Page 55

“Help me escape,” I whisper, the plea breaking in my throat. “Please, Daniele. He’s going to kill me—and when he’s done, he’ll come for you too. You know it.”

I lean forward, forcing him to meet my eyes.

“He doesn’t love you. He never did. You’re not his son—you’re just a shadow in his war. And the moment you stop being useful… he’ll erase you like you were never here.”

Silence.

His hesitation is a knife against my throat. For a long moment, he just stands there—silent, still—as if the war inside him might tear him apart.

For one agonizing second, I think he’s going to walk away.

Then—

A sharp breath. A muttered curse.

Daniele steps forward and pulls out a knife, his jaw clenched tight.

I hold my breath as he cuts the ropes at my wrists, then my ankles, the strands falling like dead weight to the floor. My skin burns where they once held me captive.

I’m free.

“We have to go,” he says, his voice low, urgent. “If we want to get out of here alive, we need to move. Now.”

I nod, scrambling to my feet, fighting against the weakness in my legs. I use the thought of the small little life growing inside of me to push me forward and give me the strength to make it.

We move quickly, creeping toward the cabin door. Daniele peers through the cracks, body coiled like a spring. He looks over his shoulder at me and gives me one simple nod.

Stay close , his look states.

Then, in a blur, he bursts forward, kicking down the door.

The first guard doesn’t even have time to react before Daniele slams his knife into his throat. The second one fumbles for his gun, but Daniele is faster, grabbing him by the wrist and twisting until there’s a sickening snap. The guard drops, groaning in pain.

Daniele doesn’t hesitate. One quick, brutal strike to the temple, and he’s out cold.

“Move,” he hisses, grabbing my wrist and dragging me toward a car parked near the tree line.

We’re so close.

But then?—

A gunshot splits the air.

Daniele shoves me behind him just as Giacomo’s voice roars through the darkness.

“I should’ve fucking known! You’re just like that treacherous bitch, Beatrice!” His snarl cuts through the night like a blade. “Going somewhere, son?”

Giacomo steps forward, raising his gun—but the wet earth betrays him.

His boot slips on the muddy ground, throwing him off balance. He stumbles with a curse, arms flailing, struggling to stay upright.

“Run!” Daniele growls, yanking me by the wrist. “Now!”

We tear into the woods, swallowed by the dark.

The cold air claws at my lungs as I force my legs to keep moving. Every footstep is heavier than the last, my breath coming in ragged gasps, my body screaming to stop. But I can’t. Not when my child needs me to keep going. Not when every second could be the difference between life and death.

Gunshots explode behind us—deafening cracks that send my heart slamming against my ribs.

“Move faster!” Daniele shouts, gripping my wrist so tightly it feels like my bones might shatter.

My legs are about to give out, but the thought of my baby pushes me forward.

“Faster, Maria.”

I’m trying. God, I’m trying.

My lungs burn, my legs scream, but the fear of what happens if we stop is stronger than the pain.

A bullet tears through the bark of a tree, just inches from my head. I yelp, ducking instinctively.

“Keep going!” Daniele growls, his grip tightening as he yanks me forward. “Don’t stop!”

The trees blur together, shadows twisting and morphing in the dim moonlight. The deeper we go, the more the gunfire fades.

But I know Giacomo isn’t far behind.

He won’t stop until he has me—or until we’re dead.

I steal a glance at Daniele, his jaw clenched, his body tense as he pushes forward. There’s a wild look in his eyes, a battle raging within him. He saved me, yes, but I don’t know if that means he’s fully on my side.

I have to trust him. Because right now, he’s all I have.

The terrain grows rougher, the ground uneven and riddled with roots and decaying forestry. My ankle twists, pain lancing through me, but I bite back a cry and force myself to keep going.

“Shit,” Daniele mutters, pulling me behind the thick trunk of a tree. His chest heaves, breaths fast but forced into control. “We need a plan. Now.”

“There’s no plan,” I pant, gripping the bark for support. “We keep running.”

He shakes his head, peering around the tree. “We won’t make it to the road before they catch up. There are guards littered all over this place.”

He’s right. We’re exposed out here, too easy to track. The only thing working in our favor is the darkness.

My fingers curl into fists. “Then what do we do?”

Daniele presses his lips into a thin line, then, to my horror, he starts shrugging off his jacket.

“What are you doing?” I hiss.

“Giving them a trail.”

He throws the jacket down and grabs a branch, dragging it through the dirt to erase our tracks.

“We need to split up. You head north—there’s an old hunting cabin about half a mile up. If you make it there, you’ll have a better shot at hiding. I’ll come for you.”

“No,” I whisper harshly. “I am not splitting up.”

His eyes flash in the darkness. “Maria, listen to me?—”

“No! I’m not leaving you, Daniele. We need to get out of this together.”

His expression tightens, and for a second, I think he’s going to argue. But then his gaze flickers over my shoulder, his pupils dilating.

I don’t need to ask why. The snap of a twig. The shuffle of boots on leaves. They’re coming.

Daniele grabs my face, his fingers rough but steady. “You trust me?”

I swallow. “I?—”

“Do you trust me?”

I hesitate, then nod. Something shifts in his expression, something I can’t quite place. Then he’s pushing me back, stepping into the open.

My heart stops.

“I messed up,” Daniele breathes, every word cracked and raw.

“I spent so long living in the shadow of the man I thought I was supposed to be—following orders, playing his game. I never wanted to be this person. I betrayed the only man who ever gave a shit about me.” He swallows hard.

“I don’t know if he’ll ever forgive me—and God knows I don’t deserve it. ”

His voice cracks, but he forces the words out.

“But if I can do one thing right… it’s this. It’s getting you back to him. Alive.”

I shake my head, but he grabs my shoulders, grounding me.

“Go to the cabin,” he says, voice low and urgent. “I’ll find you once I’ve handled this. But if I don’t make it back—if something happens—tell him I’m sorry. Tell him I was trying to make it right.”

His eyes glisten in the dark. Not with fear, but with something that guts me deeper—hope. Hope that he can be better than the man he became.

“What are you doing?” I whisper, my throat tight. “Why are you making it sound like goodbye?”

But he just stares at me for one long second, something silent passing between us—a promise, a regret.

Then he lifts his hands into the air and yells, “I got her!”

The blood in my veins turns to ice.

I lurch forward, but Daniele shoots me a warning glance so sharp and deadly, I freeze mid-step.

His voice carries through the trees. “She’s hurt. She can’t run anymore. We got her!”

My stomach churns violently as I watch him take slow, deliberate steps toward the sound of approaching footsteps, and they make their way in our direction.

Daniele.

I can’t breathe. I can’t move.

And then—just before he disappears into the shadows—he does something that nearly breaks me.

He winks and offers the smallest smile…

And then he’s gone.

It might be the last time I’ll see him alive. The last time I’ll see that small, fleeting glimpse of the man he could have been. I can’t let his sacrifice be in vain. I won’t.

I swallow back a sob, my hands trembling. He’s giving me a chance. This is the opening.

I don’t waste another second. I spin on my heel and bolt into the darkness, ignoring the guilt that claws at my chest. I have to make it to the cabin. I have to survive. Because if Daniele just risked his life for me, I refuse to let it be in vain.

The moment I take off into the darkness, the guilt slams into me like a bullet to the chest. Every instinct in my body screams at me to turn back, to stop Daniele from walking straight into the lion’s den.

But I can’t.

I have to trust him.

I have to run.

The forest swallows me whole, branches clawing at my skin, my breath coming in sharp gasps. Every footfall feels like an earthquake, every snapped twig a gunshot. The cold seeps into my bones, but I push forward, willing my body to move faster.

Daniele’s sacrifice will mean nothing if I don’t make it out.