Chapter 8: The Devil Bleeds
565 Words
The explosion shook the mansion from its foundations.
Crystal shattered.
The lights flickered.
Somewhere downstairs, alarms screamed through the estate.
"Boss!" one of the guards yelled into his earpiece. "The east gate is down!"
Luca didn't flinch.
"How many?"
"At least thirty."
"And more are coming."
Luca nodded once.
"Seal the west wing."
"They're trying to draw us outside."
The guards scattered without another word.
Sofia stood frozen.
The mansion had transformed into a fortress within seconds.
Everyone moved with military precision.
Everyone...
Except Luca.
He took a single step toward the door.
Then stopped.
His hand pressed against his left side.
His breathing became uneven.
A single drop of blood hit the polished marble floor.
Then another.
Sofia's eyes widened.
"You're bleeding."
Luca lowered his hand as though nothing had happened.
"It's nothing."
"It doesn't look like nothing."
"It's an old wound."
Maria rushed into the room carrying fresh bandages.
"Signore, please."
"You need a doctor."
"I'm busy."
"The bullet reopened the wound."
Sofia frowned.
"Bullet?"
Maria looked at her in surprise.
"You didn't know?"
Luca's voice cut through the room.
"Maria."
She immediately fell silent.
But Sofia had already seen the blood soaking through his black shirt.
Without thinking, she crossed the room.
"What are you doing?" Luca asked.
"Standing still."
She gently caught his wrist before he could walk away.
His skin was cold.
Far colder than she expected.
"You've lost too much blood."
"I've survived worse."
"I'm sure you have."
"But that doesn't mean you ignore it."
For a moment...
Neither of them moved.
Luca looked down at her hand resting against his wrist.
No one touched him.
Not his guards.
Not his staff.
Not even his closest advisers.
Yet this woman—who had every reason to hate him—stood there trying to stop the bleeding.
"Boss..." one of the guards said quietly.
"We can handle the attack."
Luca didn't answer.
His eyes remained on Sofia.
She carefully lifted the edge of his torn shirt.
The white bandage beneath was almost completely crimson.
Her breath caught.
"This happened at the gallery..."
He gave the slightest nod.
"You were shot protecting me."
Silence.
"I wasn't protecting you."
"You pulled me out of the line of fire."
"It was strategic."
She almost laughed.
"Strategic?"
"Keeping you alive serves a purpose."
His words were cold.
But somehow...
They didn't match his actions.
Sofia reached for a clean bandage from Maria.
"I need to stop the bleeding."
"You don't know how."
"My father was a paramedic."
Luca studied her for a long moment.
Then, without another word...
He removed his bloodstained jacket.
A long scar stretched across his shoulder.
Fresh stitches had torn open where the bullet had entered.
Sofia swallowed.
The injury was worse than he had admitted.
She cleaned the wound as gently as she could.
Luca never winced.
Never complained.
Only once did his jaw tighten.
"You don't have to pretend it doesn't hurt," she said softly.
Pain flickered across his face.
Not from the wound.
From the words.
Just as Sofia finished tying the fresh bandage—
BOOM!
A second explosion rocked the mansion.
The study doors burst open.
A bloodied guard stumbled inside.
His face was pale with fear.
"Boss..."
He struggled to catch his breath.
"They're not here to kill us."
Luca's expression darkened.
"They're here..."
The guard looked directly at Sofia.
"...to take Miss Moretti alive."
- Writer
