Matteo.
“Only Luca Nevarro, the true Nevarro could be the don. Matteo is just a bastard.”
The next shot came from Richard’s gun, silencing the man forever.
Then, pain.
The realisation struck like a cold tide as Annalise’s voice broke through the haze.
“Matteo, you’re bleeding,” she whispered, her hands clutching my arm. Her voice, unusually full of annoyance or flirtation, now carried a tremor of panic.
What?
I glanced down, following her eyes to the dark stain spreading across my side. The crimson blossomed against my shirt, too bright, too fast. I hadn’t even felt it… adrenaline, perhaps.
But without it… the ache seeped in. A slow, insidious burn that sharpened with every second.
“Damn it,” I muttered under my breath, stumbling slightly as dizziness threatened to overtake me.
A simple gun wound would not be the one to take me out.
What was I? A pussy?
“Matteo!” Annalise cried out again, this time louder, drawing the attention of the others still reeling from the attack.
Richard’s stern face appeared in my periphery, his brow furrowing as he took in my state. “He’s been hit,” he said grimly.
“No kidding,” I bit out, clutching at the railing for support. The world swayed for a moment, and I cursed myself for the weakness.
I was more than a pussy now.
“Sit down before you collapse,” Richard ordered, his voice firm. “Annalise, grab a first aid kit. Now.”
But I barely registered their movements. My thoughts were slipping away, unravelling as the pain intensified. My knees buckled, and I went down hard, my back hitting the cold tiles of the balcony.
I couldn’t even think about what the man had said before Richard sent him to the other side.
“Stay with us, Matteo,” Richard barked, but his voice was already fading.
Shouldn’t he be happy for this? Without me, the one who knew all his secrets, he could bury them all successfully.
I tried to speak. To command my body to move, but the effort was too great. The pain moved further, pulling me into a suffocating darkness.
Lucid dreams. Or were they nightmares?
The first image was of Valentina. Her figure emerged from the shadows, her back to me as she walked away.
“Valentina,” I called out, my voice echoing in the void.
She didn’t stop.
I tried to move. To chase after her, but my legs wouldn’t cooperate. It was as if I were rooted to the ground, forced to watch her slip further and further away.
“Come back!” I shouted, desperation clawing at my throat.
She paused then, turning slightly, just enough for me to see her profile. Her expression was a mix of sadness and anger, her lips moving as though she were speaking, but no sound reached me.
“Don’t leave me,” I whispered, the words heavy with a vulnerability I despised.
What was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I move?
She turned fully now, and those grey eyes I loved pierced through me, cold and accusing.
“You already left me, Matteo.” She said, her voice finally audible.
It wasn’t loud, but the words were enough to shatter me.
Fuck.
“No,” I protested, reaching out for her. “I didn’t mean to…”
Her figure dissolved into mist before I could finish, leaving me alone in the suffocating darkness.
The next image was fire.
It roared around me, consuming everything in its path. I stood in the centre of the chaos, surrounded by flames that licked at my skin but didn’t burn.
In the distance, I saw another figure. A man. His face was obscured, but his stance was familiar.
The devil himself.
“Luca,” I growled, the name escaping me like venom.
The figure turned, and though his features remained hidden, I felt his smirk.
“This is what you built, Matteo,” he said, his voice dripping with mockery. “A legacy that burns.”
The fire surged higher, and the heat became unbearable. I fell to my knees, choking on the smoke that filled my lungs.
Arghhhh.
I woke with a gasp, the sensation of heat still clinging to my skin.
The room was dimly lit, the curtains drawn to keep out the harsh daylight. I recognized it immediately… I hadn’t slept here since the day we left the estate for Ethan’s safe house.
My bedroom.
It felt foreign without her here and in my disoriented state.
My chest heaved as I struggled to breathe, the pain in my side a harsh reminder of what had happened. My hand instinctively moved to the bandages wrapped tightly around my torso, the ache throbbing beneath them.
“Finally.”
Warm like a cup of chocolate. I recognized that voice even if I was drugged.
It came from my right, and I turned my head to see Ethan sitting in a chair by the window, his arms crossed. He looked like he hadn’t seen a bathroom for a week, his face laced with exhaustion unlike any other.
Ethan had developed eyebags.
“Thought you were going to sleep forever,” he said with a hoarse tone, though it carried a rare note of concern.
“How long?”
“Two days,” came Ethan’s reply
Two days.
I had been off for two days.
The weight of it sank in, and my mind raced to piece together the events leading up to this moment. The attack. The gunfire. The words. Luca.
Valentina.
“Where is she?” I asked immediately, my voice stronger now despite the pain.
Ethan’s expression shifted, his concern deepening. He spared a quick glance with someone behind him, and only then did I notice Annalise standing near the doorway.
Did he think…?
“She’s… not here,” Ethan said carefully.
“What do you mean she’s not here?” My voice rose, the panic bubbling beneath my skin.
“You need to calm down,” Ethan warned, but his words only fueled my frustration.
“I don’t need to calm down,” I snapped, attempting to sit up. The movement sent a sharp jolt of pain through my side, but I ignored it. “Where is Valentina?”
I didn’t care if Annalise listened or found out I was in love with another woman and called off the whole engagement nonsense. I didn’t care about her.
“She didn’t make it out of the country like we had planned. I have no idea where she is.”