Elena couldn’t stop thinking about Damien’s final words.
Don’t trust anyone in this house.
Especially not me.
The words followed her all the way home.
She sat in the back seat of Luca’s car, staring through the window as the Moretti estate disappeared behind them.
There was something strange about Damien.
He could have threatened her.
He could have forced her to accept the marriage.
Instead, he had given her a choice.
Or at least, what looked like a choice.
“Elena.”
She looked toward Luca.
“Yes?”
“You should take his warning seriously.”
“Which part?”
“All of it.”
She studied him.
“You work for him.
Shouldn’t I trust you?”
Luca’s expression remained unreadable.
“You shouldn’t trust anyone simply because they work for Damien.”
Elena frowned.
“That’s not reassuring.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be.”
Before she could ask another question, his phone rang.
Luca answered.
“Yes?”
His expression changed.
“Where?”
He listened for several seconds.
“Don’t touch anything.
I’ll handle it.”
He ended the call.
“What happened?” Elena asked.
“Nothing.”
She almost laughed.
“That’s the same thing Damien said.”
Luca looked at her through the mirror.
“Then perhaps you should start learning when not to ask questions.”
When Elena arrived home, her father was waiting anxiously.
“How did it go?”
Elena dropped her handbag onto the table.
“He wants an answer in one week.”
Antonio closed his eyes.
“And?”
“I haven’t decided.”
Her father looked relieved.
“You don’t have to marry him.”
Elena stared at him.
“Dad, you know that’s not true.”
Before he could respond, someone knocked on the front door.
Three times.
Slowly.
Antonio’s face immediately changed.
“Who is it?”
Nobody answered.
Elena walked toward the door.
Her father grabbed her arm.
“Don’t.”
Another knock.
This time louder.
Elena looked through the window beside the door.
There was no one outside.
Her heart began beating faster.
Then something slid underneath the door.
A white envelope.
Elena stepped back.
Antonio stared at it.
“Don’t touch it.”
But Elena was already reaching down.
She picked it up.
There was no name on the front.
She opened it carefully.
Inside was a photograph.
Her.
Standing outside the Moretti estate earlier that afternoon.
Someone had been watching her.
On the back of the photograph were four words.
**YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID NO.**
Elena’s blood ran cold.
“Dad…”
Antonio looked at the photograph.
His face went pale.
“We have to call Damien.”
Elena looked at him.
“You have his number?”
Antonio nodded.
Before he could reach for his phone, Elena’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
She stared at the screen.
Then answered.
“Hello?”
Silence.
“Who is this?”
A man’s voice finally came through.
“Mrs.
Moretti.”
Elena froze.
“I am not Mrs.
Moretti.”
The caller laughed softly.
“Not yet.”
Her heart pounded.
“What do you want?”
“I want you to understand something.”
“What?”
“Damien Moretti doesn’t love you.”
Elena said nothing.
“He doesn’t even know you.”
The voice became colder.
“He chose you because you’re useful.”
Elena tightened her grip on the phone.
“Who are you?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
The line went dead.
For several seconds, Elena couldn’t move.
Then she noticed something.
Her father was staring at the window.
“What?”
He pointed.
“There.”
Elena turned.
A black car was parked across the street.
Its headlights were off.
Someone was sitting inside.
Watching the house.
Suddenly, the car started.
It sped away before Elena could see the driver’s face.
Her phone rang again.
This time, it was Damien.
She answered immediately.
“Damien?”
His voice was sharp.
“Are you home?”
“Yes.”
“Are you alone?”
“My father is here.”
“Lock every door.”
Elena’s stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“Because someone has been following you.”
She looked at the photograph in her hand.
“How do you know?”
There was a brief silence.
“Because I know who sent the message.”
“Who?”
“Someone who wants me dead.”
Elena swallowed.
“And they want me dead too?”
Damien’s voice became quieter.
“Yes