GUILIAI dialled Kenzo's number, urging the driver to go faster, but he switched his line off, almost like whoever took him did it on purpose. “Fuck!” I slammed my fist against the car door, my heart racing with every passing second. “Faster, please!” I begged the driver, my voice laced with desperation.I needed to get to Kenzo as fast as I could. I had to. He needed me more than ever to get him back safe, to rescue him from those bastards that kidnapped him. But how? I wondered. I didn't think of this when I left the house. After hearing that Kenzo was in danger, I realized I had to get to him, only that I didn't plan. I just…How could this be happening? Kenzo, my rock, my confidant, was kidnapped. The sound of his terrified voice still echoed in my mind, sending shivers down my spine. I knew I had to get there fast to avoid anything happening to him. He was relying on me to save him from those who took him, and I was going to do that, even though I can't tell how, but I will. I f
MARKAdrenaline surged through me as I bolted toward the closest car, firing off shots at the attackers still laying down fire on the house. The men had the situation mostly handled by now, but I couldn’t stick around to make sure they got everything right. Giulia needed me. I slid across the hood, gun in hand, and dove into the driver’s seat. Starting the engine, I slammed my foot on the gas, sending the car roaring forward. One of the attackers didn’t get out of the way fast enough—he crumpled against the hood as I clipped him, the impact reverberating through the car.Just as I sped through the gate, my phone buzzed with a text. I glanced down for a split second, ducking under the dashboard as bullets pinged off the car’s body. The text was short. A location. My pulse quickened. This had to be where they were holding Giulia.I leaned out of the window, squeezing off a few more rounds toward the attackers, then swerved to avoid a hail of bullets. As I peeled out onto the main road,
GUILIAMy eyelids slowly fluttered open. A wave of grogginess washed over me. Where…where was I? I tried to rise, but my head felt like it was about to split in two. The pain caused me to wince, tugging me back to the bed as I closed my eyes.“Lia!” I heard someone yell my name. My eyes snapped back open. This time, I could tell where I was because of the whitewashed wall. A hospital room.A gentle voice spoke beside me. “Welcome back.” The voice sounded oddly familiar, but I couldn't place where I had heard it. A gentle hand grasped mine, and I turned to see a stranger's face. His eyes were warm, filled with concern.He looked like my type. Yeah, the kind of person I wouldn't mind spending the rest of my life with. Aside from the scar that ran down half part of his face to his chiselled jaw, he looked decent. His brown hair was messy and endearing. His black eyes pierced through me, filled with an intensity that left me breathless. His face was chiselled, with an oval shape and su
MARK Giulia sat on the edge of the bed, her eyes distant and foggy as she absentmindedly twisted a strand of her hair between her fingers. I stood by the doorway with my stomach in knots. For the fifth time that morning, she asked me the same question—one that tore at me every time she repeated it. "Where are my parents? Why haven’t they come to get me?" Her voice was small, innocent, like a scared little girl. I swallowed hard and stepped closer, kneeling beside her. "Giulia," I began, trying to keep my voice steady, though the cracks were impossible to hide. "What’s their address? I’ll find them for you. I’ll bring them to you." Her face lit up with a spark of hope as if I had just handed her a lifeline. She rattled off the address without hesitation. It didn’t sound familiar, but I memorized it anyway. "Seattle," she added, her lips curving into a soft, nostalgic smile. "They live in Seattle." I stood up with a sigh. Seattle. I hadn’t expected that. We were across the worl
GUILIAMark leaned on the door, with his arms folded, watching me with a frown as I sat so close to my foster mum. I wouldn't have been caught dead sitting next to them in a normal circumstance, but this one was far from it. They were familiar faces. The devil I knew at the moment seemed better than the angels—Mark and Kenzo—that claimed I knew them. My foster mum scowled at me, but she didn't remove my hand from hers. Peter did the same. Those dark eyes of his promised a hell more than the ones I'd been passing through in his hands. Icy dread enveloped me the more his gaze lingered. Looking towards Mark, I cleared my throat to hide my fear as I asked, “Can… Can I have a moment alone with them?” “Huh?” He looked like he couldn't comprehend why I asked for private time, but instead of asking about it, he nodded. “Sure. Call me if you need me.” Drawing away from the door. He looked reluctant to leave me alone in the room with them, but he didn't voice it. He gave me one last glance b
MARKI stepped outside with Giulia’s so-called parents, the cool breeze doing little to quell the fire simmering beneath my skin. The two of them followed, exchanging a glance as I led them away from the house, where Giulia wouldn’t hear what I was about to say."We need to talk," I began, keeping my tone measured. "Giulia’s condition is delicate. She needs medical attention, something she won’t get if you take her with you. She doesn’t even remember who she really is, and if she stays in this state, things could get worse."The woman squinted at me, her face a mask of suspicion. "We can take care of her," she said sharply, crossing her arms over her chest. The man beside her nodded, his expression equally sceptical. "But I’ve seen the way you look at her."I bristled at her words. My fists clenched at my sides, but I stayed calm. For now."We’re willing to leave her here," she continued, her voice lowering as she leaned closer. "But it’ll cost you."I narrowed my eyes as my patience
GUILIAMark left immediately after Kenzo showed up, promising that he would be back with my parents the next day. I didn't trust those words because he didn't seem like he was telling the truth. I could tell from his gaze that there was something he was keeping from me. Oddly enough, I didn't feel scared about it. Though I kept on yelling for him to get my foster parents back, I wasn't that eager to meet them again. I just wanted to keep him on his toes, so he wouldn't think I was ready to embrace a life I couldn't remember. After meeting my foster parents, I realized something. Mark wasn't lying when he said I wasn't sixteen like I thought I was. Not only that, but Kenzo brought my phone back last night, and I had gone through the pictures.Though I couldn't recall any of them, I knew they couldn't have worked on such convincing pictures, not even with the help of an AI. With those thoughts in mind, I went to bed after having dinner — I had to sneak into the kitchen to do that afte
MARK"What the fuck is going on?" I murmured to myself, my brows creasing at the parked cars out front. My gates were flung open, men in black lining the sidewalk and driveway. I clocked my gun and fixed it into the waistband of my jeans. I fucking told Kenzo not to let anyone in!I literally took only twenty minutes—okay, it was about thirty or so—to get some things from the store and clear my head. Giulia had incessantly whined for biscuits and candies like a child, so I decided to do what was best for us all: get a basketful of those things she wanted badly. I'd present them to her like a gift."Hey, what the hell is happening here?" I asked the men outside the gate, but they said nothing. Gripping my gun through my shirt, I walked into the compound.The scene was chaos: bloodstains on the ground, men ducking for cover, and bodies lying still. I saw Kenzo near the gate, pinned down behind a wall. But what really set me off was the sight of Giulia in the presence of a strange man, s