CHAPTER 126: THE LETTER FROM SHADOWS

The lights died with a hiss, plunging the Morano estate into suffocating darkness.

A heartbeat later, the backup generator coughed once — then failed.

The silence that followed was not empty. It was listening.

Alessia pressed herself against the cold wall, her chest heaving.

The shattered window framed the night like a wound. Outside, moonlight spilled over the courtyard — and the cloaked figure was gone.

Only the wind remained, whispering through the broken glass.

"Daisy?" she called out, her voice trembling.

There was no answer.

She took one careful step forward.

The faint scent of ash and iron filled the air. On the floor where Bianca had sat moments before, only black soot remained — and a faint crimson smear that pulsed once before fading into nothing.

Gone... All of it, like she had never been there.

The whisper came again, this time behind her.

"Alessia..."

She spun around — but there was only the empty corridor.

Her breath caught. For a heartbeat, she could have sworn she saw her sister’s reflection in the glass pane — smiling that cold, knowing smile.

Then it was gone.

*********

Downstairs, the security lights flickered to life one by one, painting the courtyard in harsh white. Guards rushed through the halls, orders barked and boots echoed.

But none of it reached Luca.

He stood alone in his office, staring at the flickering flames of the fireplace. The power outage had tripped the surveillance feed; half the estate’s cameras were dead. And that meant whoever—or whatever—had come tonight knew exactly where to strike.

His reflection stared back at him from the window — cold, distant, dangerous.

The man he had promised never to become again.

The man the underworld still feared.

He loosened his tie and leaned over the desk cluttered with maps, sealed folders, and loaded weapons.

But one thing caught his eye — something that hadn’t been there before.

A black wooden box. Small, perfectly square. Sitting in the center of the desk like it had always belonged there.

Luca froze.

He hadn’t ordered any deliveries.

No one had entered this office without his code.

The box was wrapped in matte paper, tied with a thin silver thread.

A wax seal marked the top — the Morano crest, burned deep into the surface.

And beneath it, in neat cursive handwriting:

"For Don Luca — from the Council."

"What council". A muscle twitched in his jaw.

He slit the seal open with his dagger. Inside was a folded letter, printed on white parchment so crisp it might have been pressed this morning.

He unfolded it slowly.

The words were short. Precise.

Don Luca Morano,

The Council has reviewed the recent disturbances surrounding your estate.

We have observed the resurgence of prohibited entities and the awakening of the Morano curse — both directly linked to your wife, Alessia Bianchi Luca.

Her presence has invited destruction, her lineage stirs unrest, and her continued existence within your bloodline violates the balance that binds our world.

You are hereby instructed to dissolve your union before the next full moon.

Divorce her now.

Failure to comply will result in the nullification of your dominion and the eradication of your name from the Council’s records.

The choice is yours.

— The Council of Shadows

The last words burned into his mind.

Luca read it again, then again.

Each line sliced deeper than the last.

"Divorce her now....." he murmured under his breath, the words tasting like poison.

He let the paper fall onto the desk. The flames nearby flickered, casting long shadows across his face.

A Council had spoken — not as men, but as gods of the underworld, guardians of ancient pacts no mortal could break.

And now they demanded he let her go.

His woman -Alessia.The woman who had unknowingly awakened the curse. The woman he had love dearly and sworn to protect.

The woman whose touch had turned his war-hardened heart into something human again.

He clenched his fist until the veins stood out against his skin.

"Over my dead body." he muttered to himself.

The air seemed to shift. The shadows deepened. Somewhere above, thunder rumbled — faint, distant, as if the heavens themselves were listening.

********

Alessia had surprisingly bought lunch for him then she found him there minutes later, still standing by the desk, the letter half-crumpled in his hand.

"Hey Babe... Luca," she whispered. "What happened? The lights—Bianca—she’s gone. I saw..."

Her words faltered when she saw his face.

The calm mask was gone. In its place was a storm barely contained.

"What’s wrong?" she asked, her voice fragile.

He didn’t answer. Instead, he turned the letter toward her.

She hesitated, reading the words slowly. With each sentence, her breath grew shallower until her fingers trembled.

When she reached Divorce her, she stopped.

The silence stretched. The fire crackled.

"They can’t mean this," she said finally, her voice barely a whisper. "They can’t tell you to.... "

"They just did," Luca said quietly.

Her eyes lifted to meet his — and what she saw there broke her, not fear and not anger, but a pain so deep it looked ancient.

"What will you do?"

She asked him.

He turned away, pacing toward the window. "What I always do.... Fight them."

"They will kill you." Alessia said slowly.

"They will try." Luca answered, his tone sounding commanding.

"Luca, please.... ". Alessia said to him.

He turned sharply. "You think I can just sign away my name, my blood, my vow because some old ghosts tell me to?"

Tears filled her eyes. "It’s not about them! It’s about us. They will. destroy everything if you resist."

He stepped closer, his voice low but fierce. "If I lose you, Alessia, everything is already destroyed."

The words hung between them like gunfire.

She reached for his hand. "Then we find another way...Together."

But Luca’s mind was already racing — through maps, routes, alliances, enemies.

The Council’s threat wasn’t just political.

It was metaphysical, a test of loyalty, of blood, of destiny.

And deep down, a darker thought twisted in him.

What if the Council was right?

What if her presence had indeed unleashed something even he couldn’t control?

He remembered Galiver’s last words — The one who sits on the throne will lose the one he loves most.

He had dismissed it then.

Now, it echoed like a curse.

*******

Outside, the storm rolled in. Rain splattered against the glass, lightning flashing across the hills.

The guards sealed the gates.

The estate became a fortress once more but even fortresses crumble from within.

Alessia couldn’t sleep. She stood by the bedroom window, watching the rain blur the garden into a ghostly haze. Somewhere out there, the shadows were moving — she could feel them.

A whisper brushed her ear again. "He will leave you."

She spun around — but the room was empty.

Her pulse raced. The voice was unmistakable now.

Her sister’s.

Alessia sank onto the edge of the bed, clutching the pendant around her neck — the one Luca had given her the night they married. It pulsed faintly warm against her skin, as if reacting to the curse she couldn’t see.

Tears burned her eyes. "You can’t take him from me," she whispered into the dark. "I won’t let you."

The pendant flickered once, twice and went dark.

********

At dawn, Luca returned to his office. He hadn’t had a nap after driving Alessia back home..

The box still sat on the desk, its black wrapping charred by candlelight. But something was different now.

A second letter had appeared beside it.

Same parchment, same sea, same handwriting.

He stared at it for a long moment before opening it.

Don Luca,

You ignored our first command.

Now you will face the consequence.

The bloodline has been marked. The first offering has already been chosen.

When you open your eyes at sunset, you will understand what we mean.

— The Council

Luca’s pulse quickened. He looked toward the window.

The sun had barely risen.

He slammed his fist on the desk, scattering papers. "Bastards."

He stormed out into the hall — but stopped dead at the staircase.

Daisy stood there, pale and shaking, her hands stained with blood.

"Don Luca..." she whispered. "It’s Alessia."

His world tilted. "What about her?"

Daisy’s lips quivered. "She’s gone."

The words slammed into him like a bullet.

The world seemed to fade, sound collapsing into silence.

Luca took one step forward, his voice dangerously calm. "Say that again."

Daisy’s eyes filled with tears. "Her room’s empty. The windows are open. There’s blood on the sheets."

Lightning flashed outside, bathing the hall in white.

Luca’s heart turned to ice.

He didn’t move. Didn’t breathe.

"But I just took her back home"...

Then slowly, his gaze lifted to the wall — to the portrait of his ancestors above the stairs.

A new mark had appeared on the canvas — fresh, crimson, smeared across the face of the first Morano.

Beneath it, written in dripping blood, were four words:

"The offering has begun.".......