Chapter 98: Blood of the game
The place echoed with the sound of gunfire... brief, sharp, and filled with the fury of vengeance.
Luca Morano’s boots thudded heavily against the marble as he walked toward Marcelo, his face carved in ice and thunder.
Smoke coiled around them like a dark serpent, swallowing the screams of fallen men.
Marcelo tried to shoot again.
The bullets ricocheted off Luca’s body, hitting the ground with a sound like rusted coins falling onto stone.
Luca didn’t even flinch.
When he reached Marcelo, he grabbed him by the neck, his fingers digging in like iron hooks.
Marcelo gasped, choking, his gun clattering from his trembling hand.
Luca’s voice was low, deadly calm, the kind that carried more fear than shouting ever could. "For years," he said, his breath cold against Marcelo’s ear, "I swore I had would never spill blood. But you..." he tightened his grip, Marcelo’s feet scraping against the ground, "...your blood is too filthy to stain my hands."
He released him suddenly, letting the man collapse to the ground, gasping for air.
"Fredo... " Luca called out, and within seconds his loyal guard appeared with armed men. "Lock him up in the biggest cell we have, No contact. No food unless I order it. And separate his men .... every single one of them."
Marcelo was dragged away screaming curses, but Luca had already turned his back, his cold gaze softening the moment he saw her "Alessia"...
She was pale, her gown soaked in deep crimson.
The sight of her blood nearly broke him.
"Alessia," he whispered, catching her as her knees gave way.
Her eyes fluttered open, trembling lashes against ashen skin. "Luca... don’t..." she breathed weakly.
He hushed her, gathering her in his arms, his heart pounding against her limp body. "You are safe now," he said, though he wasn’t sure if he was saying it to her or to himself.
The maids rushed forward, helping him carry her into the car.
Luca’s heart skipped, his face,, they betrayed nothing, but his heart was tearing apart piece by piece.
*****
Two maids, Sirah and Chloe stood behind, their faces ghostly under the pale moonlight.
Sirah’s voice trembled as she spoke. "If anything happens to her, I will mention your name, Chloe. Don’t think you can escape this."
Chloe spun toward her, eyes blazing. "I hate you, Sirah. If you spill my name, your doom begins. Remember that."
"I have nothing against anyone," chloe added and hissed, "but I needed extra cash. I didn’t know it would go this far."
Chloe’s phone buzzed suddenly. A text flashed across her screen. Deposit Alert: $10,000.00
Payment Description: For a job well done.
A wicked smile curved Chloe’s lips. "Worth every risk," she murmured.
Sirah stepped closer, whispering, "But... I switched the drinks. How did she still bleed?"
Chloe froze. Her eyes narrowed. "You what?"
"I... I changed them, when I caught you added something to eat because I no longer trust you. You have been making secret calls lately. And I thought it was just a test drink, not poison, but i still managed to switch it, what went wrong ." Sirah tried to figure out
Chloe’s fury burned through her composure. "How dare you... " she hissed. "You switched them? Then maybe you got confused and gave her back the poisoned one. Brilliant, Sirah. You just doomed you and her... You both."
Sirah’s face drained of color. She stumbled back as Chloe stormed away, her heels clacking like thunder down the marble corridor.
*******
Across the city, Daisy was buttoning her coat when her phone vibrated. Message from Alessia:
Meet me at the hospital. Right now.
Her heart dropped. Without hesitation, she grabbed her keys and rushed to the door, only to nearly bump into Romeo.
"Whoa, easy," he said, catching her by the arm. "You look like you have seen a ghost."
"Romeo, I don’t have time," she snapped. "Alessia’s in the hospital.... she needs me."
Romeo’s expression darkened. From his pocket, he brought out a small vial filled with milky white liquid.
"This might help," he said quietly. "It’s the antidote. For what poisoned her."
Daisy froze. "What are you talking about?"
He looked around before leaning in. "Bianca. She used one of the maids to poison Alessia’s favorite drink. I found out through an old contact. This.... " he lifted the vial ".... will cleanse whatever remains in her system."
Daisy’s breath hitched. She eyed the vial warily. "And how do I know you are not in on it?"
Romeo sighed. "You don’t. But if you really love your friend, you will take it."
He pressed the vial into her hand and walked away, disappearing into the night before Daisy could ask another question.
******
Under the silver sky, the river whispered ancient secrets.
Donato and Princess Elowen rode through the moonlit forest, their horses slowing as shadows emerged ahead, armed riders with the crest of Atlan glinting on their armor.
The leader stepped forward, his voice heavy with old hatred. "Where is the book?"
Donato dismounted, his eyes unreadable. "I knew you vultures would be waiting. Tell me, what’s in that book that scares you so much? It belongs to the Moranos, not the Atlans or anyone else."
The Atlan master’s jaw tightened. "That book carries the curse of power. The Moranos used it once to conquer our ancestors. We will not let history repeat itself. The book must be destroyed."
Elowen laughed softly, her tone sharp as a blade.
All eyes turned to her as she reached into her cloak and pulled out the black book.
"Name your price," she said.
The Atlan master frowned. "What game are you playing?"
"Jewelry, gold, boxes of money," Elowen said carelessly.
"Too small," she added, tilting her head. "I need more."
The master glared at her. "Fine." He snapped his fingers, and his men brought forward boxes of gold and silver.
Donato’s expression darkened. "Princess elowen," he growled, "what are you doing?"
"I’m sorry, Donato," she said quietly. "But I had to do this."
Rage flashed in his eyes. "You tried to sell my trust. You lied to me. This whole time, you had the book....? "
He lunged to seize it, but five Atlan guards restrained him.
Princess elowen handed the book over, her face expressionless as the Atlans loaded their treasures and rode off into the darkness.
When they vanished, she turned, gathering the riches into a large sack.
"Good actor," she murmured with a faint smile.
Donato glared at her. "What did you just say?"
"I said you are a good actor, Donato." She straightened, eyes gleaming. "Now go. I’m done with you."
He turned to leave, fury burning through him.. until her next words stopped him cold.
"I gave them a fake book."
******
Back in the city, Bianca shot upright in bed, drenched in sweat.
Her heart pounded violently as fragments of a nightmare clung to her mind.
She had been running through the Forest of Larissa, the cursed land she once made a pact with. The witch’s voice echoed through the trees, shrill and furious.
"You broke your promise, Bianca. You were to never to return the boy Jackson and Now the forest will claim you instead... For a broken promise. "
She stumbled, falling into the shadows.
Flames erupted around her, and from within the fire, the shadow master emerged, whispering in a thousand voices at once. "You took what is mine... and kept the child. You think the fire won’t find you?"
Bianca screamed and woke up again, gasping for breath.
Her body trembled uncontrollably.
"Just a dream," she whispered. "Just a dream..."
But when she turned, the air beside her shimmered faintly, like the whisper of a curse watching her from the dark.
Daisy’s car screeched into the hospital parking lot.
Her hands were trembling as she clutched the vial.
She didn’t know whether it was poison or cure.
She only knew one thing, she couldn’t let Alessia die.
She rushed through the hallway, her heels echoing in the sterile silence.
Room 130.
She pushed the door open and froze.
Alessia sat upright on the bed, not pale or trembling, but calm, radiant... alive.
"Alessia?" Daisy breathed, disbelief flooding her voice. "You look... fine. What’s happening?"
Alessia’s lips curved in a small, knowing smile. She gestured Daisy closer.
Daisy stepped forward, heart pounding.
Alessia leaned in until her lips brushed her friend’s ear, her voice low and deliberate. "I never took any of those drinks," she whispered.
"We staged everything... to find the real culprits."
********
The moon hung like a dying ember above the Morano estate, its dim light spilling through the stained glass of Seraphina’s chamber.
Shadows crawled across the marble floor as she stood before her mirror, her reflection more sinister than beautiful.
Lorenzo was hiding something.... something big.
She could feel it her last conversation with him, in the way his eyes avoided hers whenever Alessia’s name surfaced.
So, when the mansion fell into its midnight hush, Seraphina slipped from her chamber, her crimson robe flowing behind her like a whisper of sin.
Outside the east wing were quiet..... courtesy of the wine she had laced earlier.
The air grew colder as she descended into the underground passage that led to Lorenzo’s private quarters.
The corridor smelled of damp stone and secrets, the kind only the Moranos could breed.
When she reached his chamber, the heavy oak door groaned open.
His bedroom looked almost ordinary too ordinary.
But Seraphina knew Lorenzo was not a man of simplicity.
Her gaze landed on the carved wooden animals lined neatly atop his wardrobe, each one chipped, ancient, and covered in dust.
She ran her fingers over the carvings, One tilted slightly, She pressed it.
She Clicked.
A hidden door slid open behind the wardrobe.
Darkness waited on the other side, swallowing even the faint glow from her candle.
Her heartbeat slowed. Her curiosity did not.
Step by step, she entered the secret room.
The scent of burning parchment hung heavy in the air. Papers littered the desk maps, symbols, sketches of the moon’s phases. And then she saw it.
A red circle drawn around a date. Forty-eight days from now.
Below it, a single word: ECLIPSE.
Her eyes widened as she spotted a sketch pinned to the wall . A woman standing beneath a red moon, wearing Alessia’s gown, her outline traced in dark ink as though marked for sacrifice.
Seraphina’s breath caught.
She reached out...
A sudden cough shattered the silence.
Footsteps echoed behind her, slow and deliberate.
She turned sharply, the candle trembling in her hand.....
And froze.
Bianca stood in the doorway, her eyes cold, her hand steady... pointing a gun straight at Seraphina’s face....