Sinful Flames

Chapter 39

I sat in the library, flipping through the pages of a book I wasn’t even reading. My mind was restless, and the quiet around me only made it worse. The atmosphere in Gabriel’s mansion had been tense ever since Giovanni's deception was revealed, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that things were about to take a darker turn.

Suddenly, the sound of raised voices echoed from the living room. My heart raced as I strained to hear what was going on. Footsteps thundered down the hallway, and I quickly closed my book, standing up from the plush armchair. Something was happening.

Curiosity tugged at me as I followed the sounds, quietly making my way toward the living room. When I arrived, Gabriel’s men had gathered, surrounding a man who was on his knees, bound and looking terrified. It didn’t take me long to realize this was the man who had met with Giovanni before he went into hiding. The informant they’d been following must have led them to him.

Gabriel stood in the center of the room, his face unreadable but his eyes dark with something I couldn’t quite place. The man on the floor looked up at Gabriel, pleading, but there was no mercy in Gabriel’s eyes.

"Take him to the basement," Gabriel ordered, his voice low and commanding.

I watched as the men dragged the guy to his feet and started hauling him out of the room. Without thinking, I followed. My footsteps were light as I trailed them down to the basement, a place I had never been before. The air grew colder as we descended, the stone walls around us casting eerie shadows.

When we reached the bottom, Gabriel noticed me. His jaw clenched, his expression hardening. "Chiara, go back upstairs," he said, his voice leaving no room for argument.

But I couldn’t. Not this time. "No," I said firmly, my voice steady despite the turmoil in my chest. "I need to see this."

Gabriel’s eyes flickered with something—anger, frustration, maybe even concern—but he didn’t argue further. He simply gave a curt nod before turning his attention back to the man his men had thrown against a metal chair in the middle of the room.

What followed next was something I hadn’t been prepared for. Gabriel’s voice was cold, detached, as he interrogated the man, demanding answers. The man refused to talk at first, shaking his head and insisting he didn’t know anything. Gabriel’s face hardened, and then, with a sharp signal, one of his men stepped forward, pulling out a knife.

I swallowed hard, my heart pounding in my chest. Gabriel was a different person in this moment—not the man who kissed me in the mornings, who made me feel safe in his arms. This Gabriel was ruthless, merciless. His commands were precise, his movements calculated as if he’d done this a hundred times before.

The man in the chair screamed as the blade sliced into his skin, and I flinched, my stomach twisting. I couldn’t tear my eyes away, even though I wanted to. This wasn’t just about finding Giovanni anymore. This was about power, control, and I was seeing a side of Gabriel that terrified me.

Matteo must have noticed the look on my face because he moved toward me, his voice low as he whispered, "Chiara, you shouldn’t be here. This isn’t for you to see."

I glanced at him, my breath shaky. "I…I needed to know. I needed to see who Gabriel really is."

Matteo sighed, glancing back at the scene in front of us. "This is who we are, Chiara. This is what we do to protect what’s ours. Gabriel does this because he has no choice."

I nodded, though it didn’t make me feel any better. Matteo’s words didn’t take away the fear that had settled deep in my chest. The Gabriel in front of me wasn’t the man I loved. This Gabriel was something else entirely. And I couldn’t pretend it didn’t scare me.

---

The rest of the week passed with a heavy feeling hanging over me, like a storm cloud that hadn’t quite broken yet. I couldn’t shake the dread that clung to me, the sense that something bad was going to happen. Every time I thought about the basement, about what I had seen, a chill ran down my spine. Gabriel had become distant, his focus entirely on dealing with the threat Giovanni posed. He hadn’t spoken much about it, and I hadn’t pushed him. But the distance between us felt like a chasm I couldn’t cross.

I threw myself into work, hoping it would distract me from the sinking feeling in my gut. Sandra had just approved my latest article, a piece I was proud of, and told me to take the rest of the day off. I left the office earlier than usual, unsure of what to do with my newfound free time. I thought about Gabriel, about how hard he’d been working, and decided I would surprise him at his office. Maybe we could talk, clear the air between us.

When I arrived at Gabriel’s office, I made my way up without any obstacles. His staff didn’t stop me, probably because Gabriel had made it clear I was allowed to go wherever I wanted. I appreciated that, but it didn’t stop the nerves that twisted in my stomach as the elevator doors opened on his floor.

As I stepped out, I froze.

Amelia was coming out of Gabriel’s office. Her eyes landed on me, and a smug, satisfied smile spread across her face. Something about the way she looked at me made my skin crawl.

“Well, well,” she said, her voice dripping with condescension. “Go ahead. Go inside. You’ll get exactly what you deserve.”

My heart skipped a beat. What did she mean? What had happened?

I didn’t have time to dwell on it. With a shaky breath, I pushed the door open and stepped inside. Gabriel was standing by the window, his back to me. His posture was tense, and the moment I saw him, I knew. I knew that something was wrong.

This wasn’t my Gabriel. This wasn’t the man I had fallen in love with.

“Gabriel?” I called softly, my voice barely above a whisper. He didn’t turn around, didn’t move. He just stood there, staring out the window as if he couldn’t face me.

I took a few cautious steps forward, my heart in my throat. “What happened?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

Finally, he turned to face me, and the look in his eyes nearly broke me. There was a coldness there, a hardness that I hadn’t seen before. This wasn’t the man who had held me close at night, who had whispered sweet things in my ear. This was a man weighed down by the darkness of his world, a man who had done things he couldn’t take back.

“What’s going on?” I asked, my voice trembling. “What did Amelia mean?”

He didn’t answer right away. He just stood there, watching me with those piercing eyes that I couldn’t read anymore. And when he finally spoke, his voice was so quiet, so unlike him.

I stood there, my heart breaking. Something had shifted between us, something I couldn’t fix.