The rain beat against the office windows like tears I had never shed. Twenty-five years of life, and this was the first time I found myself truly alone.
Giovanni Marcelli was dead.
The man who had raised me, shaped me, transformed me into something even I couldn't define, lay in an Italian mahogany coffin just a few meters away. His graying hair perfectly styled, his tailored suit, hands crossed over his chest—he still seemed to be in control of everything, even in death.
"Kai." The family lawyer's deep voice brought me back to reality. "You need to hear this."
Alessandro Torretti was a man who knew enough secrets to topple governments. His gray eyes studied me with their usual caution, as if I were a bomb that could explode at any moment.
Maybe I was.
"Giovanni left very specific instructions," he continued, opening an envelope sealed with red wax. "Instructions that only you can fulfill."
I remained silent, watching the rain streak down the window. Thirteen years of training had taught me not to show emotion, but inside, a strange sensation was growing. Something between relief and terror.
Giovanni had died of a heart attack during a business meeting. Natural, the doctors said. But I knew my adoptive father—he did nothing without a plan, not even dying.
"'My dear Kai,'" Alessandro began reading aloud, "'if you are hearing this, it means the time has come to fulfill the purpose for which you were created. During all these years, you received the finest training in combat, strategy, languages, and personal protection. Now you'll know why.'"
My jaw tightened. I had always known there was a "why," but Giovanni had never revealed what it was.
"'There is someone who needs your protection. Someone more important than your own life. Tomorrow, at 3 PM, you will go to the Universidad de San Marco in Venice. Look for Isabella Rossetti. She has no idea who you are, but you were trained exclusively to protect her.'"
Isabella Rossetti. The name sounded familiar, like a distant melody I couldn't quite remember.
"'This is not an ordinary mission, Kai. There are forces that want Isabella dead, and you are the only person capable of keeping her alive. Trust only Alessandro and follow the instructions he will give you. Remember: you are no longer my son now. You are her protector.'"
The lawyer closed the letter and observed me. "There are more instructions in a separate envelope, but you should only open it when you find Isabella."
"Why her?" The words came out before I could control them.
"That you will discover at the right time." Alessandro stood up, walking to a wall lined with ancient books. He touched something behind a volume of Machiavelli, and a panel opened, revealing a safe.
From inside, he removed a black leather briefcase.
"Identity documents, unlimited credit cards, access codes, and essential contacts." He placed the briefcase on the table. "And this."
"This" was a modified Glock 19 and an Italian dagger with an ivory handle. Weapons I knew better than my own soul.
"The Rossetti family is old, Kai. Almost as old as ours." Alessandro returned to his chair, fingers interlaced. "But there are crucial differences between you two."
"What differences?"
"She doesn't know this hidden world exists. For Isabella, life is simple: studies, friends, the dreams of a normal girl. You will have to protect her without her realizing the true extent of the danger."
I felt a muscle in my jaw contract. Protecting someone who didn't know they needed protection would be like dancing in the dark.
"And if she doesn't accept my presence?"
Alessandro smiled for the first time that afternoon. "Giovanni always said you would find a way. He was never wrong about people."
I picked up the briefcase, feeling its familiar weight. Twenty-five years preparing for this moment, and now that it had arrived, I felt... empty. As if my real life was just beginning.
"Alessandro." I paused at the door. "Did Giovanni ever tell you why he chose me?"
The older man hesitated, as if internally debating whether to reveal a secret.
"You weren't chosen, Kai. You were found."
Before I could ask what that meant, he waved his hand. "Go. The flight to Venice leaves in two hours. And remember: from now on, your life is no longer your own. It belongs to her."
Three hours later, I was at Marco Polo Airport in Venice, watching the city unfold before me like a puzzle of stone and water. The briefcase was in the taxi cabin with me, a constant reminder that my life had changed forever.
The driver, a graying Venetian, tried to make conversation in broken English, but I remained silent. My mind was too busy processing information.
Isabella Rossetti. The name echoed in my mind like a mantra.
Who was she? Why would someone want to kill her? And more importantly: why had Giovanni dedicated years of my life to protecting a complete stranger?
The taxi stopped in front of the university. It was a historic building, with a marble facade and Gothic details that seemed to whisper secrets from centuries past. Students walked through the courtyards, laughing and talking, completely unaware that a predator had just entered their territory.
I paid the driver and walked toward the main building, the briefcase discreet in my hand. The envelope with specific instructions burned in the inner pocket of my coat.
It was exactly 2:45 PM. In fifteen minutes, I would meet the person for whom my entire life had been shaped.
I sat on a bench in the central courtyard, pretending to read an Italian newspaper, but actually observing every face, every movement, every shadow. Thirteen years of training don't fade easily.
2:58 PM.
A melodious laugh echoed through the courtyard, and my head turned instinctively toward the sound. That's when I saw her.
Isabella Rossetti was even more beautiful than I had imagined.
Wavy brown hair fell over her shoulders like a cascade of silk, and her green eyes sparkled with a vivacity I had never possessed. She wore a simple summer dress and low sandals, walking with a natural grace that made other students turn to look at her.
But it wasn't just her beauty that caught my attention. It was something deeper. As if, somehow impossibly, I already knew her.
She stopped a few meters away, talking with a friend, completely unaware that I was there. Unaware that her life was about to change forever.
I opened the envelope Alessandro had given me and read Giovanni's final instructions:
"Your mission begins now. But be careful, Kai. Isabella Rossetti is not just someone you must protect. She may be the only person capable of showing you who you really are. Don't let this distract you from your duty. There are ancient forces that want her dead, and they are closer than you imagine."
When I looked up from the letter, Isabella had disappeared.
My blood ran cold. In a matter of seconds, I had lost sight of the person I was supposed to protect with my life. Giovanni always said that first impressions were crucial—and I had just failed miserably.
That's when I heard the scream.