The night it happened was supposed to be ordinary or as ordinary as life could be in their world. A charity gala downtown, handshakes and polite smiles, Luca's arm steady around Aria's waist as cameras flashed and whispered rumors swirled. For the first time in weeks, she had let herself wear a real smile, not the brittle mask she'd been forcing since everything started falling apart.
She'd chosen a dress Luca loved deep crimson, elegant and bold and for a few hours, she almost felt like herself again. Not a target. Not a pawn. Just a woman in love with a man who had promised her the world.
The illusion shattered in a single heartbeat.
It began with the flicker of movement on a rooftop across the street. Luca noticed first, the faint glint of metal in the moonlight, the almost imperceptible shift in the air that his instincts had learned to read as danger. He didn't think, didn't speak; his body moved before his mind caught up.
