CHAPTER 120: THE WOMAN INSIDE THE HEART

The sky above the Morano estate rippled crimson.

Lightning cracked across the swirling clouds, streaking down like veins of blood as the mansion below trembled.

The storm wasn’t natural. It pulsed — in rhythm with something alive.

Daisy steadied herself on the balcony rail, her hair whipping wildly in the charged wind. "Romeo, that thing... whatever it is—it’s feeding off the storm."

Romeo’s gaze stayed fixed on the swirling light above the west wing. His jaw tightened. "It’s not feeding," he said grimly. "It’s calling."

Daisy’s blood chilled. "Calling who?"

Before he could answer, another tremor rocked the ground. Below them, the garden fountains burst into crimson mist.

The statues cracked, leaking red light through their marble veins.

Romeo grabbed Daisy’s wrist. "We have to find Luca. If Alessia’s truly inside that relic, he’s the only one who can reach her."

Daisy blinked through the dust and debris. "Inside? You mean.... "

"I mean the curse has taken form," he cut in. "She’s become the vessel."

The words hung heavy between them. Daisy’s stomach knotted. "Then we don’t save her, we lose everyone."

He nodded once. "Exactly."

They ran toward the stairway leading back into the mansion.

********

Luca’s fingers trembled as he held the cracked pendant — Alessia’s pendant, the only trace she’d left behind.

The air was heavy, thick with the metallic scent of magic and smoke.

He pressed the pendant to his forehead, forcing himself to breathe through the crushing weight of silence.

Her voice still echoed faintly, whispering from the walls.Luca... I’m inside...

"Inside what?" he rasped. "Where are you, amore?"

His voice broke. He slammed his fist against the sealed vault door, again and again, until his knuckles split.

Enzo’s hand caught his wrist. "Stop, Luca... You’ll kill yourself before you reach her."

Luca whirled on him, eyes wild. "You did this? " he shouted. "You knew what that thing was, and you brought it here..."

Enzo didn’t defend himself. He merely looked down at the cracked floor, voice low. "I thought it was sealed. I thought it died with your father’s curse. I was wrong."

Luca grabbed his collar. "Where did it take her?"

Enzo hesitated, then met his eyes. "It didn’t take her anywhere. It trapped her within itself. The Heart of the City feeds on the bloodline that created it — the Morano bloodline. She’s not just trapped, Luca. She is the heart now."

The words hit like a bullet.

Luca staggered back, shaking his head. "No... no, you’re lying. Alessia is human."

Enzo’s tone softened. "She was. But the moment she touched that vault, the relic recognized her. Her blood unlocked it. That connection doesn’t vanish — it fuses."

Luca clenched his fists, breathing hard. "Then I’ll break it. I don’t care what it takes."

Enzo’s eyes flickered — not with mockery, but sorrow. "You’ll have to face the Heart itself. And it doesn’t let go easily."

Luca turned toward the vault again. "Then I’ will make it."

He reached for the stone, pressing the pendant against it. "If you can hear me, Alessia... fight it. Fight me if you have to, but don’t you dare disappear."

For a brief second, silence.

Then a faint, rhythmic pulse traveled through the wall — slow, weak, but real.

Luca’s eyes widened. "She’s alive."

*******

Inside the Heart

Darkness, Weightless and endless.

Alessia floated in a vast void of red and black light.

Her body felt both her own and foreign.

The pulsing rhythm around her matched her heartbeat — or perhaps she was matching it.

Whispers drifted through the dark, soft and ancient.

You are the lock, The bloodline is the key., The gate opens through you.

Alessia’s breath shuddered. "I’m not your lock... I’m not your vessel.

" You awakened me. You carry my pulse now. You are the Heart.

"No.... " she screamed. "I’m Alessia Bianchi, Mrs Luca Morano"

Her voice echoed endlessly through the void, bouncing back distorted.

Then, faintly, she heard something else — his voice.

Luca.

"If you can hear me, Alessia... fight it."

Her heart clenched. "Luca..." she whispered.

The crimson space around her flickered — a tiny shimmer of light cracking through the darkness.

The whispering entity roared in protest.

He cannot save you. You belong to the City beneath. The gate must open....

Alessia’s pulse raced. "Then I will burn the gate before I become its key"

She reached toward the flickering light toward Luca’s voice and the void trembled violently.

*******

Daisy and Romeo reached the lower hall just as another tremor shook the floor.

The chandeliers crashed, sending glass raining down.

They ducked beneath the grand staircase. "Vault’s beneath the west wing," Romeo shouted over the noise. "That’s where Luca is."

They sprinted down the narrow corridor, the air thick with smoke and static.

At the turn, Daisy froze because standing in the middle of the passage, calm as death, was Lorenzo.

He was supposed to be dead.

But there he stood — pale, sharp-eyed, dressed in black like a revenant.

"Lorenzo..." Daisy whispered. "How...."

He smiled faintly. "Death is relative, my dear. Especially when one’s soul isn’t finished with its bargain."

Romeo aimed his gun. "Don’t move."

Lorenzo raised his hands, unbothered. "I’m not here to fight you, Thorn. I’m here because Alessia’s running out of time."

Romeo narrowed his eyes. "You’re supposed to be in a coma."

"Was," Lorenzo said simply. "Until the Heart woke. It called to everyone who’s ever touched its blood. I heard her scream, and I woke up."

Daisy stepped forward, her instincts torn between disbelief and the cold truth in his eyes. "What do you mean, running out of time?"

He looked past them, toward the direction of the vault. "Because once the Heart completes its fusion, Alessia won’t just be the vessel. She’ll be its queen."

Daisy’s pulse jumped. "Meaning?"

Lorenzo’s expression darkened. "Meaning she won’t remember any of you."

******

Luca knelt before the sealed marble once more. Blood streaked his hands. His breathing was shallow.

He didn’t care.

He pressed his forehead against the cold stone. "You told me once love could break any curse," he whispered hoarsely. "Then let it break this one."

The pendant in his palm pulsed faintly — once, twice.

Then, to Enzo’s shock, the stone beneath Luca’s hand began to glow — not crimson, but gold.

The humming returned, deep and low.

"Step back" Enzo barked.

But Luca didn’t move. The light expanded, engulfing him completely.

In the next instant, the vault swallowed him whole

********

He fell through endless red light until he hit ground — soft, warm, pulsing like flesh.

Luca stumbled to his feet, dizzy. The air was thick, liquid, vibrating with the same rhythm as a heartbeat.

"Alessia..." he shouted. "Where are you?"

Her voice came from everywhere — faint, broken. "Luca... you shouldn’t be here..."

He turned and there she was.

Floating in midair, surrounded by tendrils of light. Her hair streamed like fire, her skin glowing with shifting crimson sigils.

Her eyes opened and for a moment, they were her own again. "You found me."

He stepped forward, chest tight. "I told you I would."

Her hand lifted weakly. "You can’t stay. The Heart’s binding us both. If it consumes you too..... "

"Then we burn together," he said fiercely. "I’m not leaving you."

A violent pulse surged through the chamber.

The red tendrils lashed out, wrapping around his arms. He cried out, but refused to let go.

Alessia screamed, struggling against the force. "Luca, please.... "

He reached her, catching her face in his hands. "Look at me," he said through gritted teeth. "You are not a weapon. You are not a curse. You are my wife."

Her lips trembled. "Luca..."

He kissed her and for the first time, the heartbeat faltered.

The void cracked with light.

The tendrils shrieked and dissolved, retreating from them. The massive pulse that had consumed the chamber slowed, once, twice.....

Then the entire world of red shattered like glass.

******

Luca gasped awake, back in the crypt.

The vault’s marble was split open, smoke curling from the cracks.

Enzo stumbled forward. "Luca... what happened?"

But Luca barely heard him. His eyes darted around wildly. "Alessia?"

There was no answer.

Only the faint whisper of the dying hum.

Then, from the dust and broken light, something small rolled toward his feet — her ring.

He picked it up with trembling hands, whispering her name again and again.

The ring glowed faintly... then dimmed.

Enzo lowered his weapon, silent. "She’s gone."

Luca’s voice broke. "No. She’s not gone. She’s inside me now."

Enzo froze. "What?"

Luca looked up and for the briefest second, his eyes flashed crimson.

**********

Upstairs there was Daisy, Romeo, and lorenzo

The tremors stopped.

The red storm faded, leaving behind only the bruised gray of dawn.

Daisy leaned against a pillar, catching her breath. "It’s over?"

Lorenzo shook his head. "No. The gate closed... but not by choice."

Romeo frowned. "What do you mean?"

Lorenzo’s gaze shifted toward the west wing. "The Heart didn’t die. It found a new host."

Daisy’s throat tightened. "Who?"

He turned his gaze fully toward her — eyes gleaming faintly with an unnatural red light.

"Who else?" he said softly. "Luca Morano." his smile was laced with mischief.....