Chapter 4-The Enemy Who Slept Beside Me
I didn't believe her.
That was the first thought that crossed my mind.
Not because I trusted Nolan.
Not anymore.
But because some truths are too painful for the human mind to accept.
For fifteen years, I had carried one story inside my head.
A story built from broken memories.
Fire.
Screaming.
My father's blood on the marble floor of our home.
My mother's final words telling me to run.
My sister's hand slipping away from mine as men dragged me through the back entrance.
The night the De Luca family disappeared.
The night everyone told me we were destroyed by the Morettis.
I had spent my entire life believing one thing.
That Dante Moretti's family was responsible.
That his bloodline was the reason mine no longer existed.
And yet here I was.
Standing beside the very man I was supposed to hate.
While my own sister pointed at Nolan and claimed he was the monster behind it all.
My mind couldn't process it.
“Nolan?”
My voice barely came out.
Everyone looked at him.
Waiting.
Waiting for him to deny it.
Waiting for him to laugh.
Waiting for him to say this was another lie.
But Nolan said nothing.
And that silence destroyed him.
Because innocent people defend themselves.
Guilty people calculate.
Dante noticed too.
His eyes narrowed.
“You're very quiet.”
Nolan finally looked up.
His face had regained some control.
Almost.
“This is ridiculous.”
He laughed.
“A woman appears after fifteen years and suddenly everyone believes her?”
Isabella smiled.
“You always did underestimate how much people remember.”
Nolan looked at her.
“You were never supposed to survive.”
The entire room froze.
The words escaped too naturally.
Too quickly.
Like they weren't a mistake.
Like they were the truth.
My heart stopped.
Dante's expression turned dangerous.
“What did you say?”
Nolan realized his mistake.
Only a second too late.
He stepped back.
“I meant—”
“No.”
Dante interrupted.
His voice was terrifyingly calm.
“Repeat what you just said.”
Nolan looked around.
Searching.
For an escape.
For someone to save him.
But everyone in that room understood something.
The balance of power had shifted.
The man who had controlled me for years…
was suddenly the weakest person there.
“I meant she shouldn't have survived that night.”
Nolan tried to recover.
“That doesn't prove anything.”
But I wasn't listening anymore.
Because memories were returning.
Small pieces.
Things I had ignored.
Things I had convinced myself didn't matter.
Nolan had always known too much.
When we first met, he already knew my history.
He knew where I grew up.
He knew details about my childhood that I had never told him.
At the time, I thought he was simply interested.
I thought he was paying attention.
Now…
I felt sick.
“You knew.”
The words left my mouth.
Nolan looked at me.
“Elena—”
“You knew who I was.”
Silence.
“You knew my family.”
His jaw tightened.
“I can explain.”
“No.”
My voice became stronger.
“You don't get to explain.”
For the first time in years, I wasn't afraid of his anger.
I wasn't afraid of what he would do.
Because now I understood something.
The fear had never protected me.
It had only trapped me.
“You found me.”
Nolan's expression changed.
And I knew I was right.
“You didn't meet me by accident.”
He said nothing.
“You knew I was Elena De Luca.”
Still nothing.
“You knew I was the last person alive who could expose what happened.”
His silence was the answer.
My stomach twisted.
The relationship I thought had been a mistake.
The relationship I thought had slowly become toxic.
The relationship I had blamed myself for staying in…
had been a plan.
Nolan hadn't loved me.
He had hunted me.
Dante watched everything.
And I saw something I never expected.
Pain.
Not for himself.
For me.
Because Dante understood betrayal.
But this was something different.
This was a person I had allowed into my life.
A person I had trusted.
A person who had held me while knowing exactly how much damage he was doing.
“Why?”
I whispered.
That was the only question left.
“Why me?”
Nolan stared at me.
And for a moment…
I saw the man I thought he was.
The man who used to make me laugh.
The man who brought me coffee when I worked late.
The man who held my hand the first time I cried.
Then it disappeared.
“I needed access.”
The honesty hurt more than another lie.
“To what?”
He looked at Dante.
“To the De Luca accounts.”
My breath caught.
Dante's eyes sharpened.
“The hidden accounts.”
Nolan smiled.
“Now you understand.”
I looked between them.
“What accounts?”
Nobody answered immediately.
And that terrified me.
Because whatever my family had left behind…
was important enough to start a war.
Isabella stepped forward.
“Your father didn't leave money.”
She looked at me.
“He left evidence.”
The room became silent.
“Evidence of every crime committed by Chicago's most powerful families.”
My blood went cold.
“Against who?”
Isabella looked at Dante.
Then at Nolan.
“Everyone.”
A chill moved through me.
Because suddenly I understood.
My family wasn't destroyed because of power.
They were destroyed because they knew too much.
And I was the last person alive who could reveal it.
Nolan had spent years pretending to love me.
Waiting.
Watching.
Trying to find something I didn't even know existed.
Dante's phone suddenly rang.
One of his men answered it.
Then his face changed.
“Boss…”
Dante took the phone.
A few seconds passed.
Then his expression became unreadable.
“What happened?”
The man on the other end spoke.
Dante listened.
And then he looked directly at me.
“Elena.”
Something in his voice made my heart drop.
“What?”
He walked closer.
“The safe house where you've been living…”
A pause.
“It was found.”
My blood turned cold.
“What?”
Dante continued.
“The person who attacked it left a message.”
My hands started shaking.
“What message?”
Dante looked at Nolan.
Then at Isabella.
Then finally at me.
His voice became quiet.
“He wrote…”
A pause.
“Next time, I won't miss the daughter of De Luca.”
The ballroom went silent.
Because everyone understood what that meant.
The war had already begun.
And I was the reason.
Dante stepped beside me.
Not behind.
Beside.
“You have two choices.”
I looked at him.
“What choices?”
His eyes were cold.
But his voice was gentle.
“You can run from your name.”
A pause.
“Or you can take it back.”
For fifteen years, I had survived by hiding.
But maybe hiding was the reason they kept finding me.
I looked at Nolan.
The man who had destroyed everything I believed.
Then I looked at Dante.
The man I had every reason to hate…
but the only person who had ever protected me.
And I made my choice.
“I want the truth.”
Dante nodded.
“Then we start tonight.”
Outside, sirens filled the streets of Chicago.
Inside, the last daughter of the De Luca family finally stopped running.
And somewhere in the city…
someone who thought Elena De Luca was powerless…
May you like
was about to discover the most dangerous thing about a woman who had nothing left to lose.
She was no longer afraid.
