{ Enzo }
I'd been here for hours.
The courtyard was empty now—students gone, teachers gone, even the janitor had locked up and left. And still, no sign of her.
I leaned against the car, checking the time again. Past six. My men swore they saw her this morning—walking in, sitting in class, acting normal. I told them not to lose sight of her. *Not again.*
But of course, they did.
I'd waited for her to come out, watched every exit, every gate. Nothing. Like she'd vanished into thin air.
"Boss," one of them said over the earpiece, voice trembling. "We've checked the whole perimeter. There's no one left inside."
I didn't answer. My jaw clenched hard enough to ache.
She was here. I knew it. I could feel it. And now she wasn't.
The sound of my car door slamming echoed through the lot as I headed toward the gate. Screw it. If the school was closed, I'd break in myself.
Inside, the halls were dark and still, only the hum of the emergency lights above me. I checked every classroom, every stairwell, every shadow where she could've hidden—nothing. No trace.
By the time I stepped back outside, anger was already burning low in my chest.
That's when my phone buzzed.
"Sir," my man's voice came through, hesitant. "We just got confirmation. She's home."
I froze. "What?"
"Yeah, we—uh—we spotted her leaving her sister's school. She walked her home, then went inside. Her parents are there too. Everything looks… normal."
Normal.
My fingers tightened around the phone. "So she was here, and you lost her again?"
"Sir, she must've slipped past the back fence—we were covering the front—"
"You *what*?" My voice came out sharp, dangerous. "You lost her because you were too busy covering the wrong damn side?"
"N-no, sir, we just—"
"Enough."
I hung up before he could finish.
For a long moment, I just stood there, staring at the school gates, the quiet street beyond them. I felt something twist inside me—anger, frustration… and something else I didn't want to name.
She'd gotten away. Again.
And the worst part? She made it look easy.
I turned back toward the car, exhaling slowly. "You're good, Mia," I muttered under my breath. "Too good."
But this wasn't over. Not even close.
{ Mia }
I spotted a black car outside my window. Windows tinted, too luxurious to be in this neighborhood.
" Scarlett, anyone inside?"
" Affirmative two people male heart rate elevated. Something's wrong Mia. It's like they're scared of something."
" Scan again tell me is it a physical threat that they fear?"
" Negative, nothing else inside must be some bad news then."
" Yeah... Guess you're right..." I whispered backing away and plopping on my bed.
" You worry too much cupcake. You just got home... Relax, we'll take care of everything..." Ace whispered patting my head.
" Now would you like to tell us why you were gone for three fucking days leaving your clone ?" Lex said anger showing in his voice.
" Cmon !" I rolled my eyes. " Like you guys wouldn't know if I were in danger la—"
" Mia I'm your twin yes but wherever you went out connection was cut off we couldn't have known..." Ace whispered.
I sighed. " Whenever I'm in trouble I'll send a magical flare in the sky only you two can see and if that doesn't work I'll write a message on the mirrors only you can't see and if that doesn't work... Scarlett will tell you guys... I promise..." I whispered smiling. " You'll never get rid of me." I chuckled.
Lex didn't look convinced. His jaw was tight, his eyes darker than usual. Ace stayed quiet, studying me like he could read every lie straight off my skin.
"You really think that's funny?" Lex muttered. "You disappearing for days, leaving us blind? You have no idea how close we were to—"
"Lex." Ace's voice was low, steady, a warning.
Lex shut up but didn't look away. His eyes said everything—fear, anger, and something else that almost looked like relief.
I rubbed my face, suddenly exhausted. "I didn't mean to scare you guys, okay? Things got messy."
"Messy?" Lex scoffed. "That's what you call it?"
I didn't answer. He wouldn't get it. Not all of it, anyway. The blood, the silence, Enzo's voice echoing in my head when he said Don't move.
Yeah. Messy was an understatement.
Scarlett hummed softly. "I'm detecting elevated heart rates again. Would anyone like me to play calming music?"
"Scarlett," I groaned, flopping backward on the bed. "Read the room."
"Reading room," she replied flatly. "Conclusion: everyone is emotionally unstable."
Lex snorted. Ace cracked the faintest smile. The tension thinned just enough to breathe again.
"Fine," I said, sitting up. "Next time I'll send smoke signals if that makes you feel better."
Ace's expression softened. "Just… don't vanish on us again, okay?"
I nodded. "Deal."
The room fell into a quiet hum after that. Lex put his headphones back on, pretending not to care. Ace moved to the window, his eyes flicking outside, scanning the street like he always did.
And for a second, I thought maybe, finally, everything was calm.
Until I saw him.
A flicker of movement. A shadow leaning against a car across the street. The same black car I'd seen earlier.
"Scarlett," I whispered. "Zoom in. Driver's side."
The projection flickered to life over my wrist—grainy, but clear enough. The man's posture, the way his head tilted slightly toward the window…
My stomach dropped.
Enzo.
"What is it?" Ace asked, instantly alert.
"Nothing," I lied quickly. Too quickly.
He gave me that look again—the one that said he didn't believe a damn word.
But he didn't push.
I shut off the projection and forced a shaky breath. "Let's just… get some sleep, yeah?"
Lex grumbled something under his breath but nodded. Ace hesitated before turning away from the window.
I lay down, staring at the ceiling, every nerve in my body still humming.
He was here.
Somewhere out there in the dark, Enzo Rossi was watching my house.
Waiting.
And for the first time since I'd met him, I wasn't sure if I wanted him to find me… or if I wanted to keep running.