CHAPTER 1: The Night She Saw Too Much

At London, rain poured over the streets, washing the city in cold silver light.

The glow of streetlights blurred through the downpour, reflecting off wet asphalt as taxis rushed past in a hurry to escape the storm.

Emily Carter stood under the thin cover of a bus stop, clutching her sketchbook tightly against her chest.

Her fingers were stiff from the cold. She checked her phone again. No signal.

“Of course…” she whispered under her breath.

Tonight was supposed to be simple. Meet a contact.

Get information about a fashion internship opportunity with a private European brand. Then go home.

That was it. Nothing dangerous. Nothing complicated.

Just a step forward in her dream of becoming a fashion designer.

But London had a way of making simple things turn strange. Her bus never came.

And the address she had been given was getting harder to ignore.

A quiet industrial street near the docks.

She hesitated.

Every instinct told her to leave. But her ambition… always whispered louder than fear.

So she walked.

The streets grew emptier the further she went. Buildings became older. Lights dimmer. Noise disappeared.

Until even the sound of traffic felt far away.

Emily slowed her steps.

“This doesn’t feel right…” she muttered.

Before her stood a large warehouse. It’s very old and abandoned-looking. Except for one detail, there is, a faint light glowing through a side entrance.

She was very curious, wanting to know what is going on there. She wasn’t supposed to be curious.

But she was. She moved closer by closer. Step by step.

Her heels clicked softly against the ground until she reached a cracked metal door.

It was slightly open.

There are voices came from inside. It was very low but she can hear them.

Controlled. Serious.

Emily leaned in carefully and peeped. And then she saw it.

Men in dark suits standing in a wide industrial space.

They are not workers. Or businessmen. She don’t know what they are.

But something else entirely.

In the center of the room, man kneel on his knees.

He is shaking. He is begging. Begging for something she is curious about.

“I didn’t leak anything, I swear…….please…”

One of the men stepped forward. He said calmly, “No mistakes are forgiven.” And he raised his gun, ready to shot him dead.

Emily’s breath stopped.

“No” she whispered without meaning to.

BANG.

The sound ripped through the warehouse.

The man collapsed instantly.

Emily stumbled backward in shock. Her hand hit a metal bin.

CLANG.

It was loud. Too loud

Inside everything stopped. All heads turned slowly towards the door. Silence all over.

Then a voice from inside, said, “Check outside.”

Footsteps were approaching her. Emily’s heart dropped.

“Oh no…” She turned and ran.

The rain hit her harder now as she sprinted through the empty streets.

Her breath came in sharp gasps. She didn’t look back.

She couldn’t. The Footsteps followed her closely. Very closely.

“Stop her!” suddenly she heard a voice at her back by.

Her lungs burned as she turned sharply into a narrow alleyway.

Water splashed under her feet.

Her sketchbook nearly slipped, but she held onto it tightly.

That book mattered more than anything.

It was her future.

She turned another corner, unknowingly slammed into someone. Both of them staggered.

Emily fell back onto the wet ground, gasping.

She looked up and she froze.

The man standing above her didn’t look like someone who should be in an alley in the rain.

In a dark coat. Perfect posture. Completely calm. Like chaos didn’t touch him.

His presence alone felt dangerous.

Emily’s heartbeat spiked.

Behind her, footsteps were getting closer again.

The man in front of her looked down slowly.

Then spoke, calmly, “You’re running from my men.”

Emily’s breath shook.

“I didn’t see anything…….I swear……..please……” she said, agitated

He tilted his head slightly.

“Interesting,”. He said teasingly

That was worse.

“You saw everything,” he said quietly.

Emily shook her head quickly.

“No…..no, I didn’t…..”

Footsteps closed in behind her.

She was trapped.

The man raised one hand slightly.

And instantly, the approaching footsteps stopped.

In silence, Emily turned her head slowly.

The men were standing still. Waiting for him.

She turned back.

Her voice barely came out.

“Who… are you?”

The man stepped slightly closer. Not enough to touch her.

Just enough to trap her attention completely.

“My name is Luca Moretti.”

The name meant nothing to her, but everything to them.

Because behind her, the men lowered their heads instantly.

In respect. In fear. And in obedience.

Emily’s throat went dry.

Luca’s eyes shifted briefly to her sketchbook.

Then back to her face.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said.

“I know…” she whispered.

A pause.

Then his voice dropped lower.

“But now that you are…”

Her stomach tightened.

“You don’t leave,” he added

Emily stepped back slightly.

“What does that mean?” she asked shockingly,

Luca didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he reached into his coat.

Emily flinched instantly.

But he didn’t pull out a weapon.

He pulled out a phone. And spoke into it.

“Bring her with us.”

Emily’s eyes widened.

“No, wait….please….I didn’t do anything!” she started shouting, hoping an help will come from someone but nothing happened.

But the decision was already made.

The men moved forward.

It’s certain. Like them her fate had already been written in this part.

Emily backed away, panic rising in her chest.

“I don’t understand!” She shouted.

Luca finally met her eyes again.

And for the first time, something darker flickered behind his calm expression.

“You will,” he said quietly.

And that was the moment Emily realized, she had just witnessed something she shouldn’t have seen.

She had been seen by someone she was never meant to escape.

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