CHAPTER 119: THE AWAKENING ROOM

Aria

Darkness swallowed her.

Not gentle darkness.

Not sleep.

Not unconsciousness.

A heavy, breathing dark.

Alive.

Watching.

Listening to her pulse.

Aria tried to move, but her limbs felt submerged in warm water. Her heartbeat echoed like a drum inside her ears.

Then a faint golden light flickered.

Not from outside.

From inside her.

The baby.

Aria exhaled shakily. "I am here," she whispered. "I am with you."

The golden light pulsed back.

A response.

A heartbeat inside a heartbeat.

The darkness recoiled.

A faint hiss echoed around her.

And a voice whispered.

You cannot protect her.

She belongs to the blood.

Aria clenched her jaw. "She belongs to me."

A deep laugh curled through the dark.

No, child. You belong to me too.

The ground beneath her shifted. The golden light dimmed. The darkness tightened like a fist.

Aria’s breath began to thin.

Her body felt pulled downward, as if something beneath her was dragging her by invisible chains.

"Stop," she gasped, grabbing her stomach. "Leave her alone."

The voice only grew sharper.

Come home. Come below.

Aria screamed.

Luca

Her scream tore through the manor like lightning.

Luca nearly dropped her. Her body jerked violently in his arms, her fingers twisting into his coat with desperate force.

"Aria," Luca cried, shaking her gently. "Look at me. Aria, open your eyes."

She did not.

Her head fell back. Her mouth trembled with silent pain.

Rosetta grabbed Aria’s wrist. "Luca, her pulse is too fast."

The doctor swung the portable monitor into place. "Her heart rate is spiking. The baby’s too. This is not natural. Something is triggering both their systems at once."

Luca clenched his teeth. "The Patron."

The doctor swallowed. "This is beyond medical. We need to get her somewhere safe."

Luca carried Aria deeper into the manor. Dust swirled with every step he took. The walls creaked as if speaking. Nico and two guards followed close behind, weapons drawn.

The moment they crossed the grand foyer, the entire house shifted.

A groan vibrated through the stone.

The chandelier above them swayed.

Cold air danced across Luca’s neck like fingers.

Aria’s eyes snapped open.

Not wide.

Not alert.

Glowing.

A soft gold shimmered beneath her irises.

Rosetta gasped. "Luca."

Aria whispered, barely audible. "He is here."

Luca tightened his grip around her. "Where."

Aria’s eyes drifted upward.

"To the foundation."

Luca looked toward the old staircase. "Basement."

The doctor shook his head. "Luca, her body cannot take more stress. She needs rest."

Aria gripped Luca’s coat. "Please. Take me there."

Her voice did not sound like her own. It trembled with something ancient.

Rosetta grabbed Luca’s arm. "Luca, listen to me. This place holds your wife’s history. You cannot ignore that."

"She is not stepping foot in that basement unless I go in first," Luca growled.

And he meant it.

Aria pressed her forehead against his chest. "I can feel something calling her. Not him. Something else."

Luca stilled.

"Her blood," Aria whispered. "My blood. I think there is something down there that belongs to us."

Nico stepped forward. "Boss, we cannot let her go alone. But we also cannot stay in the open. This house feels wrong."

The house groaned again.

As if annoyed.

Luca turned toward the main hallway. "We find the basement entrance. Nico, take Rosetta and the doctor. Stay behind me. Guard formation."

He lifted Aria higher against him.

Her breath trembled against his neck.

"I have you," he whispered again.

Her glowing eyes closed. "I know."

The Descent

They found the basement door behind a false wall in the old library. When Nico pulled the wooden panel aside, a rush of stale air poured out, smelling of earth and old stone.

The doctor wrinkled his nose. "This place has not been opened in centuries."

Luca adjusted Aria in his arms. "Then stay close."

He descended the narrow stone staircase, each step slick with moisture. The air grew colder with every foot they traveled. Rosetta followed closely behind him, clutching her rosary.

Halfway down, the walls began to shift color.

Not painted.

Not stained.

Marked.

Symbols traced in charcoal, spirals identical to the charm that Torrez had stolen. Lines twisting into shapes Luca had never seen before.

Aria lifted her head weakly.

"I know these," she whispered.

Luca’s heart slammed hard. "From where?"

She touched the symbols with trembling fingers.

"I do not know. I just... know."

The baby kicked again, hard enough that she winced.

Rosetta noticed the force. "She is responding to this place."

The doctor swallowed. "This is not normal fetal behavior. Not even close."

Nico raised his flashlight. "Luca, look."

The last step opened into a vast underground chamber.

Luca froze.

The room was circular, with walls carved smooth as marble despite being centuries old. Vines clung to the stone. A large emblem was etched into the floor.

The same spiral symbol.

But larger.

Radiating outward like a sun.

Aria inhaled sharply.

"This is the birthplace," she whispered.

Luca turned. "Of what?"

"Of the Morrelli line."

Rosetta crossed herself. "Holy God."

Aria leaned into Luca’s chest. "My blood comes from here."

Luca held her tighter.

Nico approached the carved floor. "Boss. There is something else."

He pointed at the center of the spiral.

A raised stone pedestal.

Cracked.

Covered in dust.

And stained with something dark.

Rosetta’s voice trembled. "Is that blood?"

Aria stiffened.

Luca’s jaw clenched. "Do not touch anything."

Aria lifted her hand and pointed at the pedestal.

"He used this."

Luca turned to her slowly. "Who?"

Aria swallowed. "The Patron. This was where he performed the ritual."

Rosetta gasped. "What ritual?"

Aria looked at Luca.

Her voice was barely a whisper.

"To bind the first Morrelli child."

Luca’s breath turned to ice.

Aria began shaking again. Hard. Violent tremors moving through her arms and legs.

The doctor rushed forward. "She is going into stress-induced shock."

"No," Aria whispered. "No. This is not me. This is him."

The lights flickered.

The air shifted.

Nico stepped back abruptly. "Boss. Something is happening."

The house above them groaned.

And then the voice came again.

Low.

Echoing through the chamber.

Filling the walls like smoke.

You brought her home.

Aria screamed.

This time the sound shattered something inside Luca.

He held her tighter, shielding her body with his own.

"Aria. Aria, breathe. Look at me."

But her eyes flashed gold again. Her head snapped back, her spine arching in agony.

Rosetta grabbed her hand. "Fight him. Aria, fight."

The voice grew deeper.

Her blood returns to the foundation.

Just as it was written.

Luca roared into the darkness. "Show yourself."

A faint outline appeared.

The same as before.

Tall.

Blurred.

More shadow than man.

But here, in the heart of the Morrelli bloodline, the shape held longer.

Luca drew his gun and fired.

The bullet passed through air.

The shadow laughed.

You cannot kill what was born in your wife’s blood.

Aria convulsed again.

The doctor yelled, "Her blood pressure is crashing. The baby’s oxygen levels are dropping. We cannot stay here."

Luca pressed his forehead to Aria’s. "Stay with me. Do not leave me. Do not leave us."

Tears slipped from her eyes.

"I am trying," she whispered.

Her voice faded.

Her body grew limp.

"No," Luca whispered. "No. No. Aria."

Her golden glow flickered.

The shadow stepped closer.

Leave her, Luca DeLuca.

And I will spare your life.

Luca lifted his head slowly.

His eyes were pure death.

"I will tear you out of the ground with my bare hands before I leave her."

The shadow stilled.

The spiral on the floor began to glow.

Aria’s body lifted slightly in Luca’s arms, as if pulled upward by an unseen force.

The baby kicked weakly.

Then the whisper came again.

She awakens.

The chamber shook.

Torches on the walls burst into flame.

Dust rained from the ceiling.

The spiral pulsed like a heartbeat.

Luca held Aria tighter.

"No," he snarled. "You do not take her."

Rosetta prayed under her breath.

Nico aimed his gun at shadows he could not see.

The doctor held the oxygen mask to Aria’s face, hands shaking.

Then, suddenly, Aria’s eyes snapped open.

Not gold.

White.

Bright.

Blinding.

The spiral stopped glowing.

The shadow froze.

And in a voice that was hers and not hers, Aria whispered:

"You cannot have her."

A violent blast of air surged through the chamber.

The shadow dissolved.

The torches went dark.

The spiral cracked down the center.

And Aria collapsed in Luca’s arms.

Her eyes closed.

Her breathing was faint.

Too faint.

Luca shook her gently. "Aria. Open your eyes. Aria."

Her lips parted.

Barely audible.

"It is not over."

Then she lost consciousness completely.

Luca held her against his chest, his voice breaking for the first time in his life.

"Aria. Come back to me."