CHAPTER 120: BETWEEN TWO HEARTBEATS

Luca

Aria lay unnaturally still in his arms.

Too still.

Her breathing was shallow, her skin cold despite the heat crackling through the broken chamber. Luca held her close, willing her to breathe stronger, willing her to open her eyes, and willing her to wake.

She did not.

Her head fell against his shoulder. Her lips parted weakly. Her pulse fluttered beneath his fingers like a dying bird.

Rosetta pressed her hands to her mouth. "Luca. Her pulse. It is fading."

The doctor slid to Aria’s side, ripping open equipment. "We need to move her. Now. This chamber is causing stress reactions I cannot counter."

Luca did not move.

He looked at Aria’s face. Pale. Beautiful. Slipping from him like water through his hands.

He whispered into her ear. "You come back to me. Do you hear me? You come back."

Nico touched his shoulder. "Boss. We have to get her out."

Luca gathered her closer against him and stood. The ground beneath them groaned again, the cracked spiral splitting farther. Dust rained down as the ceiling trembled.

Rosetta cried out, "The chamber is collapsing."

Nico shouted, "Move. Move now."

Luca sprinted toward the staircase, Aria limp in his arms, her head against his shoulder. Rosetta ran ahead, holding a flashlight with shaking hands. Nico and the guards covered their backs, weapons pointed into the shifting shadows.

Halfway up the stairs, the house groaned again.

Not from structural damage.

From anger.

The same voice that had haunted Aria’s mind whispered through the walls.

You cannot take her from the foundation.

Luca snarled, "Watch me."

A violent gust of air hit them. The lights flickered. Aria’s body jerked lightly in his arms.

Luca gripped her tighter. "Stay with me."

The doctor ran ahead, clearing space. "Up, Luca. Quickly. Her vitals are dropping fast."

Nico shouted, "Move. The exit is closing."

The wooden door above them began to slam shut on its own.

Luca lowered his shoulder and sprinted up the final steps.

He caught the door just before it slammed and forced it open with his entire weight. The wood cracked under the strain. Rosetta pulled Aria’s legs through as Luca shoved his body forward.

The door slammed shut behind them with a violent boom.

The manor went silent.

Oppressively silent.

Luca collapsed to one knee, cradling Aria. Her skin was turning colder. A thin sheen of sweat glistened across her forehead.

Her lips quivered.

He pressed his forehead against hers. "Aria. I am here. Stay with me."

Her voice was a faint breath. "Luca... she is... calling."

Luca froze.

"Who?" he whispered.

Aria’s eyelids fluttered. "The first one."

Rosetta gasped. "The first Morrelli."

The doctor shook his head in disbelief. "She is hallucinating. She needs oxygen."

Luca ignored him.

Aria’s voice trembled, barely audible. "She is afraid."

Luca stiffened. "The baby."

Aria nodded weakly. "She is afraid of him. The Patron. She knows him."

Rosetta knelt beside them. "Then listen to her, Aria. What does she feel?"

Aria swallowed. "She feels... that coming here woke something that was forced to sleep."

The house groaned again.

Luca lifted Aria into his arms and carried her out of the hallway. Dust fell from the ceiling. Cracks formed in the ancient walls.

"Get outside," Luca commanded. "We cannot stay here."

They reached the main foyer. The front door was only a few steps away when the world shifted again.

The floor beneath Luca cracked.

Rosetta screamed. The doctor stumbled. Nico grabbed a guard’s vest and pulled him back from a collapsing floorboard.

The house was crumbling.

Luca tightened his hold on Aria. "Stay with me. Please."

Her fingers twitched.

"Luca."

"I am here."

Her voice became even weaker. "If I sleep... he will take me."

Luca’s heart stopped.

"He will not," Luca swore. "Not while I breathe."

The house shuddered violently.

Nico shouted from behind them. "Boss, the ceiling."

Luca looked up.

A massive wooden beam cracked loose and fell.

He turned, shielding Aria with his body. Nico and the guards fired directly at the beam, bullets splintering the wood enough to slow its fall. It crashed beside them instead of crushing them.

Dust and debris exploded around them.

Rosetta coughed violently. "Luca, go. Get her out."

He pushed forward, his muscles burning.

Another beam cracked.

Another part of the ceiling collapsed.

Aria whispered again, "Luca..."

Her breath was fading.

Her hold on him loosened.

Panic flooded him like nothing he had ever felt.

"Do not let go," he begged.

Nico and the guards reached the front door and forced it open. Fresh air rushed in. Wind tore through the foyer.

Luca burst through the threshold.

The moment he stepped outside, the house behind him trembled.

Then all at once...

It exhaled.

As if relieved.

As if satisfied.

Luca stumbled into the courtyard, dropping to one knee with Aria still held close.

Rosetta ran forward. "Lay her down. Quickly."

The doctor opened the medical kit and attached new sensors to Aria’s chest. "Her pulse is dangerously low. She is crashing."

Luca grabbed Aria’s face gently. "Aria. Wake up."

Her eyelashes fluttered.

But she did not wake.

The doctor pressed an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose. "We need to get her in the helicopter. Immediately."

But something made Luca’s body go still.

The wind around them had shifted.

Not cold.

Warm.

Soft.

Carrying a faint whisper.

A woman’s voice.

It floated around them like a breath.

The child is awakening.

You must choose.

Luca’s blood pulsed hard.

"Choose what?" he whispered into the air.

No answer came.

Aria’s heartbeat beeped faintly on the monitor. Too faint.

Rosetta knelt on Aria’s other side and clasped her hand. "Fight, Aria. Please."

Luca pressed his forehead to hers. "You stay with us. Stay with me. I cannot lose you."

A weak breath escaped her chest.

Her lips parted.

She whispered, barely audible.

"Luca... I see her."

Luca froze. "Who?"

Aria’s eyelids trembled.

"The first Morrelli mother."

Rosetta’s eyes widened.

The doctor looked confused but stayed silent, focusing on the vitals.

Aria’s voice was growing thinner. "She is holding her child. She is crying. She says... she says she failed."

Luca cupped Aria’s cheek, his thumb trembling. "Aria. Listen to me. You are not her. You have not failed anything."

Aria swallowed with effort. "She is warning me."

Luca leaned in. "Of what?"

Aria’s breath ghosted against his cheek as she whispered.

"He is coming."

The doctor shouted, "We have to move now."

Nico and two guards hurried toward the helicopter, clearing the path.

Luca scooped Aria into his arms again, feeling her weight lighter, too light. He walked quickly toward the helicopter, his voice breaking despite his control.

"Aria. Stay awake. Do not stop breathing."

Her head rested against his shoulder, her voice a thin whisper.

"I am trying."

He kissed her forehead. "Good. Stay with me."

The helicopter blades roared to life.

Rosetta ran ahead, guiding Luca to the cabin.

Nico shouted over the wind, "We need to leave before the fog returns."

Luca climbed into the helicopter, laying Aria gently across the seat. The doctor immediately positioned the oxygen and checked her vitals.

Luca kneeled at her side.

He held her hand tightly.

Her fingers barely curled in response.

He whispered into her ear.

"I will not let anyone take you. Do you understand? You are mine. And I am yours."

Aria’s eyes fluttered.

Just barely.

Her voice was softer than wind.

"Do not let him touch her."

Luca swallowed hard.

"He never will."

Her breathing grew shallower.

Luca leaned down, pressing his forehead to hers.

"Stay. Stay with me."

The helicopter began to rise.

Aria’s breath hitched.

Then stopped.

For one horrifying second, her chest did not rise.

Rosetta screamed. "Luca. Luca, she is not breathing."

Luca’s world shattered.

He yelled at the doctor, "Bring her back."

The machine beeped frantically.

The doctor scrambled for equipment.

Nico shouted from the cockpit, "Boss. The fog is rising again."

Luca ignored him.

He held Aria’s face in both hands.

His voice broke completely.

"Aria. Come back to me."

A thin breath escaped her lips.

Her fingers curled faintly around his wrist.

She whispered one last thing before consciousness left her again.

"He is here."

And the helicopter plunged into thick, unnatural fog.