Chapter 60: Shadows, flames and mysteries
Bianca’s breath quickened the moment she entered their living room and her eyes landed on the boy - Jackson.
His very presence sent her spiraling into memories she had tried to bury, yet they came crashing back in a storm of guilt, pain, and longing.
His eyes... those piercing blue eyes were unmistakable.
They weren’t just eyes.
They were George’s bloodline (the man who made her a mother at her early age), staring back at her, a living proof of her past mistake.
It was as though the Morano curse itself had crawled out of the river where she left him and returned in the form of this child.
The boy tilted his head, confused at her frozen stare.
His mother stepped protectively in front of him, her arms folding across her chest.
"How may we help you?" the woman asked, her tone sharp yet edged with curiosity.
She had recognized Bianca instantly the very woman who had once stood between her family and Luca.
Bianca’s chest constricted.
Her voice cracked as she spoke. "I... I owe you an apology, ma’am. For the way I treated you the last time.... I was afraid. Terrified, actually. I thought my deepest secret would spill, and I wasn’t ready. But now... now I realize it’s already out. And I can’t keep running forever. "
Jackson’s mother narrowed her eyes. "And how does this... apology relate to us?"
Bianca took a deep breath, her hands trembling.
She clasped them tightly to still the shake. "Because years ago, I gave birth to a baby boy. A baby with eyes like a burning sky after a storm. Blue, sharp, alive. I was too young. Too foolish. Too afraid of what that bloodline meant. So I... I placed him in a basket. I let the river take him, praying that fate would be kinder to him than I could ever be." Her voice broke, raw with shame. "But fate brought him back to me. To us. That boy... Jackson is mine."
The room chilled.
Jackson’s mother’s face hardened. "What if this is only a coincidence? What if you’re chasing ghosts, mistaking one child for another?"
Bianca’s lips curled into a bitter smile, tears stinging her eyes. "No. It’s not coincidence. The chain around his neck look closely. There’s a locket, a small photo inside. My photo. If it’s not true, then let’s open it and see."
Silence thundered between them. Jackson’s tiny hands reached for the chain nervously, as though he sensed the storm his existence had just unleashed....
******
The Morano mansion, usually impenetrable, was slowly becoming a playground for secrets.
Lauren moved through its corridors with the casual arrogance of someone who thought himself untouchable, yet underneath his calm stride was desperation.
He had spent the last nights memorizing guard schedules, noting every creak of wood, every whisper of locked doors.
He knew Luca’s chamber held the safe.
And in that safe, rumors of documents, maps, perhaps even pieces of some little secrets about the moranos was there.
And it was enough to keep him awake at night.
That night, he brought an iron bar, thin yet strong, and crouched before the lock.
He pressed it against the knob, his jaw tightening with each forceful push.
Sweat trickled down his temple.
He could almost hear the secrets whispering behind that door.
But then, he heard some footsteps....
He froze, heart hammering against his ribs.
In a split second, he straightened, pretending to casually stroll past the hall.
"What are you doing here?" one of Luca’s men barked, suspicion hardening his tone.
Lauren smirked, forcing nonchalance. "Walking. Am I not allowed to? Or must I report every step I take?"
"You shouldn’t be here," the guard replied coldly. "This section is restricted. Visitors belong in the chambers assigned to them only."
Lauren’s smirk sharpened. "Visitors? I’m your boss’s son."
The other guard stepped forward, eyes narrowing.
"And so? We haven’t been given instructions to treat you as such. So Until then, you’re just another stranger under this roof. Watch yourself. Next time, you might not walk away with just a warning."
For a brief moment, Lauren’s mask slipped, rage flashing across his face.
He leaned closer, lowering his voice like venom. "I’ll make sure you lose your job for this insolence."
But the guards didn’t flinch.
They stood their ground, unmoved by his threat.
Lauren turned sharply, concealing the fury in his gut.
Inside, he seethed. They don’t recognize me now, but they will.
And when I hold what’s inside that safe, they’ll regret crossing me.
****""
In the Mountains
The morning sun painted Alessia’s skin in gold, pulling her from sleep with its gentle warmth.
She stirred, smiling softly as memories of the previous night danced in her mind.. Luca’s lips, his touch, the rare tenderness he allowed himself only with her.
But her smile faded immediately...
Why was the sun striking her face so directly? Their lodge should have shielded her from the glare.
Her lashes fluttered open, and her breath caught.
She was sprawled in the open, her nightgown tangled loosely around her waist, leaving her nearly bare.
She hurriedly pulled the fabric up, heat rushing to her cheeks yet embarrassment was quickly replaced by dread.
Luca was gone... He wasn’t by her side, she didn’t wake up next to him, and the rest men we’re no where to be Found too.
"Luca?" she called him, her voice trembling as her eyes scanned frantically.
Then she saw him, lying still on the other side of a vast chasm that hadn’t been there the night before.
The mountain had split.
The ground between them had cracked wide open into a yawning gorge, smoke curling up from its depths like the breath of hell itself.
The lodge where they had stayed the Locanda di Fiume, known for its safety... was gone, swallowed by fire and water.
Flames devoured its remains, hissing where the boiling river licked at burning wood.
Alessia staggered back, horror flooding her veins. "Luca... " she screamed.
His body jerked awake, eyes snapping open.
He shot upright, instincts instantly alert. "Alessia?"
She clutched her chest, tears blurring her sight. "Luca, the mountain... it’s split, the others... they’re gone, , The lodge... It’s in the river, Burning, this river is damn hot and dangerous ".
Luca scrambled to his feet, his sharp gaze taking in the devastation.
His jaw clenched, fury and disbelief etched across his face. "What in hell..."
Alessia stretched her hand across the gap, but the distance was too wide. "Luca, you can’t cross... it’s too dangerous, The water, it’s boiling.. "
Smoke rose in angry plumes, heat slashing against their skin even from where they stood.
"I’ll find a way to you" Luca barked, determination blazing in his eyes.
Her tears fell harder. "You’ll die if you try".
His lips pressed into a thin line, but even across the divide she saw it, that unshakable fire in him, the same fire that made men bow and enemies tremble.
Still, the earth groaned beneath them, trembling as though alive..
Rocks cracked and fell into the abyss, swallowed instantly by the hissing water.
The mountain was no longer safe. Something unnatural had awakened.
And they were caught in its wrath.
Alessia’s heart thundered.
Was this connected to the black book? To her bloodline? Or was it mere fate playing cruel games with them again?
She didn’t know.
But she knew one thing, whatever force had split the mountain, it was coming for them.
And if Luca jumped, she might lose him forever.
As Alessia cries for Luca to stop, the ground under her feet begins to give way. Rocks crumble, the ledge breaking apart beneath her.
Luca roars her name, but before he can leap, Alessia’s body plunges into the boiling abyss below.....
Alessia’s breath caught in her throat as she saw Luca step closer to the edge, the sharp wind tugging at his coat.
For a fleeting second, it looked as though he was ready to leap into the unknown, to sacrifice himself to whatever fate waited beyond the hill.
"Luca, no... " Her voice cracked, raw with panic, tears spilling uncontrollably down her cheeks.
She ran forward and clutched his arm as if her very soul depended on it. "Don’t leave me like this please, I beg you. If fate wanted us apart, it wouldn’t have brought me to you in the first place. Don’t let destiny win, not like this."
He turned, his jaw tight, pain shadowing his eyes. "Alessia... maybe faith wanted this," he whispered, his voice breaking. "Maybe faith wanted us apart. I can’t lose you, Alessia. I never even understood why you had to be part of this cursed journey. I should have protected you. Instead, I dragged you here."
Her heart ached, but she forced herself to stay strong, even as her tears betrayed her.
She placed both trembling hands against his chest, steadying him. "Listen to me, Luca. I came here willingly and I’m glad to be part of this. The hills are long, the path cruel. Take your road, and I will take mine. If destiny is as cruel as it seems, let it be the one to decide.
But if we are truly meant, after this hill, after this storm, till we will meet again."
His hands cupped her face, desperate, unwilling. "So... you’re saying we should go separate ways?" His voice was ragged, almost boyish in its pain, as though he couldn’t bear to utter the words.
Alessia swallowed hard, summoning a courage she didn’t know she had. "Yes.... For now. Because if we stay clinging to each other in the wrong moment, we might both fall. And I would rather lose your presence for a time... than lose your life forever."