Silent love

Chapter 27

On the previous chapter...

Federico moved first, faster than I'd ever seen him, reaching her before anyone else. 
"Seraphina". His voice was sharp, urgent. 

She blinked up at him, her usually fierce gaze unfocused. 

"He's alive".

Her voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper. 

And then her knees buckled. 

Federico caught her before she could collapse, one arm steadying her while the other cradled the back of her head. 

I took a step forward instinctively, but I hesitated, unsure if I should interfere. Around us, the air felt suffocating. Silvio muttered a curse. No one moved. No one spoke. 

Seraphina's breathing was uneven, her fingers curling weakly into Federico's suit. She lifted her head just slightly, enough to meet his eyes.

And then, with the last bit of strength she had left, she rasped out a single name. 

"Valerio".

                    ʚ FEDERICO'S POV ɞ

The air in my office was thick with tension. My fingers drummed against the polished surface of my desk, a practiced rhythm, controlled. Measured.

A contrast to the chaos twisting in my chest.

Seraphina was upstairs, bruised and shaken but alive. And that was the only reason Valerio wasn't already dead.

Silvio stood near the window, arms crossed over his broad chest, his expression grim.

I. leaned against the bookshelf, silent, watching. He had a presence that demanded attention without a single word. Dark brown eyes, nearly black, held an unsettling stillness. Tattoos inked his arms, creeping up to the base of his neck, and his muscular build was nearly as imposing as my own. He had been quiet since arriving, taking in the situation, calculating.

He went hiding because he was in danger till last night. The moment Seraphina stumbled through those doors, he was here. A ghost slipping back into the house like he had never left.

Chrysanthe sat on the couch, her usually poised demeanor faltering as she chewed on her thumbnail, her icy gaze flicking between Silvio, I. and me.

Then the phone rang.

I exhaled slowly before answering, bringing the phone to my ear.

"Valerio".

A low chuckle hummed through the speaker, smooth and taunting. "Mancini. You sound tense".

My grip tightened on the phone. "Cut the shit. You were supposed to be dead".

"Careful Mancini". Valerio sighed, feigning disappointment. "I left the building early. It was my brother. You killed him. You took something from me. And you know what they say-"

"An eye for an eye". I finished, voice low.

Silence stretched, heavy and suffocating.

I already knew where this was going. The same script, the same threats. An eye for an eye. Blood for blood. But then he said it.

"I could have killed her".

Everything inside me turned to ice.

Seraphina.

My sister.

"I had her right there". Valerio mused, as if recalling a fond memory. "Weak, helpless. Eye for an eye, isn't that how it works? But I decided to enjoy her instead".