Chapter 5 - He Told Me to Run, but I Refused to Leave Him Behind
Smoke rolled down the archive ceiling.
Alessio pointed toward a narrow service corridor.
“Go.”
“Not without you.”
“Isabella, this isn't a negotiation.”
“Then stop wasting time.”
I pulled a scarf from my bag and wrapped it across my mouth.
The wheelchair's front caster caught on a metal threshold.
I pushed harder.
Alessio gripped the wheels and helped me lift it free.
Every breath scraped my throat.
We reached a locked service door.
I struck it with the heel of my shoe.
Once.
Twice.
On the third blow, someone answered.
A guard shouted from the other side.
Alessio gave a code. The lock snapped open.
Cold air rushed over us.
I stumbled into the courtyard and bent double, coughing.
Alessio reached for my hand.
“Look at me.”
I did.
“Breathe slowly.”
I hated that his voice could still sound calm.
Paramedics checked us both. Valentina emerged from the house with soot on her sleeve.
Marco appeared minutes later, untouched.
“Electrical fault,” he announced.
I looked at him.
“You decided that already?”
His mouth tightened.
“Careful what you imply.”
Alessio lifted the folder from his lap.
“Careful what you destroy.”
Later, inside the security office, a technician played the corridor footage.
At 10:14, a figure in a maintenance jacket entered the archive wing.
At 10:16, the cameras went black.
I leaned closer.
The figure had been wearing a silver bracelet.
A bracelet with three small black stones.
Livia wore one just like it.
I remembered her fingers digging into my arm at the gala.
My phone buzzed again.
Another message from the unknown number.
YOU SAVED HIM. NOW ASK WHO DISABLED THE CAMERAS.
I showed Alessio.
May you like
His expression went still.
“Isabella,” he said, “your cousin was inside this house today.”
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