Chapter 14 SIX HOURS
2397 Words
The room felt colder.
Amara stared at the message on Luca's phone.
YOU HAVE SIX HOURS.
Beneath it was an address.
COME ALONE, MAFIA KING.
She looked at Luca.
“What are you going to do?”
He didn't answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the screen.
“Luca?”
“I’m going.”
“Alone?”
“That is what they asked for.”
“You can't be serious.”
He finally looked at her.
“If I don't go, your mother dies.”
Amara's heart tightened.
“And if you go alone, you could die.”
“I've survived worse.”
“This isn't about you.”
His expression softened.
“I know.”
“It’s about my mother.”
“I know.”
“Then let me come.”
“No.”
She stared at him.
“You just said this isn't about you.”
“And I'm still saying no.”
“Why?”
“Because whoever sent that message knows exactly what they're doing.”
Luca placed his phone on the table.
“They want me alone because they believe you're my weakness.”
Amara crossed her arms.
“Are they wrong?”
He looked at her.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Luca walked toward her.
“No.”
The single word made her heart race.
“You are my weakness.”
He stopped in front of her.
“But you're also the reason I'm still alive.”
Amara swallowed.
“I don't understand you.”
“You don't have to.”
“I think I do.”
She looked into his eyes.
“You're afraid.”
Luca's jaw tightened.
“I don't get afraid.”
“You were afraid in the warehouse.”
“That was different.”
“You thought you'd lost me.”
His expression changed.
Amara stepped closer.
“You were scared.”
Luca looked away.
She reached for his hand.
His fingers immediately closed around hers.
“I don't want you to go alone.”
“I have to.”
“Then take me.”
“No.”
“Luca—”
“Amara.”
His voice was firm.
“You're staying here.”
She pulled her hand away.
“Then I'll follow you.”
He stared at her.
“I mean it.”
“So do I.”
For a moment, something almost like amusement appeared in his eyes.
“You're impossible.”
“You knew that already.”
A faint smile touched his lips.
Then it disappeared.
“Six hours.”
He looked at the clock.
“Whatever happens, you stay with my men.”
Amara nodded.
But she had already made up her mind.
She wasn't staying behind.
---
An hour later, Luca stood in the underground command center.
Maps covered the table.
His men surrounded him.
“Search the address,” he ordered.
One of them typed rapidly.
“We're getting nothing.”
“Try again.”
“Already did.”
Another man approached.
“Boss, we've checked every property registered within ten kilometers.”
“And?”
“Nothing matches.”
Luca's eyes narrowed.
“Then it's not registered.”
He pointed toward the map.
“Search abandoned properties.”
The man nodded.
A few minutes passed.
Then—
“We found something.”
Luca looked up.
An old photograph appeared on the screen.
A large mansion stood at the edge of a forest.
“Blackwood Estate,” the man said.
“It was abandoned twenty years ago.”
Luca stared at the photograph.
Something about it felt familiar.
“Why?”
“Officially, there was a fire.”
“And unofficially?”
The man hesitated.
“Twenty-two people died.”
Amara, who had been standing near the entrance, walked closer.
“Twenty-two?”
Everyone turned.
Luca's expression hardened.
“What are you doing here?”
“I heard you.”
“You were supposed to be upstairs.”
“I was supposed to stay with your men.”
“You're supposed to stay safe.”
“And you're supposed to be going alone.”
Luca sighed.
“Amara.”
She pointed at the screen.
“Blackwood Estate.”
The name sent a strange feeling through her.
“I've heard of that place.”
Luca looked at her.
“Where?”
“My father mentioned it once.”
“When?”
“I was little.”
She tried to remember.
“He told my mother never to go there.”
Luca's eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
She closed her eyes.
A faint memory surfaced.
Her father standing in the kitchen.
Her mother crying.
A suitcase beside the door.
Her father had said something.
Something she had forgotten for years.
“Blackwood…”
She whispered.
“What?”
“My father said…”
She opened her eyes.
“He said, ‘If they ever take her there, we lose everything.’”
Silence.
Luca stared at her.
“Who is ‘her’?”
Amara's face went pale.
“Me.”
---
Three hours remained.
Luca prepared to leave.
He wore black from head to toe.
His gun was secured beneath his jacket.
Two knives were hidden at his waist.
A small communication device was attached to his collar.
Amara watched from the hallway.
“You're really going.”
“Yes.”
“Come back.”
His eyes met hers.
“I will.”
She stepped toward him.
“Promise?”
Luca looked at her for a long moment.
“I promise.”
Amara hesitated.
Then she reached up and fixed his collar.
Her fingers brushed his neck.
Luca became completely still.
“You're supposed to be the scary one,” she whispered.
“I am.”
“You don't look scary.”
“That's because I'm looking at you.”
Her cheeks warmed.
Luca's expression softened.
Then he gently touched her cheek.
“If anything happens tonight…”
“Don't.”
“Listen to me.”
“No.”
“Amara.”
She looked at him.
“You have to listen.”
His thumb brushed her cheek.
“If anything happens, don't trust anyone.”
“Not even your men?”
“Especially anyone who claims to know my father.”
Her stomach tightened.
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“My mother said I should fear the person I trust most.”
Luca's expression went cold.
“You trust me?”
Amara nodded.
“Yes.”
“Then trust yourself if I ever give you a reason not to.”
She frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“It means you should never follow anyone blindly.”
He stepped back.
“Not even me.”
Then he walked away.
Amara watched him disappear through the doors.
She waited.
One minute.
Two.
Then she turned toward Luca's security team.
“Where is the second exit?”
The guard frowned.
“Ma'am?”
“I need to speak to someone.”
---
Luca's convoy moved through the city.
Three black vehicles.
No lights.
No sirens.
The forest grew thicker as they left the city behind.
Luca sat in the back seat.
His phone buzzed.
A message.
FIVE HOURS.
He stared at it.
Then another message arrived.
A photograph.
Amara.
Standing inside his mansion.
Luca's blood ran cold.
The photograph had been taken only minutes ago.
He immediately called his head of security.
No answer.
He called again.
Nothing.
His expression changed.
“Turn around.”
The driver looked at him.
“Boss?”
“Turn the car around.”
They made a sharp turn.
Luca's phone buzzed again.
This time there was a video.
He pressed play.
Amara was walking down a corridor.
Someone was following her.
Luca's heart slammed against his ribs.
“AMARA!”
He jumped out of the vehicle before it had completely stopped.
His men followed.
He called her.
Her phone rang.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Luca's breathing became heavier.
“Get back to the mansion.”
They raced toward the city.
---
Amara moved through the underground passage.
She had discovered the second exit after questioning one of the guards.
It led toward the old section of the mansion.
She had followed a strange sound.
A ringing phone.
When she reached the end of the corridor, she found a small room.
An old desk stood inside.
On it was a telephone.
It was ringing.
Amara hesitated.
Then she answered.
“Hello?”
A man's voice came through.
“You shouldn't have come.”
“Who are you?”
“You're more like your father than your mother.”
“What does that mean?”
“You ask too many questions.”
“Where is my mother?”
The man laughed.
“Closer than you think.”
Amara's heart raced.
“Put her on the phone.”
“Not yet.”
“Then tell me why you're doing this.”
“You want the truth?”
“Yes.”
“Then look underneath the desk.”
Amara frowned.
She crouched down.
There was a small metal box hidden beneath it.
She pulled it out.
Inside was a key.
And a photograph.
Amara stared.
The photograph showed her mother holding a newborn baby.
But there was another woman standing beside her.
An older woman.
Amara didn't recognize her.
Then she noticed the baby.
A small birthmark was visible on its shoulder.
Amara touched her own shoulder.
She had the same mark.
Her breathing stopped.
“Who is that woman?”
The voice answered.
“Your grandmother.”
Amara froze.
“My grandmother is dead.”
“That's what your mother told you.”
“She's alive?”
“Very much so.”
Amara stood.
“Where?”
The call ended.
She stared at the phone.
Then she heard footsteps.
Someone was approaching.
Amara grabbed the key and photograph.
The door opened.
A man stepped inside.
He was one of Luca's guards.
Amara recognized him.
“You.”
He smiled.
“You weren't supposed to find this room.”
Her stomach dropped.
“Where is Luca?”
“On his way to Blackwood.”
“Why?”
“To rescue your mother.”
Amara backed away.
“You work for him.”
The man's smile disappeared.
“I used to.”
He pulled out a gun.
“Now I work for the real king.”
Amara's heart pounded.
“Alessandro?”
“No.”
The man stepped closer.
“You've been looking in the wrong direction.”
“Who?”
He raised his gun.
“The man who has been sitting beside the throne all along.”
---
Luca's convoy arrived at the mansion.
The gates were open.
Too open.
Luca stepped out.
“Where are the guards?”
No one answered.
His men spread out.
He entered the mansion.
Silence.
Too much silence.
Then he heard a scream.
“AMARA!”
He ran toward the sound.
A gunshot exploded.
Luca stopped.
His men rushed past him.
He entered the room.
The guard lay unconscious on the floor.
The window was shattered.
Amara was gone.
Luca's face became terrifyingly still.
“Find her.”
His men searched every room.
Nothing.
Then Luca saw something on the floor.
A photograph.
He picked it up.
His eyes widened.
It showed Amara's mother.
The mysterious older woman.
And a baby.
On the back was a handwritten message.
YOUR MOTHER DIDN'T HIDE YOU FROM ALESSANDRO.
Luca turned the photograph over.
His breathing stopped.
The rest of the message read:
SHE HID YOU FROM YOUR TRUE FATHER.
Luca stared at the words.
“Impossible.”
His phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
“Where is she?”
A man's voice laughed.
“You're always asking the wrong questions, Luca.”
“Who are you?”
“You've spent your entire life believing Alessandro Moretti was your greatest enemy.”
Luca's eyes hardened.
“Where is Amara?”
“You'll find her at Blackwood.”
“If you touch her—”
“She isn't the one in danger.”
Luca froze.
“Then who is?”
A pause.
“Everyone.”
The call ended.
Luca immediately turned to his men.
“Get the cars.”
One of them hesitated.
“Boss, Blackwood could be a trap.”
“I know.”
“You can't go there without backup.”
Luca looked at the photograph.
Then at the message.
“I don't care.”
---
Amara woke up in darkness.
Her hands were tied behind her.
Her head hurt.
She tried to move.
A chain rattled.
“Where am I?”
A light came on.
She was sitting in a chair inside an unfamiliar room.
The walls were covered with old photographs.
Her parents.
Luca.
Alessandro.
Her mother.
And the mysterious woman.
Amara's eyes widened.
A door opened.
A woman entered.
She was elderly, elegant, and calm.
Amara stared at her.
The woman smiled.
“You look exactly like your mother.”
Amara's voice trembled.
“Who are you?”
The woman walked closer.
“You already know.”
Amara shook her head.
“No.”
The woman touched her face.
“I am Evelyn's mother.”
Amara's heart stopped.
“My grandmother?”
“Yes.”
“Where is my mother?”
“Alive.”
“Where?”
The woman smiled sadly.
“She is trying to save you.”
“From whom?”
The woman's expression changed.
“From the truth.”
Amara's pulse raced.
“What truth?”
The woman stepped back.
“You were never meant to inherit the Moretti empire.”
Amara frowned.
“Then why am I here?”
“Because your father wasn't Daniel Bennett.”
Amara stared at her.
The woman continued.
“Daniel raised you.”
“But he was my father.”
“He loved you.”
She paused.
“But he wasn't the man who gave you your blood.”
Amara's lips parted.
“Who was?”
The woman looked toward the door.
Footsteps approached from outside.
Then a man's voice spoke.
“Me.”
Amara turned.
The door opened.
A tall man stepped inside.
Her heart stopped.
She knew that face.
She had seen it in the photographs.
But there was something else.
Something terrifyingly familiar.
The man smiled.
“Hello, daughter.”
Amara couldn't breathe.
Because the man standing before her was—
Alessandro Moretti.
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