The phone slipped slowly from Damien’s hand.
Elena watched him.
She could see it in his eyes.
Fear.
Not fear for himself.
Fear for her.
“What happened that night?” she asked.
Damien said nothing.
“Damien.”
Still nothing.
Her voice became quieter.
“You know something.”
Marco looked away.
Even he seemed uncomfortable.
Elena stepped closer to Damien.
“I’ve spent my entire life believing my mother died.”
Damien finally looked at her.
“She didn’t die.”
Elena’s breath caught.
“Then where has she been?”
“Running.”
“From who?”
Damien’s jaw tightened.
“From Luciano Vieri.”
Adrian suddenly moved toward the chapel doors.
“We shouldn’t stay here.”
Damien nodded.
“Marco, get the cars.”
Marco turned.
Then stopped.
“Damien…”
“What?”
Marco pointed toward the entrance.
Three black cars were approaching through the trees.
“They found us.”
Damien immediately pulled Elena behind him.
“Everyone move.”
Gunfire erupted.
The chapel windows shattered.
Adrian fired back while Marco dragged Elena toward the rear exit.
Damien remained behind.
He fired twice.
Three men fell.
“Damien!” Elena shouted.
“Go!”
“I’m not leaving you!”
He turned toward her.
For a moment, the chaos disappeared.
“Elena, please.”
The softness in his voice made her stop.
Then another bullet struck the wall beside him.
Marco grabbed Elena’s hand.
“Now!”
They ran.
Outside, rain had begun to fall.
The old chapel grounds had become a battlefield. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Damien, Marco, Adrian, and Elena reached the vehicles.
“Which car?” Marco asked.
Damien looked at Adrian.
“The second one.”
Adrian nodded.
They climbed inside.
The cars sped away.
But none of them noticed the small device attached underneath the rear bumper.
Inside the vehicle, Elena sat beside Damien.
She was silent.
Too silent.
Finally, she spoke.
“Tell me everything.”
Damien stared through the windshield.
“Elena…”
“No more secrets.”
He looked at her.
She had tears in her eyes.
“I’ve lost my father.
I’ve lost my mother.
And now I’m finding out that the man I married has known pieces of my family’s history that I never knew.”
Damien reached for her hand.
She pulled away.
“Tell me.”
He took a deep breath.
“Fifteen years ago, your mother discovered that Antonio was working with Luciano Vieri.”
Elena frowned.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Money.
Power.
Protection.”
Elena shook her head.
“That doesn’t sound like him.”
“You didn’t know everything about your father.”
She looked down.
“What did my mother discover?”
Damien’s voice became quieter.
“She discovered that Luciano wanted control of the Rossi family.”
“And my mother stopped him?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Damien looked away.
“Your mother tried to expose him.”
Elena’s eyes filled with tears.
“And?”
“She disappeared.”
“Because Luciano took her?”
Damien hesitated.
“No.”
Elena looked at him.
“Then who?”
Damien finally whispered:
“Your father.”
Elena stared at him in disbelief.
“My father didn’t kill her.”
“I never said he killed her.”
“Then what did he do?”
“He handed her over.”
Elena covered her mouth.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“To Luciano?”
Damien nodded.
“Why?”
“Because Luciano threatened you.”
Elena looked at him.
“Me?”
“You were only six years old.”
She shook her head.
“My father gave up my mother to save me?”
“That was the choice he believed he had.”
Elena looked out the window.
The rain blurred the lights outside.
Then she remembered something.
A memory.
A woman’s voice.
A lullaby.
A warm hand brushing through her hair.
And a whispered sentence she hadn’t remembered in years.
“If anything happens to me, never trust the man with the black crown.”
Elena suddenly turned toward Damien.
“I remember.”
Damien looked at her.
“What?”
“My mother told me something.”
“What did she say?”
Elena’s voice trembled.
“She told me never to trust the man with the black crown.”
Adrian, sitting in the front passenger seat, suddenly turned around.
His face had gone pale.
“What?”
Elena repeated it.
Adrian looked at Damien.
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?” Marco asked.
Adrian slowly shook his head.
“Because the Black Crown wasn’t Luciano’s symbol.”
Damien’s eyes narrowed.
“Then whose was it?”
Adrian stared at Elena.
“It belonged to someone much closer to you.”
Elena’s heart stopped.
“Who?”
Before Adrian could answer—
BOOM!
The vehicle exploded.
Everything went black.
And somewhere in the darkness, Elena heard Damien screaming her name.
“ELENA!”
Then silence.
To be continued…