---
Aurora stood still, one hand on the doorframe, the other curled into a trembling fist. Her blood ran cold, and not because the man had mentioned Florence.
"Elara," she said quietly. "Tell me this is a mistake."
Elara's eyes were just as wide. She shook her head slowly. "I swear, I don't know anyone who'd… leave me anything."
Aurora snatched the file again. The name at the bottom—Leonard West. Age: 73. Died in Florence. Cause: Unknown.
"I've never heard of him."
"Neither have I," Elara said, voice cracking. "Aurora… I'm scared."
Aurora looked up, her expression softening for the briefest second before hardening again.
"Then why are they asking for you alone?"
The man was still at the door, watching with eerie patience. "Miss West, the flight leaves tonight. You're expected tomorrow. Everything's arranged."
"And I don't get a say?" Aurora demanded.
"I'm afraid not, ma'am. The will was very specific. Only Elara. No one else."
---
✈️ Scene 2: Airport Goodbyes
Aurora stood outside the departure gate, sunglasses hiding her eyes, arms crossed tight.
"I'll be back in three days," Elara promised.
"I don't trust this."
"Neither do I."
"Then don't go."
"I have to go, Aurora." Elara reached for her hand. "This could be the last thing my mother never told me. Don't you want to know why someone left me a house in Italy?"
Aurora yanked her hand away. "I want to know why you didn't know about it before sleeping in my bed."
"That's unfair," Elara whispered.
Aurora said nothing.
When the final call for boarding came, Elara leaned in, kissed her cheek softly, and whispered:
"I'm yours, no matter where I am."
Aurora didn't kiss back.
---
The villa was massive.
Carved into a hill overlooking olive trees, it looked like something out of a dream. Or a nightmare.
The butler greeted her: "Miss West. Your room is ready."
"My room?"
He gestured to the grand staircase. "We've been preparing for your arrival since the will was drafted… two years ago."
Elara froze. "Two years?"
"Yes. He knew death was coming."
She swallowed. "And who exactly was he to me?"
The butler smiled faintly. "His blood. That's all you need to know for now."
---
That night, Aurora's call came in at 2:47 a.m.
"You picked up," she said, voice low, broken.
"Of course I did."
Silence. Then:
"I can't sleep without you."
"I can't sleep here at all," Elara said, voice shaking. "This place is too quiet. Too strange. There are old portraits of people who look like me—like my mother."
Aurora sucked in a breath.
"Come home," she whispered. "I'll buy the whole damn property. Just come back."
"I have to see this through."
"You're choosing them over me?"
Elara didn't answer.
"I'll destroy the entire continent if you don't come back," Aurora said, laughing bitterly. "Don't test me."
"Aurora…"
"I'm not the girl who waits, Elara. I take. So remember: you belong to me."
Elara's breath hitched. "I miss you."
But the line went dead.
---