Three nights later, Luca arrived at the Villa Moretti gates.
Alone.
Enzo was furious. "He's baiting you!"
Amara stood still. "No. He's challenging me."
She met Luca in the garden where their fathers once walked. His eyes were tired, lips pressed thin.
"You want a war, Amara? Fine. But don't pretend this isn't personal."
"It is personal. You killed my father."
"And you killed my future," he spat. "You think this makes you strong? No. It makes you blind. Just like Alessandro."
She slapped him before she realized her hand had moved.
Luca didn't flinch.
"You hate me," he said. "But you still look at me like you remember the boy who gave you your first kiss."
"And you look at me like you regret ever letting me go," she replied.
They stood in silence.
And then Luca did something neither expected, he leaned in. Just close enough to make her heart stumble.
Then he whispered, "If you keep digging into the past, you'll find a truth neither of us can survive."
And with that, he turned and left.