Chapter 5: The Call

Emily’s hands were shaking. Not enough for anyone else to notice. But enough for her.

The assistant led her through another section of the mansion before stopping outside a smaller room.

“Go inside ma’am,” she said gently.

Emily glanced at her.

For the first time, she noticed something unusual. The woman looked sympathetic.

As though she understood exactly what Emily was feeling. That somehow made things worse.

Because it meant this wasn’t the first time someone had felt trapped in Luca Moretti’s world.

Emily pushed the thought away and entered the room. She saw a phone sat on a wooden desk.

Her heart immediately started racing.

Daniel Morgan. Her brother.

Daniel hadn’t slept properly, since he had find out that Emily has disappeared.

The living room was a mess of coffee cups, notes, and unanswered questions.

Sarah Morgan sat on the couch, looking exhausted. Sarah is Emily's mother.

Lily was asleep upstairs. At least he hoped she was asleep.

Every few minutes she came downstairs asking the same question.

“Have you found Emily?”

And every few minutes he had to say no.

Daniel hated saying no. His is phone suddenly rang. Unknown number. His body tensed.

He answered immediately.

“Emily?”

There was a silence.

“Daniel.” The person on the other side of phone, answered

His eyes closed. Relief hit him so hard it almost hurt. He called her again, “Emily.”

Sarah shot up from the couch.

“What is it?”

Daniel raised a hand quickly, “Emily, where are you?”

In Moretti Estate, Emily closed her eyes. Just hearing his voice almost made her cry. But she wouldn’t. Not here.

“I’m okay.” she answered, not knowing what to say.

Daniel argued, “That’s not an answer.”

Emily looked at the door. No sign of Luca. But still she felt watched. She replied to her brother, “I can’t explain right now.”

Daniel’s voice became sharper, “Emily, tell me where you are.”

“I don’t know.” The words sounded ridiculous.

But they were true. She didn’t know exactly where the estate was. Only that it was far from the city. Far from everything familiar.

“Someone took you?” Daniel asked.

Emily hesitated to answer.

Because Daniel immediately noticed.

“Emily.”

Her grip tightened on the phone.

“It’s complicated.”

“That’s a yes.”

“No—”

“Emily.” His voice dropped lower. More serious. “Are you in danger?”

The question sat heavily between them.

Emily thought about Luca. About the murder.

About the men in suits. About being unable to leave. Then she thought about how Luca hadn’t hurt her.

How he’d given her a room. How he’d let her make this call. The answer wasn’t simple.

“I don’t know.”

Silence.

That answer scared Daniel more than anything else.

Outside the Room

Luca stood in the hallway.

Listening to her conversation with her brother. Not because he didn’t trust Emily.

Because he did not trust Daniel. A protective brothers are unpredictable. Especially desperate ones.

Luca understood desperation.

He’d seen it ruin people. Kill people. Create enemies.

His phone vibrated.

A message from Adrian Knight.

'We have a problem.'

Luca opened it.

Someone from the Russo family was asking questions about the witness. His expression darkened immediately.

Marco Russo.

Of course.

The news had moved faster than expected.

That wasn’t good.

Back Inside

“Listen carefully,” Daniel said.

“Whatever happened, I’ll get you out.”

Emily smiled sadly. That sounded exactly like him. Always trying to fix things. Always trying to protect everyone. Even when he couldn’t.

“You don’t understand,” she sounded sadly.

“Then help me understand.”

She wanted to. God, she wanted to.

But how was she supposed to explain this? Hi Daniel, I witnessed a murder and now I’m living in a mafia boss’s mansion.

Nobody would believe it.

She barely believed it herself.

“Just… don’t do anything reckless.”

Daniel almost laughed.

“That’s usually my line.”

For the first time all day, Emily smiled.

A real smile

Luca noticed it.

Through the small security monitor in the hallway.

His jaw tightened. Not because she smiled.

Because someone else caused it.

Luca

The feeling irritated him immediately. Which annoyed him even more. Because it was irrational.

Daniel Morgan wasn’t a threat.

He was just her brother.

Nothing more.

Yet something about seeing Emily relax for someone else…

Didn’t sit well.

Luca looked away from the monitor. It is ridiculous, Luca thought. He had more important things to worry about.

Marco Russo. The witness. Family business.

Power. Not Emily’s smile.

The Call still Continues

“Mom’s worried sick,” Daniel said.

Emily’s stomach twisted instantly.

“I know.”

“She thinks you’re hurt.”

The guilt hit immediately. Emily sat down heavily.

“Tell her I’m okay.”

“I will.”

A pause.

Then Daniel asked quietly:

“Do you trust whoever you’re with?”

Emily froze.

That question of all questions.

Did she trust Luca?

No.

Absolutely not.

Right?

He was dangerous, Controlling, Mysterious and terrifying.

Yet… He’d protected her. Fed her. Given her space. Told her the truth when he could’ve lied.

The answer became complicated. And Emily hated complicated.

“I don’t know,” she admitted.

Daniel immediately heard it.

The doubt.

And he hated all of it.

Because it meant Luca Moretti, though he didn’t know the name yet—was already affecting her.

Twenty Minutes Later

The call ended.

Emily slowly placed the phone down. For a moment she simply sat there.

Trying to breathe and think. Trying to remember what normal felt like.

Then the door opened. Luca entered.

Emily looked up and said, “I hate that you were listening.”

“I wasn’t,” he replied, not honestly.

She argue with him,“You were.”

A pause.

Then Luca shrugged, “Partially.”

Emily rolled her eyes, “That’s still listening.”

Luca didn’t argue. Instead, he walked toward the window. “Your brother loves you.”

The observation caught her off guard.

“It is obvious.”

Luca nodded, “He’ll come looking.”

Emily stood immediately.

“Then let him.”

Luca turned.Their eyes met.

And suddenly the room felt smaller.

“He won’t find you.”

Emily hated how confident he sounded.

“How do you know?”

A pause.

Then Luca replied calmly:

“Because I don’t want him to.”

The honesty shocked her. He never softened the truth. Just stated facts.

Emily folded her arms.

“Do you control everything?” she asked

Luca considered the question.

“No.”

“What don’t you control?” she asked again

He smiled. A genuine smile and completely unexpected. He answered, “You.”

The answer stole the air from her lungs. Because he sounded almost amused by it. Almost challenged by it.And somehow that was more frightening than if he’d simply threatened her.

In somewhere else in London, a black car stopped outside a luxury restaurant. A man stepped out,Tall.Well-dressedCold eyes Dangerous smile.

Marco Russo.

He adjusted his watch and entered the building. Inside, one of his men approached quickly. “ Sir, we found confirmation.”

Marco raised an eyebrow.

“The witness?”

The man nodded.

“Alive,” he asked again.

Marco smiled.

The kind of smile that meant trouble. “Interesting.”

“What do you want us to do?” the man asked.

Marco looked out toward the city lights.

Then said: “Nothing.”

The man frowned. “Nothing?”

Marco’s smile widened.A pause.

“Not yet.”

Because Marco Russo had just become interested.

And when Marco became interested in someone…

Things rarely ended well.

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