Chapter 2 WRONG PLACE,WRING TIME

Elena had always trusted her instincts.

That night, they told her to run. The docks had been quiet when she arrived-too quiet. She was only there to meet a friend, a simple favor that should've taken five minutes. But then the shadows moved. Voices carried. A gunshot cracked the air.

She didn't think. She ran.

Now, sitting in her small apartment hours later, Elena replayed the moment over and over. The sharp suits. The controlled violence. The man who hadn't shouted, hadn't panicked-hadn't even looked surprised.

Him.

There had been something terrifying about his stillness.

A knock at the door made her heart stop.

Elena froze, every nerve screaming. She hadn't told anyone where she was. Slowly, she reached for the nearest object she could use as a weapon.

Another knock. Firmer this time.

When she opened the door, two men stood there-well-dressed, expressionless.

"Elena Rossi?" one asked.

She swallowed. "Who's asking?"

"We need you to come with us."

"I'm not going anywhere," she said, forcing steel into her voice.

The man smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "It's not a request."

An hour later, Elena stood in the same glass-walled room Alessandro had occupied earlier.

He turned as she entered.

Their eyes met-and something shifted.

She wasn't afraid the way he expected. Nervous, yes. Furious, definitely. But she met his gaze head-on, chin lifted, defiant.

Interesting.

"You brought me here," Elena said, breaking the silence. "Either you plan to kill me, or you plan to explain." A corner of Alessandro's mouth

twitched-almost a smile.

"You have courage," he said. "That can be dangerous."

She crossed her arms. "So can underestimating people."

For the first time in years, Alessandro Moretti felt something unexpected.

Curiosity.