One Hundred & Twenty Two

One Hundred & Twenty Two
Amara stayed exactly where Darius told her to.
She sat on the edge of the couch, spine straight, phone clutched in both hands like it was the only solid thing left in the room. The bodyguard hadn’t moved, but she noticed now how alert he was… eyes scanning windows, hand brushing the piece at his side now and then.
The mansion no longer felt like a refuge.
It felt like a glass house.
Minutes stretched. Every sound made her jump… the soft hum of the air system, the distant crash of waves, the tick of an expensive clock on the wall.
Her phone buzzed again.
She flinched so hard it nearly slipped from her hands.
Unknown Number.
Her heart hammered as she opened it, dread pooling low in her stomach.
“Did you really think hiding behind him would save you?”
Her breathing turned shallow.
Another message followed immediately.
“You belong to me, Amara. You always have”.
Her vision blurred. Tears burned, but she forced them back. Crying wouldn’t help. Panicking wouldn’t help. She remembered Darius’s voice… controlled, certain.
Do not reply.
She locked the screen and stood, walking straight toward the bodyguard.
“I’m getting threatening messages,” she said, her voice shaking despite her effort. “I need you to stay close. Please.”
He nodded once. “You’re safe here, miss.”
She wasn’t sure she believed him… but the steadiness in his tone helped a little.
She retreated back to the couch just as her phone rang again.
This time, it was Darius.
She answered instantly. “He texted again.”
“I know,” he said. His voice was colder now. Sharper. “Colin traced the number. It’s masked, but the routing matches Matteo’s old networks.”
Her stomach dropped. “So it is really him.”
“Yes,” Darius said simply. “And he’s testing your boundaries.”
Fear twisted into something else… anger. “He doesn’t get to do this. He doesn’t get to scare me anymore.”
“I know,” Darius said. “That’s why this ends soon.”
There was something in his tone that made her pause.
“Where are you?” she asked quietly.
“Ten minutes out,” he replied. “Security’s being doubled. And Amara… listen to me carefully.”
She held her breath.
“If anything feels off before I get there… anything at all… you leave with the bodyguard immediately. No questions. No hesitation.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
The call ended, but her heart kept racing.
She stood and moved toward the window, peering out at the long driveway winding down toward the gates. The sea glittered beyond, indifferent and endless.
Another message came through.
“You should’ve stayed obedient.”
Her hands shook, but this time she didn’t cry.
She lifted her chin.
“No,” she whispered to the empty room. “I shouldn’t have.”
Headlights appeared in the distance.
A familiar car.
Relief crashed into her so hard her knees nearly gave out.
Moments later, the door opened.
Darius strode in like a storm… jaw tight, eyes burning, suit jacket already halfway off his shoulders. The second he saw her, his eyes softened.
She didn’t wait.
Amara crossed the room and walked straight into his arms.
He wrapped her up instantly, one hand cradling the back of her head, the other firm at her waist, holding her like he needed to feel she was real, unharmed.
“I’m here,” he murmured into her hair. “Have got you.”
She pressed her face into his chest, breathing him in, her voice muffled but steady.
“He’s not going to stop, is he?”
Darius’s gaze lifted over her head, dark and lethal.
“No,” he said quietly. “But neither am I.”
Outside, the sea kept crashing against the rocks.
Darius didn’t let go of her right away.
He held Amara until her breathing slowed, until the tremor in her fingers eased against his chest. Only then did he pull back slightly, just enough to look at her face. His hands framed her cheeks, thumbs brushing away the tears she hadn’t realized had slipped free.
“He won’t hurt you,” he said firmly. “Not again. Not ever.”
She searched his eyes, looking for doubt… and found none. What she saw instead scared her in a different way.
Certainty.
“Darius,” she whispered, “what are you going to do?”
He exhaled through his nose, slow and controlled. “What I should’ve done a long time ago.”
He turned his head slightly. “Haunt him down. For now I’m locking the house down.”
The bodyguard moved immediately, speaking into his earpiece. Doors were secured. Exterior lights brightened. Somewhere deeper in the mansion, heavy bolts slid into place.
Amara’s stomach tightened. “This feels like a siege.”
Darius didn’t deny it. He guided her toward the couch, sitting beside her but keeping his body angled protectively in front of her, like a shield.
“I need you to listen to me,” he said. “And I need you to trust me.”
“I do,” she replied without hesitation. That part was easy.
“There are things about your father,” he continued carefully, “things about the people he’s crossed… that make him dangerous when he loses control. Today’s message wasn’t about scaring you.”
“Then what was it about?” she asked.
“Provoking me.”
Her heart skipped. “Why?”
“Because he knows you matter to me.”
The words landed heavy between them.
She swallowed. “And that makes me a weakness.”
“No,” Darius corrected, his voice firm. “It makes you the line he should never have crossed.”
He stood, pacing once before stopping in front of her again. “I’m moving faster than planned. Colin’s already working. Valen’s not happy about being left in the dark, but he’s not stupid… he’s helping where he can.”
Amara frowned. “Helping with what?”
Darius hesitated. Just a fraction.
“With ending this.”
Silence stretched.
Finally, she asked the question that had been burning in her chest. “Are you in danger because of me?”
He crouched in front of her, taking her hands. “I was in danger long before you,” he said honestly. “You didn’t create this. But you are the reason I won’t back down.”
Her throat tightened. “I don’t want to be the reason you get hurt.”
He squeezed her hands gently. “You’re the reason I won’t let it happen.”
Another buzz cut through the air.
This time, it wasn’t her phone.
It was his.
Darius checked the screen, jaw tightening. “Colin.”
He answered, turning slightly away but not letting go of her hand. “Talk.”
A pause. His expression darkened.
“How close?” Darius asked.
Another pause.
“Fine,” he said. “Send me everything. And Colin… don’t lose him.”
He ended the call and looked back at Amara.
“He’s mobilizing,” she said quietly. It wasn’t a question.
“Yes.”
Her fingers curled into his sleeve. “Please don’t leave me alone.”
“I won’t,” he promised immediately. “Not tonight.”
He stood and pulled her up with him. “We’re moving you to the inner rooms. No windows. Best security.”
She nodded, even though fear buzzed under her skin.
As they walked down the hallway together, Amara glanced back once… toward the locked doors, the sea beyond, the life she used to know.
Everything had changed.
And whatever was coming next…
They would face it together.