dangerous encounter

| ARRIANA |

My feet moved swiftly toward Lilith's apartment door. My fingers pressed the doorbell repeatedly, my breath hard yet controlled as I waited for the door to open.

A moment later, the door creaked open, and Lilith's head peeked out from inside. Her hair was slightly disheveled from sleep and her eyes widened at the sight of me standing there.

"Anna?" Her voice came out soft and laced with surprise.

"Where have you been ? I've been losing my mind thinking about you." Her voice carried frustration, but it was gentle, filled with concern.

I stepped inside without answering her question, wrapping my arms around myself as if to keep my body from falling apart. I wasn't ready to talk about it. Not yet. 

Lilith hovered behind me. "Anna, you're scaring me. Calm down first. You just showed up at my door early in the morning. At least tell me what's going on," she urged.

I turned to her, my voice barely above whisper. "I need your phone."

She hesitate. Suspicion flickered in her eyes.

"Anna..." she exhaled. "Talk to me first."

I extended a slightly trembling hand. "Lilith, please." My voice cracked. "I need to call Domenico."

Lilith didn't answer immediately. Her expression shifted to fear and frustration flickering in her eyes. Then, without a word, she placed her phone in my palm.

I immediately dialed my brother's number, each ring felt like a countdown to something inevitable.

Then, the line connected. "Hello?"

I swallowed hard before responding, steadying my voice despite the nervousness coursing through me. "It's me, Arianna."

A sharp exhale came through the speaker.

"Arianna Charlotte fucking Belladona. Where the hell have you been ?" His voice shifted instantly. Sharp, furious, and protective.

I wince. "Domenico, listen—"

"No, you listen," he cut me off. "I've been searching the whole city looking for you. Do you have any idea what kind of hell you just put me through ? Do you even realize what could have happened to you ?"

I clenched my jaw at his tone. 

"You think I wanted this to happen? I didn't plan on disappearing, Domenico," I shot back, my fingers curling into fists.

His silence was deadly. Then his voice dropped into something more restrained. "Where are you right now ?"

"Lilith's apartment," I admitted, breaking the tense silence between us.

"Vincenzo is coming to get you. Stay there."

The call instantly ended.

I let out a shaky breath, loosening my grip on the phone before handing it back to Lilith. Turning away, I pressed my fingers against my temple, as if the pressure could ease the pounding in my head. That was when my fingertips brushed against the cotton pad covering my wound. I peeled it off and clenched it in my palm.

Lilith folded her arms, watching me closely.

"Domenico threatened me."

I snapped my gaze toward her. "What?"

"He thought I knew where you were. I told him I didn't, but he doesn't believe me. He accused me of being the reason you disappeared."

Guilt and anger surged through me. My hands clenched at my sides as I thought about Domenico's actions. Taking a slow, deep breath, I tried to calm myself.

"I'm sorry," I murmured.

Lilith shrugged. "I'm not that surprised, honestly. That's just how he is." She walked to the couch and sank into it.

"You still haven't told me everything," she said, her tone softer this time.

I remained silent.

"I can see it on your face. Something happened."

I hesitated. "I met someone."

"Someone?" Lilith's brows arched. Her voice was barely audible.

I nodded and sat across from her.

The truth sat heavy on the tip of my tongue. It was hard to say, but Lilith was my best friend. She deserved to know.

So, I told her.

How I was taken. How I woke up in an abandoned building. How someone.. he.. had found me, patched me up, giving me shelter and how I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more. Something I couldn't yet understand, behind his actions. Lilith listened intently, absorbing every word. Then, suspicion crossed her face.

"A man or a woman?"

I exhaled slowly. "A man."

"I didn't plan for any of this to happen. He... he found me when I was—" I hesitated, swallowing hard.

"I was hurt, Lilith. I had nowhere to go. And he came and saved me."

Lilith let out a slow breath. "Who is he?"

I hesitated before answering. "I don't know him. But his name is Marcello Dante." I barely whispered his name, avoiding her gaze.

Silence settled between us. Lilith's expression darkened.

"Marcello Dante?" she repeated. I nodded.

"Anna... do you know who he is?" Her voice was quiet, but there was something in her tone that unsettled me.

I shook my head and finally looked at her. There was worry in her eyes, and something close to fear.

"He's an FBI agent." Her eyes sharpen. 

The word hit me like a slap.

"A well-known one. He had solved dozens of crime and murder cases. And he's ruthless when it comes to his job."

My eyes widened slightly and my stomach twist.

"And he hates the mafia. Or anyone associated with it."

I swallowed hard. Guilt and relief crashed over me at once. I could hardly believe her words, but I knew she wasn't lying. Lilith had always been more aware of the outside world than I was.

She sighed. "It's good that you're safe. And even better that he didn't take you to a hospital or a station for further questioning."

I didn't know what to say. If I had given him my real name, would he have investigated me? Would it have mattered if I had told him I was Isabelle Romano or Arianna Charlotte Belladona?

"You need to stay away from someone like him," Lilith warned. "If you ever run into him again, avoid him. For your own safety. If he finds out who you really are..."

She didn't finish. She doesn't have to. I stayed silent, absorbing her words.

Before I could respond, the doorbell rang. She got up and opened it, revealing Vincenzo standing at the door.

I took a deep breath, steadying myself before walking toward them.

"Thank you, Lilith," I murmured, pulling her into a hug before stepping out.

--------------------------

The car door shut with a quiet thud and the low hum of the engine filled the silence between us. I barely had the energy to process everything that had happened, let alone explain it. My fingers tightened around my sleeves as I stared out the window, exhaustion creeping into my bones.

Vincenzo pulled out onto the road, his grip steady on the wheel. I could feel he glancing at me, but I kept my gaze outside.

After a moment, he finally spoke. "Are you okay?"

His voice was softer than I expected. Not demanding, just... careful.

I swallowed hard, forcing a nod. "I'm fine."

Vincenzo didn't look convinced. His grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly. 

"Arianna," he said, his tone gentler this time. "Tell me the truth."

I hesitated. The truth? The truth was that I felt like my entire world had just been shaken. The truth is I was terrified. The fear, the pain, the stranger who saved me. And now, knowing who he really was... I exhaled, feeling the weight settle in my chest. 

"It's a long story," I murmured, my voice quieter than before.

Vincenzo glanced at me, waiting for more, but I didn't offer anything else. I wasn't annoyed. I was just tired. Frustrated. My mind was a tangled mess, still trying to process what Lilith had told me.

Marcello Dante was an FBI agent.

I should have guessed it. The conversation I overheard in his penthouse hinted at something, but I hadn't let myself dwell on it. Then Lilith had said it outright, and the weight of that truth hit me like a brick.

If he ever found out who I really was...

The car ride remained silent after that. Vincenzo didn't push for more answers, though I could feel the questions lingering on the tip of his tongue. Instead, he let me sit in the quiet, lost in my thoughts.

By the time we pulled up to the mansion, my stomach was twisted in uneasy knots. Domenico stood at the entrance. His arms crossed, his sharp eyes locking onto me the second I stepped out of the car.

My breath caught in my throat. He said nothing. Just grabbed my wrist and pulled me inside without a word. His grip on my wrist was firm. Not enough to hurt, but enough to remind me that there was no escaping in this conversation. He dragged me through the mansion's halls, his pace quick and determined.

He pushed open the door to his office, pulling me inside before slamming it shut behind us.

"Sit," he ordered.

I hesitate.

"Now."

I sank into the chair.

Domenico lean on his desk, his jaw tight, his eyes burning with restraint fury. "What the hell had happened, Arianna?" 

His voice was a storm. Anger, fear, protectiveness all crashing into one.

"You disappeared. No one knew where you were. Do you have any idea what that did to me? Do you even understand what could have happened to you?" His tone come out sharp.

I flinched slightly at the weight of his words.

"Do you have any idea how many people I had searching for you?" he continued, his voice rising slightly. 

"I thought—" He cut himself off, raking a hand through his hair, his frustration spilling over. "Damn it, Arianna, I thought I lost you."

A thick silence settled between us. His words chipped away at the walls I had been trying to keep up. I could see it in his face, hear it in his voice. He wasn't just angry. He was terrified.

I let out a slow breath, my voice quieter this time. "I was taken, Domenico."

"I know, but how ?" He ask. His voice fill with frustration.

"I was leaving the café. They grabbed me. I didn't even have time to fight back before everything went dark." My voice slightly low and I look down the floor. Avoiding his eyes.

Domenico's nostrils flared. He looked like he wanted to break something. Like the thought of someone taking me, hurting me, was pushing him over the edge.

"Who are they ?"

"I don't know."

"Arianna," he snapped.

"I don't know, Domenico!" I bit back, my voice sharp with frustration. "I didn't see their faces. They knocked me out. When I woke up, I was in an abandoned building."

His eyes darkened, his breathing controlled but heavy. "And then?"

I hesitated. I had told Lilith everything, but telling Domenico was different.

I had to tell him.

But how would he react when he found out that the man who saved me. The man I had spent the night with, was an FBI agent?

Domenico would lose his mind.

My fingers curled into my palm. "Someone found me," I said carefully.

Domenico's gaze sharpened. "Who?"

Silence settle between us as I hesitate too long.

"Arianna," he said slowly, his tone dark. "Who?"

I exhaled, forcing the word out. "Marcello Dante."

The name settle in the air like a death sentence.

Domenico took a slow step back, running a hand over his face. He let out a dry, humorless laugh, though there was nothing funny about it.

"Marcello fucking Dante?" His voice was eerily quiet, but I could hear the barely contained rage beneath it.

I nodded once. "He.. he found me injured and helped me."

Domenico's head snapped toward me, his eyes burning with something between fury and disbelief. "Do you have any idea who the hell he is, Arianna?"

"Yes," I whispered.

"Then why—" He cut himself off, his fists clenching. He turned away for a second, as if trying to control himself. When he faced me again, his expression was unreadable.

"You stayed with him?" His voice was low, dangerous.

I forced myself to nod. "I didn't have a choice. I don't know who he was at first, Lilith told me just now."

Domenico stared at me for a long moment, his eyes searching mine. 

"How much does he know?" His jaw twitch, now laced with something more protective than furious.

I shook my head. "Nothing."

Domenico let out another slow breath, his mind clearly racing. He didn't look convince as he took slow step forward me.

"You're never seeing him again."

I swallowed. "Domenico—"

"I mean it, Arianna." His voice was final, unyielding. 

"You don't go near him. You don't speak to him. You don't even breathe in the same space as him. Do you understand me ?"

I clenched my fists but didn't answer.

"He's an FBI agent, Arianna. He's dangerous. He could destroy everything. He could ruin you." His jaw clenched. "And if he ever finds out who you really are, you know what will happen."

I knew. And yet, for some reason, the thought of never seeing Marcello again made my stomach twist in a way I didn't understand.

Domenico's eyes were locked onto mine, his protectiveness a storm threatening to consume everything.

I took a shaky breath. "I understand."

But even as I said it, I wasn't sure if it was a promise I could keep. Then, without another word, he turned, grab his phone and walked out of the office.

The door slammed shut behind him leaving me alone in the room with my thoughts.