Chapter Twenty Three

The darkness wrapped around Sarah like a suffocating blanket. Her breath hitched, the cold air stinging her lungs as the faint echoes of Elena's footsteps faded into the distance. The silence was unnerving, the weight of her words still hanging in the air. Adrian won't save you this time.

Sarah swallowed, her pulse pounding in her temples as she frantically scanned the shadows around her. She strained to hear any movement, any indication of what was about to happen next. But nothing. The warehouse seemed empty, yet the sense of being watched gnawed at her nerves.

Suddenly, a faint whirring sound caught her attention, mechanical and rhythmic. The lights flickered back on, dim this time, casting long, eerie shadows across the cold concrete floor. Sarah squinted, trying to locate the source of the sound. And then she saw it—a series of security cameras mounted high on the walls, their lenses rotating ever so slightly, as though tracking her every move.

She cursed under her breath. Elena was watching her, no doubt, and it made escape feel impossible. The flicker of hope she'd clung to when she first bolted now felt like a distant memory, swallowed by this twisted new reality.

Her mind raced. She needed to figure out what Elena wanted, why Rossi's sister had decided to pull her into this game, and more importantly, what this "game" even was. Was she being used to get to Adrian? Or was it something else entirely, something deeper?

Suddenly, a door on the far side of the warehouse creaked open. Sarah stiffened, her body on high alert. The heavy footsteps approaching were deliberate, confident. A silhouette emerged from the doorway, a man's figure illuminated by the light spilling in from the hall.

Her heart sank when she recognized him.

"Rossi." Her voice trembled, though she fought to keep it steady. "What do you want from me?"

Rossi stepped forward, the corners of his lips curling into a smirk. "Oh, Sarah. You're still asking the wrong questions."

She narrowed her eyes, her fists clenched at her sides. "Then maybe you should start giving me the right answers."

Rossi chuckled, but it wasn't a sound of amusement—it was condescending, like a predator toying with its prey. "You see, Sarah, what you fail to understand is that you were never just an innocent bystander in all of this."

Sarah took a step back, her mind racing through everything that had happened over the past few months. Adrian, the power struggles, the mafia families—how could she have been a part of something this dangerous? She had no ties to these people, no connection to this underworld.

Rossi's eyes gleamed as if he could read her thoughts. "You don't even realize the history you've stumbled into. Your father—Richard Parker—he has never been just a businessman, Sarah. He was a man with debts, alliances, and enemies."

Sarah froze, the name of her father like a dagger to the chest. But Rossi's words—debts, alliances—none of it made sense.

"My father?" she breathed, her voice barely a whisper. "What are you talking about?"

Rossi's smirk widened as he circled her, the weight of his presence pressing down on her like a vice. "Richard Parker owed more than money, Sarah. He owed blood. And when he couldn't pay, he chose his side, clearly Andrian's side and luca has him hidden from us, but he left something behind with Adrian, something that was far more valuable than currency."

The room seemed to close in on her, her knees weak as she struggled to process his words. What was Rossi saying? What did her father have to do with this?

Rossi stopped in front of her, his eyes locking onto hers with a chilling intensity. "You, Sara will be his payment to us."

Her stomach dropped. Me? The words didn't make sense, they couldn't. How could her father have used her—his own daughter—as collateral in some twisted underworld deal?

"You're lying," she spat, her voice trembling with both fear and fury. "My father would never—"

Rossi cut her off with a sneer. "Believe what you want, but the truth is much darker than you can imagine. Your father's choices left a trail of destruction, and you're just one of the many casualties in the fallout."

Sarah's mind reeled, a flood of memories flashing before her—her father's quiet demeanor, his long trips away, the arguments she would overhear between him and her mother late at night. Had it all been connected to this? Had her father been hiding a secret life, one she was now paying the price for?

She shook her head, refusing to believe it. "Why now? Why come after me now?"

Rossi's expression darkened, his voice dropping to a low growl. "Because you've become more than a pawn, Sarah. Adrian DeLuca made sure of that."

Sarah's breath hitched at the mention of Adrian. Rossi's eyes narrowed as he took a step closer, his voice laced with venom. "You think Adrian cares about you? You think he's protecting you out of love, loyalty?" He laughed bitterly. "He's playing his own game, Sarah. And you're just another piece on the board."

A shiver ran down her spine, her mind struggling to reconcile the Adrian she knew with the monster Rossi painted him to be. Could he have been using her all along? Every tender moment, every stolen glance—it couldn't have all been a lie, could it?

Before she could respond, the sound of a phone ringing echoed through the empty warehouse. Rossi reached into his jacket, pulling out a sleek, black phone. He glanced at the screen, his face tightening with irritation.

"I have to take this," he muttered, stepping away.

Sarah's heart pounded in her chest as she watched Rossi disappear into the shadows. This was her chance. She glanced toward the open door. If she could just make it out of the warehouse, get to the streets, maybe—

But before she could move, a voice, low and unmistakably dangerous, cut through the darkness.

"Don't even think about it."

Sarah froze, turning slowly to find Elena Rossi standing at the entrance, her arms crossed, an amused smile playing on her lips.

"I told you, Sarah," Elena said, stepping forward with predatory grace. "You're in too deep now."

And just as the lights flickered, plunging the room into darkness again, Sarah heard the click of a gun being cocked.