Chương 3
“I knew the name.”
“Then why did you stay?”
I opened my mouth.
Nothing came out.
Because the answer sounded ridiculous.
Because I had stayed because he made me feel seen.
Because I had spent years being invisible and one night with him had made me feel like someone finally noticed I existed.
Liam sighed and sat back down.
“I’m sorry.”
The apology confused me.
“For what?”
“For making you feel like I’m judging you.”
I looked at him.
“I’m not.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“Trying to figure out how to keep you safe.”
The words made my chest tighten.
“You think I’m not safe?”
“I think powerful people create dangerous situations even when they don’t mean to.”
I wanted to argue.
I wanted to tell him Alessandro was different.
But I could not.
Not completely.
Because the truth was I barely knew Alessandro myself.
I knew his quiet moments.
I knew the way he listened.
I knew the sadness behind his eyes.
I did not know what happened when someone threatened him.
I did not know what kind of man he became when he stopped being gentle.
My phone vibrated on the table.
Neither of us moved.
The screen lit up.
Unknown number.
Liam saw it.
This time, there was no pretending.
“Is that him?”
I nodded.
The message appeared before I could stop looking.
I need to speak with you tonight.
I turned the phone over.
Liam exhaled slowly.
“Why now?”
“I don’t know.”
“Does he know?”
My silence answered him.
Liam looked at the ceiling.
“Okay.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because if I stop saying it, I’m going to say something less helpful.”
Despite everything, a small laugh escaped me.
It disappeared quickly.
Liam noticed.
“Good.”
“What?”
“You laughed.”
“I’m pregnant and possibly being hunted by a mafia family.”
“I didn’t say the situation was good.”
His mouth moved slightly.
“I said you laughed.”
For a moment, the fear loosened.
Not gone.
Just quieter.
That night, I barely slept.
Every sound from the hallway made me sit up.
Every car door outside made my heart race.
At three in the morning, I finally gave up and walked into the kitchen.
Liam was already there.
He was sitting in the dark with a laptop open.
“You’re terrible at sleeping,” I said.
“So are you.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
I looked at the screen.
“What are you doing?”
He closed it too quickly.
“Nothing.”
I stared at him.
“Liam.”
He sighed.
“Looking up information.”
“About Alessandro?”
“About Vitali.”
My stomach tightened.
“And?”
“And there is a lot people say.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only honest one.”
He rubbed his eyes.
“Half the things online are rumors.”
“And the other half?”
He did not respond immediately.
“That’s what worries me.”
The next morning, I woke up to a message from my clinical supervisor asking if everything was okay because I had missed a scheduled check-in.
I stared at the notification.
A small mistake.
A normal consequence.
But suddenly everything felt connected.
One missed call.
One late arrival.
One person noticing I was different.
Secrets did not stay contained.
They leaked.
They always did.
I spent the day trying to act normal.
I failed.
At noon, I almost walked into the wrong patient room because I was distracted.
At two, I forgot where I left my badge.
At four, I cried in my car for five minutes and then got angry at myself for crying.
Pregnancy had not made me fragile.
Fear had.
When I returned home, Liam was waiting by the door.
His face told me something had happened.
“What?”
“There was someone here.”
My body went cold.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Liam.”
“He didn’t come inside.”
I stepped closer.
“What did he want?”
“He left this.”
He handed me a small envelope.
No name.
No writing.
Just thick cream paper.
The same color as the envelope from the hotel six weeks earlier.
My hands went numb before I even opened it.
Inside was a single card.
Three words were written in black ink.
We need to talk.
I stared at the handwriting.
I had only seen it once.
But I knew it.
Alessandro Vitali had found me.
And this time, there was no pretending the night we shared had ended when the sun came up.
I did not move.
The card remained between my fingers while the apartment around me continued existing as if nothing had changed.
The refrigerator hummed.
A car alarm sounded somewhere outside and stopped after a few seconds.
The neighbor upstairs dropped something heavy, followed by a muffled curse.
Ordinary noises.
Ordinary life.
Except my name had somehow reached the man I had spent six weeks trying to forget.
Liam watched my face carefully.
“Emma.”
I folded the card and placed it back inside the envelope.
“He knows.”
Liam’s expression tightened.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
I shook my head.
“I don’t know.”
That answer bothered both of us.
Not knowing was the worst part.
If Alessandro had found me through a mistake, through a person, through some obvious connection, maybe I could understand it.
But the unknown made every possibility feel possible.
Liam walked toward the window and pulled the curtain aside slightly.
I noticed the way he did it.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like he was trying not to look afraid.
“Did you see who dropped it?”
“No.”
“You said someone was here.”
“I heard the knock.”
“And?”
“And when I opened the door, nobody was there.”
“Liam.”
“I know how that sounds.”
“It sounds like someone wanted you to find it.”
He nodded.
“That’s what I thought.”
The room went quiet.
I hated that he was scared.
I hated that I was the reason.
“I’ll handle it,” I said.
Liam turned around.
“No.”
The firmness surprised me.
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
“You don’t get to walk into this alone.”
“I have to.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m the one who made the mistake.”
His face changed.
Not anger.
May you like
Pain.
“Is that what you think?”
