Chapter 3 Shackles of the past.

The night was quiet-too quiet for Elena's liking.

The storm from earlier had calmed, but in its place was a different kind of silence. One that vibrated with tension, uncertainty, and fear. She stared at the note her father had supposedly left-its cryptic message burning a hole into her soul.

Find the ring. The code is in the sapphire.

What the hell did that mean?

She tucked it into her bra just as the heavy door creaked open again. Lorenzo stepped in, this time dressed in all black, the top buttons of his shirt undone. His hair was wet, like he'd just come in from the rain. He looked like a shadow come to life.

Her spine straightened instinctively.

"Comfortable?" he asked dryly, eyes scanning the untouched food tray on the table.

"I'm chained to a bed like some animal. What do you think?"

He didn't flinch. "If I thought you were an animal, you'd be in the basement."

She swallowed. "Why am I here, Lorenzo?"

He took a slow step forward. "You're here because your father made a deal with the devil, and when it was time to pay up, he ran and left you behind."

"That doesn't explain this," she motioned toward the shackle on her ankle. "This is medieval."

"You think I'm cruel," he said quietly, stopping just a foot away from the bed.

"Aren't you?" she asked bitterly.

He leaned closer, placing his palms on the bed frame beside her, trapping her without touching her. "I'm not the one who caused this, Elena. But I'm the one who has to clean up the mess."

Her voice cracked slightly. "What did my father do?"

His eyes locked with hers. "He stole something. Something he had no right to take. And people died because of it."

Elena blinked. "What?"

"He broke an oath with the Salvatore bloodline. And now, unless I get it back, every one of my men, my family, and even you-will be hunted. Because once you're in this world, you don't get to just walk away."

"I'm not in your world," she whispered.

He didn't smile. "You are now."

Silence fell between them. Then, in a surprising gesture, Lorenzo knelt in front of her. He removed the ankle shackle and stood back up.

"You're free to walk. Try anything stupid and I'll put it back on-tighter."

She stared at him. "Why the sudden mercy?"

He turned, heading toward the door. "Because the game just changed."

---

One Hour Later

Bianca led her into the estate's main hallway. Elena was stunned at the opulence. Polished floors, renaissance paintings, and gold-trimmed décor spoke of old money and bloody legacy.

They entered a room that looked like a library but felt more like a war council. Lorenzo stood with two other men-one tall and dark-haired with a scar running down his cheek, the other leaner with piercing green eyes.

"Elena, meet Enzo and Matteo. My consigliere and second-in-command."

Enzo nodded. Matteo simply raised an eyebrow at her.

"She's smaller than I expected," Matteo said.

"She's dangerous," Lorenzo replied, "She just doesn't know it yet."

Enzo handed Lorenzo a folder. "Our hacker decrypted a portion of the files. The account your father opened with the Salvatore ledger-it was under your mother's maiden name. The password was a combination of her birthday... and yours."

Lorenzo looked at Elena. "You didn't know?"

"No," she said honestly.

Enzo's voice was sharp. "There's more. Before your mother died, she transferred a set of encrypted keys into an offshore vault. The access ring contains the fail-safe mechanism."

"The sapphire," Elena whispered, stunned. "It's real?"

Lorenzo's gaze darkened. "Very."

---

Later That Night

Elena sat at a vanity in the guest room she'd been moved to. The shackles were gone, but the tension remained.

She touched her wrist, still feeling the ghost of metal.

A knock echoed.

Lorenzo entered again, this time holding a small black box. "This belonged to your mother."

She slowly opened it. Inside was a photograph-her mother holding a baby Elena... and wearing the sapphire ring.

"It wasn't lost," she whispered.

"No," Lorenzo said. "It was stolen."

"By who?"

He hesitated. "Your uncle."

"What?"

"Your father's brother. He's the one who sold out your family to rival families. Your father protected him by faking a political scandal. But your mother-she knew. She took the ring and disappeared for six months. When she came back, she was... different. Then she died."

Elena shook her head. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I need you to understand something. This isn't just about power or revenge. It's about survival. And to survive, you and I... we need to play the same game."

"What game?"

He stepped closer.

"Marriage."

Her heart stopped. "You're insane."

He tilted his head. "Maybe. But the Salvatore bloodline was sworn in with blood and vows. If you and I marry, I can legally access the vault your mother created. We win. If we don't..."

He showed her a photo on his phone-Alexander, her ex, bloodied and tied up in a warehouse.

"No..." she gasped.

Lorenzo's eyes turned cold. "He went looking for you. And found the wrong people."

Elena trembled. "What do you want?"

He walked over, leaned in, and whispered against her ear: "I want you to walk down that aisle willingly. Or I'll drag you in chains."

---

Elsewhere...

Deep in the shadows of Rome, a man in a white suit sipped wine while watching a monitor.

"She's alive," he muttered. "And Lorenzo has her."

A scarred woman beside him smiled cruelly. "Should I prepare the plane?"

He nodded. "It's time to finish what I started. Elena belongs to me."

---

Back at the Estate

Elena didn't sleep.

She couldn't.

Her mind spun with Lorenzo's words, the photo of Alexander, and the truth about her family. But most of all, she couldn't stop thinking about the marriage proposal that wasn't a proposal-it was a declaration of war.

The next morning, she woke to a scream.

Bianca burst into her room, pale as death.

"They've found us," she whispered. "We have to go."

"Who?"

But before she could answer, an explosion rocked the entire east wing of the estate.

The force threw Elena to the floor.

Lorenzo ran in, grabbed her arm, and pulled her close. "You want answers? You'll get them. But right now, you need to trust me."

Gunshots echoed down the hallway.

Elena's world shattered.

And in that moment, she knew...

This was just the beginning.

---

END OF CHAPTER 3