Chapter 3 The door that should have stayed locked

There was something different about silence after a funeral.Heavier.Like the air refused to move out of respect for the dead.Sera stood outside Matteo's old apartment, keys clutched tight in her fist, rain soaking through her jacket. She hadn't been here since Christmas,back when her brother was still smiling, still alive, still pretending everything was fine.Back when she didn't know his name was carved into a target behind closed doors.She unlocked the door.The scent hit first,dust, cologne, and something like burnt coffee. Everything was too still. Too preserved.

The mail still piled on the counter. His shoes still under the bench. A jacket still hanging like he might walk through the door any second.He wouldn't.She shut the door behind her and locked it.Then she got to work.Her fingers trembled slightly as she opened Matteo's desk drawers. Some held nothing but receipts and sticky notes. Others were suspiciously empty-like they'd been cleaned out in a hurry.There was a black USB drive taped under the bottom drawer. Empty.She found his laptop-password protected. She tried his birthday. Her birthday. Their mother's maiden name.

Nothing.She moved to the bookshelves next, pulling titles she remembered him reading, trying to spot anything out of place And then,click.Her fingers brushed the spine of a thick legal text. A tiny latch popped.A false panel opened behind the shelf.Inside was a small safe, no bigger than a shoebox. Digital keypad. Dustless.Whatever was in there had been accessed recently.Her pulse quickened.

"Okay, Matty," she whispered. "What the hell were you into?"

She was halfway through trying birthdates again when her phone buzzed on the desk.

Unknown Number:

You need to leave. Now.

She stared at it.

Then her phone buzzed again.

Unknown Number:

They're already inside the building.

Sera froze.

Heart pounding, she turned off the screen and backed away from the safe. Her bag was still by the door. Her pepper spray was inside. Useless if it was who she thought it was.

Mafia.

Men like Luca Valentini didn't issue warnings.

They gave orders.

And when you didn't listen, they buried the consequences.So who the hell just texted her?She didn't wait to find out.She cracked the window in the back room-the fire escape old but functional. Slipped out into the rain, heart hammering in her ears. As she made it to the alley below, a black SUV rolled into the lot across the street.Two men got out.She recognized one.The other she felt, more than saw.Tall. Cold. Precision in his every move.

Luca Valentini.

He glanced toward her window.

His face was unreadable, sculpted and lethal beneath the soft light from the streetlamp. Black coat, black gloves, eyes that could command a room-or end a life-with a single look.But for a split second, his gaze shifted.Not up at the apartment.

Toward her.

Directly.

Like he knew exactly where she was.

Her blood iced.

But he didn't move. Didn't follow. Just turned away and disappeared into the building.

And that, somehow, was worse.

Sera didn't stop running until she reached the next block, soaked and breathless, adrenaline screaming.

Her phone buzzed again.

Unknown Number:

I just bought you time. Don't waste it.

She sat down on a cold concrete step, heart still racing.That safe had something in it. Something worth covering up-and killing for.Luca was there to find it.The warning? That meant someone else was watching.Someone who didn't want her dead.

Not yet.

She wiped the rain from her face and whispered aloud, to no one.

"What the hell did you do, Matteo?"

One Hour LaterSera sat curled on her apartment couch, hair damp, hands wrapped around a mug of tea she hadn't sipped. Her mind wouldn't shut off.Luca hadn't called. Hadn't texted. Hadn't broken down her door.But she couldn't stop thinking about the way he looked at her.Like a decision he hadn't made yet.Like a problem he wasn't sure he wanted to solve.

Her phone pinged again.

Unknown Number:

You were smart to run.

But you're not safe.

She typed back before she could overthink it.

Sera:

Who are you?

Three dots.

Then they vanished.

No reply.

She stared at her screen, anxiety creeping in like fog.Then another message lit the display.But this time, it wasn't from the unknown number.It was from her building's front door security system.

Access Granted – Guest Entry: L. Valentini

Sera's stomach dropped.

There was a soft knock at the door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Then his voice, smooth as sin, low and lethal through the wood.

"Sera."

Pause.

"We need to talk."

End of Chapter Three