The bookstore bell rang as Elena walked in, trying to shake off the chill from the morning.
Her co-worker Jodie looked up from the counter. "Hey, you okay? You look… off."
"I didn't sleep much," Elena muttered.
"Let me guess. Hot guy problems?" Jodie smirked.
Elena gave a forced laugh. "Something like that."
She didn't dare explain the truth. That a man she barely knew had left a photo of her, a key, and her mind in pieces.
She glanced out the window.
A man stood across the street.
Sunglasses. Earpiece. Not him — but not normal either.
Was she being… watched?
---
At break, she stepped outside for air. The man across the street was gone.
But someone else was there.
Not Luca.
A woman.
Tall, sharp-eyed, dressed in all black.
She walked up to Elena with the calm of a knife.
"Elena Carter?"
Elena froze. "Yes?"
The woman handed her an envelope.
"Stay away from him."
"What?"
"Luca Romano," she said flatly. "Don't speak to him again. Don't accept anything from him. Not a word. Not a gift. Not a glance."
And just like that, she turned and walked away.
Elena opened the envelope with shaking hands.
Inside: A photo.
Luca again.
But not recent.
Covered in blood, holding a gun, standing over a man with lifeless eyes.
And at the bottom, one word was scrawled in red ink:
RUN.
---
Back in the penthouse, Luca smiled as he reviewed the footage.
He saw the woman. Saw the envelope.
He wasn't angry.
He was impressed.
The girl hadn't run yet.
She was stronger than he thought.
And that made her even more worth breaking.
---