in the Walls
602 Words
Zarek didn’t sleep again.
Not that night. Maybe not for the next several.
He doubled the guards. Rewired the entire west wing. Renzo brought in mercenaries from Prague—quiet men with colder eyes than even Zarek’s. But none of it changed the fact that Ciro had walked right past all of them.
And left a message behind.
Lucien watched Zarek unravel by degrees. Not loud. Not messy. Just quiet fury—like glass cracking under pressure.
> “He’s already inside, isn’t he?” Lucien asked.
Zarek didn’t look at him. Just nodded once. “The estate isn’t compromised. I am.”
---
Velenza Estate – Basement Archives
Renzo pulled an old file from a locked drawer. It was marked with a single word:
> CIRO.
Inside were photos—some surveillance, some from dossiers. Ciro in military fatigues. Ciro smiling with blood on his face. Ciro at age nineteen, standing beside Zarek with a hand on his shoulder.
> Like a brother.
> Like a leash.
Renzo threw the file on the desk. “We buried this chapter years ago.”
Zarek stared at it. “We didn’t bury it deep enough.”
---
The Next Day — Lucien’s Room
Lucien tried to focus on a book. He couldn’t remember the title. Couldn’t even focus on the words. His eyes kept drifting to the window.
Then the camera in the corner blinked red.
Once.
Twice.
Then off.
Lucien sat up. “Zarek?”
No reply.
He pressed the intercom button. Static.
Something shifted behind him.
Lucien turned just in time to see a small black envelope slip under the door.
His breath caught.
He approached slowly and picked it up.
> Inside: a polaroid.
> Of himself.
Sleeping.
> Last night.
Lucien dropped the photo like it burned.
The door burst open seconds later.
Zarek.
Gun drawn. Face pale.
> “He was here again,” Lucien said.
> “Where?”
Lucien pointed to the floor. “Under the door. He left me this.”
Zarek picked up the photo.
And stared.
Then ripped it in half, then again, then again, until nothing remained but fluttering black scraps on the floor.
---
That Night — Dining Room
Zarek sat across from Lucien, untouched whiskey in front of him. The fire crackled behind them, but no warmth reached the space between them.
> “You’re pulling away,” Lucien said softly.
Zarek didn’t answer at first. Then: “Because if he gets you, and I’ve let myself love you, I won’t survive it.”
Lucien reached across the table and took his hand. “You already love me. That’s not something you get to control.”
Zarek looked up. “He’s not just trying to kill me, Lucien. He’s trying to unmake me. Brick by brick.”
> “Then let me be the piece he can’t move.”
Zarek stood and pulled Lucien into his arms. “If I lose you, there’s nothing left to protect. Understand that.”
Lucien whispered against his chest. “Then don’t lose me.”
---
Elsewhere — Ciro’s Lair
Ciro sharpened a blade with slow, deliberate strokes.
A map of the Velenza estate was pinned to the wall behind him.
> A red “X” marked the panic room.
He turned to his man.
> “Tomorrow,” he said, smiling like sin. “We breach the walls. Let’s see how long Zarek can keep pretending he’s in control.”
And behind him, lit by a single red bulb, were dozens of photographs.
All of Lucien.
Some new.
Some taken moments ago.
- Writer
