CHAPTER 97: COMPLICATED

Chapter 97

KATYA POV

The room was quiet again. The kind of quiet that pressed on my chest, heavy, unrelenting.

Nonna had left hours ago, but her words still clung to the air, impossible to clear. I’d cried until there was nothing left — no tears, no anger, just an empty ache and the weight of a story that wasn’t mine but still hurt to carry.

But understanding doesn’t mean forgiving. It didn’t bring Frank back. It didn’t erase the nights I woke up shaking. It didn’t make this place feel any less like a cage.

There was only the ache.

And the echo of her words.

You’re not cursed, cara mia.

I wanted to believe her. God, I did. But belief didn’t erase blood. It sure as hell didn’t make the pain easier.

Because knowing why someone became a monster doesn’t change the fact that they still are one.

If anything, it made everything worse. Because now, when I thought of him, I didn’t just see the monster — I saw the boy who’d been broken long before I met him. And I hated that.

I sat up, dragging a shaky breath. My hands trembled from exhaustion, from anger, from something deeper I didn’t have a name for.

I thought of Nonna’s eyes, full of regret. Her voice when she said her blood had a hand in my pain.

She meant him.

Romeo

.

She saw the boy in him — the broken child carved into something ruthless — but all I could see were the pieces he’d shattered in me.

Still... her story wouldn’t stop replaying. Her losses. Her silence. The way history had clawed through generations until it reached me.

Maybe that was what scared me most. The thought that pain could run that deep. That maybe we were all just carrying curses we didn’t ask for.

But if that was true... maybe it didn’t have to end here.

My chest tightened as another face flashed in my mind — Aria.

Why had she been haunting my thoughts these past few days? Her laughter.

The way she looked at her twin’s dead body — like the world had ended.

Because of me.

I wiped my face with the back of my hand, breathing through the burn in my throat.

I wasn’t cursed.

I was still here.

And maybe — just maybe — that had to mean something.

If Nonna meant what she said, then I had a chance. A chance to find out what happened. A chance to do something that mattered.

And maybe... a chance to take back a piece of the life he stole from me.

I drew a shaky breath and pushed myself off the couch. The room swayed, but I steadied myself against the armrest.

My fingers clenched the fabric like I could squeeze courage out of it.

If pain really did repeat through bloodlines, then I was done being its echo.

A memory flashed —

Cold stone walls.

The thick scent of bleach and something darker, something that never really washed off.

That was where they’d taken me the night they brought me in. Where I woke up in, where that bastard wanted to take advantage.

The underground floor. The torture level.

My heart lurched painfully. If Aria was alive... if they’d kept her anywhere...

It would be there.

The thought twisted my stomach, but I couldn’t ignore it. Not anymore.

Nonna’s voice whispered again in the back of my mind — You’re not alone anymore.

But when would I find her if not now — before that demon woke from his coma?

Nonna might be his grandmother, but that didn’t mean he’d listen to her.

I glanced at the polished clock on the wall. Past midnight. The guards would be switching shifts soon. The hallways quiet.

My palms were slick as I crept toward the door, every creak of the floorboards threatening to betray me. The air was cold, heavy with the weight of the house, of everything it had seen.

One breath in.

One out.

Then I turned the knob.

The click sounded like thunder in the silence, and for a heartbeat, I froze. Then slipped through the door and into the hallway.

The elevator stared back at me, same as the stairs. I hesitated.

Then chose the elevator.

It would be faster, straight down, no creaking stairs or footsteps echoing in the dark. My heart drummed against my ribs as I pressed the call button, watching the numbers flicker, drop, then stop.

A soft ding.

The doors slid open.

And I froze.

So did she.

Miss Stella stood inside, her hand still hovering near the control panel. Her eyes widened — not startled, but caught. Like she’d seen a ghost.

For a second, neither of us moved. The air between us turned cold.

Normally, her presence felt warm ,steady. But tonight... something felt off. Or maybe it was just me.

Still what the hell was she doing up here?

From what I heard, this floor was off-limits. Always had been. The Don’s orders. Only him... and surprisingly me. Even the guards never lingered long.

So why was she here?

Her gaze flicked behind me, then back — too quick. Too sharp.

"Katya," she breathed, soft, careful. "You shouldn’t be out of your room at this hour."

I blinked, trying to steady my voice. "Neither should you." It came out small.

Something flashed across her face — guilt, fear, maybe both. Then it vanished, replaced by the calm, practiced smile she always wore.

"I was checking on some things," she said quietly. "It’s... complicated."

Complicated. Right. That was what people said when they were hiding something.

I swallowed hard, every instinct screaming at me to step back but my feet wouldn’t move. Not when her eyes darted again, like she was making sure we were alone.

Maybe I should’ve turned around. Maybe I should’ve listened to the warning pounding in my chest.

But I couldn’t shake it, that flicker in her eyes.

Like she knew something.

Like she’d wanted to do something.

"Do you need help?" I asked, the silence stretching too thin.

"Oh no, dear. I’m already done."

My eyes narrowed. Done? She hadn’t even stepped off the elevator.

"Where were you headed?" she asked lightly.

I forced a smile, my throat dry. "Just getting water. My throat’s parched."

Her eyes lingered a second too long, but I stepped inside anyway.

††

Hmmm, hehe