Chapter 83: Hidden bleeds, Donato’s awake
The air inside Seraphina’s chamber was heavy, scented with incense and deceit.
Alessia’s heartbeat thundered in her chest, yet she stood unyielding, her presence commanding as the flickering torches cast shadows across the carved walls.
She wasn’t afraid, Not tonight.
Seraphina had dared her first. That truth gave her courage.
The rival woman’s eyes widened when Alessia unveiled herself. Daisy stood beside her, trembling but resolute, pulling away her own mask.
Seraphina’s laughter sliced through the silence, sharp and mocking.
"Ooh, look who we have here," she crooned, her red lips curving into a smirk. "And what are you doing in my domain, little intruders?"
Alessia’s chin lifted. "Your domain? You invaded mine first. You stole my box, my belonging. I came to take back what was mine."
Seraphina’s brows arched like blades. "And yet, I was never caught but You were.... Which makes you the criminal here."
Before Alessia could reply, Daisy broke down, tears flooding her cheeks as rage twisted her face.
She hurled the wedding photo across the chamber, the frame cracking as it struck Romeo’s chest.
"How dare you" Daisy’s voice quaked with heartbreak. "You even proposed to me, yet all along you were Seraphina’s pawn. You spied on me, manipulated me played the lover just to break me."
Romeo’s jaw tightened, his face a mask of shadows.
He turned his back to her, shame and something colder hiding in his silence.
"I did what was necessary," he muttered, voice low, before striding away.
"Seize them," Seraphina ordered, her voice curling with venom.
But the guards hesitated, Fear flickered in their eyes.
This was Luca Morano’s wife they were meant to touch, the bride of the mafia’s heir.
None of them wished to bear the weight of his wrath when he ever finds out.
Alessia seized the moment.
She glanced toward the high window. The moon had risen, its light pouring silver into the chamber. The full moon and Her chance.
"Seraphina," she said firmly, her voice ringing like a bell of defiance, "you will never have the Morano property."
"I will... I must" Seraphina hissed, stepping closer, rage crackling in her eyes. "Even if it takes forever. At first I wanted a share, Now I will have it all. Every piece. Every drop of blood. Every brick of that empire."
"Your wildest dream," Alessia said, steady as a blade, "will never come to pass."
The words pierced deep. Seraphina’s fury ignited like fire. "Seize them now! Prepare them for the heating rooms.
Let the flames lick their skin until Luca comes crawling with the property in his hands. His little bride in exchange for his empire. "
She reached out for the box in Alessia’s grip.
But Alessia closed her eyes. The moon’s light struck her face, and with a breath that carried the weight of destiny, she whispered..... "Freeze."
The command rippled like unseen thunder.
Instantly Seraphina stiffened, her body locked mid-stride, fury frozen upon her lips.
The guards halted where they stood, statues of flesh and bone, eyes darting wildly, the only part of them still alive.
The room was silent, trapped in the spell of Alessia’s bloodline power.
Alessia’s fingers found Daisy’s trembling hand. "Let’s go."
Daisy blinked, tears streaking her face. "H-how did you... "
"There’s more you don’t know," Alessia whispered, her voice soft but unyielding. "We can be more dangerous than they ever imagined."
Together they slipped from the chamber, leaving Seraphina’s empire locked in moonlit chains
******
At the Morano Estate
Luca paced like a caged beast, fury in every step.
The clock mocked him with its ticking.
"I gave her until sunset," he growled, fists tightening at his sides.
"But this.... this is the full moon, and she isn’t back." His voice cracked with the strain of holding his heart together. "I don’t want to be the jealous husband, so I waited. But enough waiting."
"Boss," Fredo began, but Luca cut him off, eyes burning.
"Fredo, Niche, get ready, we are bringing her home. Tonight, let’s go into the whole city ".
As they we’re about to drive out, Alessia’s car drove in, Luca got in with a sigh of relief after seeing her.
Alessia descended the stairs slowly, her heart pounding like the echo of a secret she could no longer cage.
The air between them was heavy, threaded with silence sharp enough to cut.
Luca stood under the fluorescent bulb light, the lamplight carving shadows across his sculpted jaw, his eyes was dark, unyielding and waiting for her.
She stopped a few feet away and lowered her head.
"I’m sorry," she whispered. "I stayed too long."
Luca’s brow arched, his voice laced with steel.
"What are you hiding, Alessia?"
Her lips parted, but her gaze faltered.
She turned away as if the floor might swallow her whole.
That was when he rose, his steps purposeful, his presence filling the room like a storm rolling in. He cupped her chin, forcing her face upward.
"Don’t look away from me," he commanded, his tone a mixture of fury and something deeper wounded tenderness. "Look at me when I’m talking to you."
Her eyes flickered with guilt, but Luca’s gaze pierced straight through her. He bent closer, his breath brushing against her lips.
"You look at me when i’m talking to you," he murmured, " you looking at me but I’m looking through you."
Alessia’s knees weakened.
She knew there was no fortress strong enough to hold secrets from Luca Morano.
And she wasn’t supposed to...
Before another thought could form, Luca’s arms swept her from the ground as though she weighed nothing.
She gasped as he carried her into their room, the door shutting with a resonant thud behind them.
He set her down, caging her in with his presence.
"Where did you go with your friend, Daisy?" His words cut straight to the marrow.
Alessia’s chest rose and fell. She knew the truth could no longer hide in the shadows.
Her trembling hands reached into the folds of her cloak, pulling out the small, weathered box.
It’s weight seemed to throb with danger and history.
"This," she said softly, her voice cracking. "Seraphina stole it, i went to her den to take it back."
Luca’s lips curved, not in anger, but in that sly, genius smile of his, the kind that reminded Alessia he always knew more than anyone else in the room.
He laid a palm gently across her stomach.
"You shouldn’t have stressed yourself... or our unborn child."
Her heart froze. She blinked, stunned.
"Why?" she whispered. "The box is mine. It means everything..... "
"No." His voice was calm, assured, like a man revealing the last move in a game of chess. "That’s the wrong box. Seraphina took the wrong one."
Her eyes widened. "What...?"
Luca leaned closer, his hand brushing her cheek, his mouth a breath away. "During our anniversary... I saw her. She climbed the staircase, thinking no one watched.
But I was there. And I exchanged the real box with a replica."
Alessia’s breath hitched. Tears welled in her eyes before she threw herself into his arms, clinging to him as though she could fuse her heart into his chest.
"I knew," she sobbed against his neck, "I knew you were always a genius, Always ten steps ahead of them."
He held her tighter, burying his face in her hair. "I will never let Seraphina or anyone take what belongs to you... To us."
Her lips trembled. "In order to break free of her, I froze her in her own lies. And in doing so... I found something. She’s married, Luca. Married to Romeo."
Luca pulled back just enough to see her face. His eyes burned with revelation, but also pride. "The family knew of her past ties to Romeo. But finding it out your way by standing against her... " His thumb stroked her jaw. "That makes you stronger than all of them."
Alessia closed her eyes, a shiver running through her.
In his arms, the storm quieted. Yet in her soul, she knew this was only the beginning.
The wrong box was in her hands. The right one was still out there.
And Seraphina would not rest until blood was spilled.....
*********
The night was slick with silence, neon lights buzzing faintly.
Bianca adjusted her scarf, her pulse erratic.
She had slipped a note into Enzo’s hand hours ago, demanding a meeting, Urgent, Desperate and now, as the clock struck nine, she waited.
A voice haunted her from behind, deep and mocking.
"I predicted this."
She turned sharply, heart lurching. Enzo.
"Predicted what?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
"That you would come for me," he replied with a smirk.
Bianca’s knees weakened. "Enzo... you’re alive? How? What happened?"
He chuckled, tilting his glassy eyes toward her. "Care for a drink? Let’s talk somewhere better than this. A bar nearby. Don’t worry I don’t bite."
She hesitated, thoughts flickering to Jackson, who she had left watching his cartoons, promising to be back soon.
Against her better judgment, she followed.
Inside the dim-lit bar, Enzo ordered a drink and sipped before speaking. His voice was low, a thread of secrets unraveling.
"After the Atlans shot me, I should’ve died. But the river carried me to Virenkai.
The king’s men found me and tossed me into the cursed forest." He smirked bitterly. "But the forest... it saved me."
Bianca leaned closer, curiosity gnawing at her. "How? What do you mean it saved you?"
"Through a woman," he said slowly, "a strong woman. Her name was Larisa. But that’s not her only form. She is also Lápatasodará Vàlká."
Bianca’s breath caught. Her eyes widened. "Larisa and Lápatasodará Vàlká... are the same person?"
"Yes." He leaned in, his whisper sharp as a dagger. "And she doesn’t just appear in flesh. She comes in voices, in shadows, in the places between. She helps the stranded but her help is never free."
Bianca’s mind spun. Her new master, Larisa and Vàlká. All the same?
Enzo pushed back his chair, covering his head with his hood. "That’s all I will say tonight."
And with that, he walked away, vanishing into the night, leaving Bianca’s world tilting on its axis.
******
The princess sat by his side, her delicate hands clenched, her eyes burning with sleepless worry.
The man before her, Donato Morano lay pale and still, his breath shallow, his skin damp with the sweat of torment.
Princess Elowen whispered prayers into the silence, begging whatever gods still listened to return him to her.
Then, suddenly...
Donato’s body jolted.
A violent cough tore from his chest, rattling through the chamber.
"Doctor, " she screamed, panic clutching her voice. But no one came, No one answered.
She leaned over him, hands trembling. "Donato, please, stay with me."
His chest heaved, his limbs convulsed as though wrestling unseen chains.
His lips parted, a faint breath slipping through.
"P-Princess..." her heart stopped.
"Princess Elowen..."
His eyes opened, slow, heavy, but alive.
She gasped, her tears falling freely. He was awake..... He is indeed alive...