Page 17 of Vows Made in Silence

“You think they’re going to let you walk away now?” he asks, voice low. “You disappeared once. Now they’re going to make you vanish for real if I don’t move first.”

“You want me to run again?” I ask, not sure if I hate the idea or need it.

“No,” he says. “I want to protect my family.”

The words linger like smoke in the air.

A knock rattles the gallery door—sharp, urgent. Luca draws his gun. “This night’s not over.”

6

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Sanctuary Under Siege

The knock echoes through the gallery like a loaded gun.

Luca doesn’t flinch.

He shifts his stance, gun already drawn, aimed at the door like it’s an extension of his pulse.

“Stay behind me,” he says, voice forged in iron.

He moves toward the door with the lethal calm of a man who’s kicked in more than he’s opened.

A king in the middle of a coup.

Another knock.

Harder. Sharper. Urgent.

“Who is it?” Luca barks, the barrel steady.

“It’s Sophia!”

The voice hits me like a slap.

Sophia Bellucci—my colleague, my confidante, one of only two people in the world who knows even a sliver of the truth.

Luca’s voice drops. Cold.

“You trust her?”

I hesitate—too long.

He cocks the gun.

“Wrong answer.”

I move between him and the door before I can think.

“Don’t. If she’s here, it means something’s wrong.”

His eyes flick to mine—sharp, unreadable.

“Exactly.”

But I’m already unlocking the door.