The soil was cold and damp. It clung to my fingers, filled my nails, scraped my skin raw. I did not stop. I could not stop. My tears fell into the dirt as I carved out a small grave behind the garden wall, where the security lights didn't reach and the soldiers on night rotation never patrolled.
"I'm sorry, Miso," I sobbed quietly.
He had been my only comfort in this place. The only one who loved me without conditions. The only one who stayed by my side.
And now he was gone.
Just like that.
Something inside me broke completely.
Later that night, I walked through the east corridor of the Montecarlo estate, my body heavy and numb. The hallway was lined with portraits of dead men in dark suits, their painted eyes following anyone who passed.
Then I heard them.
Soft whispers.
Low giggles.
I turned slowly.
They stood there, all six of them, each holding a candle. The flickering flames cast strange shadows across their faces, making their smiles look twisted and unnatural.
"You told on us," Alessia said sweetly, her voice filled with hidden venom.
Gianna stepped forward, her eyes gleaming. Her chin tilted up and to the left. "Nonno punished us because of you."
"I didn't tell," I said quietly, trying to walk past them.
Matteo stepped in front of me, blocking my way. "You cried like a baby. We saw you."
"Where's your puppy now?" Nico added with a sneer. One shoulder lifted in that careless shrug of his.
My chest tightened, but I forced myself to stay calm. "Move."
"Or what?" Rocco smirked. "You'll run and complain again?"
"You're powerless now," Lucia said with a cold smile.
They began to circle me slowly.
Then they tilted their candles.
Hot wax dripped onto my skin.
I gasped as the burning drops hit my arms and neck, pain spreading instantly across my body.
Before I could react, a new voice echoed through the corridor.
"Children, that is not how we treat family."
I froze.
Valentina walked in calmly, as if she owned everything.
The woman they adored. The woman Enzo truly loved.
Her emerald satin robe shimmered under the corridor lights, her red hair flowing over her shoulders. She moved through the Montecarlo estate like a woman whose name was already on the deed.
"Mamma Valentina," the children cheered, running to her.
"My babies," she said gently, kissing their foreheads.
She finally looked at me, her smile soft but cold. "Oh. Seraphina. Still here?"
I clenched my fists. "What do you want, Valentina?"
She stepped closer, lowering her voice. "I heard about the dog. Such a shame. But maybe now you can focus on yourself."
"Move," I said.
She did not move.
Instead, she leaned in closer. Her fingertips drifted to the hollow of her throat, lingering there for half a breath before dropping away. "You poor thing. No family. No friends. No place here."
Before I could react, she grabbed my hair and yanked my head back.
I tried to scream, but her hand covered my mouth and nose, cutting off my breath.
Panic surged through me.
I struggled, my body thrashing, my lungs burning for air.
Behind her, the children giggled and continued dripping hot wax onto my skin.
Darkness crept into my vision.
Then a voice called out.
"Is anyone here?"
Enzo.
The children stepped back immediately.
Valentina let go of me and shoved me aside.
I collapsed against the wall, gasping desperately, my chest heaving as I fought for air. My body trembled, covered in hardened wax and pain.
She had almost killed me.
"Enzo," Valentina called sweetly, wrapping her arms around him. "I was just comforting Seraphina. She has been overwhelmed."
Enzo frowned at me. "Seraphina, what is going on now?"
"She yelled at us," Matteo said quickly.
"She said she hated us," Rocco added.
"She scared Alessia," Gianna said softly.
"That is not true," I said, my voice shaking.
"She is just upset about the dog," Valentina said gently. "We should be patient."
Enzo's expression hardened. The way a man's face hardens when he has already chosen a side and resents being asked to justify it. "Seraphina, this is getting out of hand."
Something inside me shattered again.
I turned away.
They would never listen.
Never understand.
I went back to my room. The room they had given me at the far end of the east wing, where the walls were thin enough to hear the soldiers changing shifts outside and thick enough that no one heard what happened inside.
My suitcase was still there.
Waiting.
I checked my phone.
My flight confirmation had arrived.
The documents I requested would be ready in the morning.
I only needed to survive until then.
My fingers pressed hard against the inside of my left wrist, against the bare skin where my mother's bracelet once sat. I held them there until the shaking stopped.
The next morning, my phone buzzed urgently.
A message.
"Aunty Seraphina, help us. We have been kidnapped."
My heart stopped.
Another message followed.
"They took us to the forest behind the estate. Do not tell Nonno or Daddy. They will kill us if you do."
My hands trembled.
After everything they had done to me, after all the pain they caused, they were still children.
Six lives. Six heirs to the Montecarlo bloodline.
I could not ignore it.
I grabbed my keys and ran.
The forest beyond the estate's perimeter wall was dense and quiet. The path was unclear, the trees towering above me. The security cameras didn't reach this far. No one patrolled past the old stone boundary.
The location led me to a cliff.
"Kids?" I called out, breathless. "Gianna? Matteo?"
There was a rustling sound.
Then laughter.
Cold and cruel.
"You actually came," Gianna said, stepping out. Her chin was up, tilted to the left.
One by one, they appeared from behind the trees.
Dressed in black.
Holding crossbows.
My heart dropped.
They surrounded me from all sides.
Behind me was the cliff.
No way out.
"You should have left when we told you," Matteo said. His fingers were curled tight into his palms.
"You are ruining everything," Gianna shouted.
"You took Daddy," Alessia yelled.
"Now we take him back," Matteo said coldly.
"And avenge our mother," Lucia added.
They raised their crossbows together.
Six arrows aimed at me.
My head.
My heart.
My eyes.
My legs.
My temples.
My breath trembled. "No… please…"
In the next second, the arrows flew toward me from all directions.
