Chapter 56 The board isn't empty
Lina’s POV
The room feels smaller after he leaves. Not because of the walls. Because of the rule. I stand there for a moment longer, staring at the closed door, then exhale slowly. My cheek still tingles. My thigh burns faintly beneath the fabric. The sting lingers but it's the warning that lingers deeply.
“Try that again, and I won’t be measured about it.”
Measured.
I let out a quiet breath through my mouth. He thinks fear will tame me. He doesn’t understand something. Fear sharpens me.
A knock sounds at the door.
Three short taps.
I don’t answer immediately. Let them wait. Let them wonder if I’m crying.
Because I’m not.
The knock comes again. “Signora?”
It’s Niel.
I walk over and open the door halfway. He stands straight, eyes forward, careful not to look at my face too closely.
“Yes?”
“Security has been doubled on the east and south wings. Don wants confirmation you’re inside.”
I lift a brow. “You can see that.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And?”
“And he asked if you needed medical attention.”
I almost laugh. “For what?”
His jaw tightens. Loyal. Unquestioning. “For the impact earlier.”
“The car didn’t hit me,” I reply evenly.
“That’s not what I—”
“I’m fine, Niel.”
He nods once. “Understood.”
I start to close the door, then pause. “Who were they?”
His eyes flicker. “We don’t know yet.”
“That’s not true.”
A beat of silence.
He lowers his voice slightly. “The vehicle was stolen. Plates scrubbed. But the engine mod was custom. We’re tracing similar builds.”
So they’re working fast. “Was anyone injured?” I asked.
“Two guards with minor grazes.”
I nod. “Tell them I want to review the footage in the morning.”
His expression shifts—barely. “With respect, Signora—”
“I said tell them.”
He hesitates, then inclines his head. “Yes.”
I shut the door gently.
He’s already repositioning the board. And tomorrow, he expects me to sit beside him like a protected queen piece.
No.
If I’m on this board, I’m moving myself.
\~~~
I didn't sleep. At least not fully. Every sound filters through me, the shuffle of boots, radios clicking, engines starting and stopping in the courtyard. The house is awake long after midnight.
So am I.
Around 5:30 a.m., the bedroom door opens quietly. Carlino steps inside. He thinks I’m asleep. I keep my breathing slow. Eyes half closed.
He moves to the dresser, removes his jacket, sets his gun down with precision. The air shifts when he’s in the room—controlled, alert, dangerous. He walks over to the bed.
For a moment, he just stands there. Then his fingers brush lightly over my cheek. Not the side he struck. The other one. I almost flinch. His touch is brief. Careful. Then he turns away.
“I know you’re awake,” he says calmly. I open my eyes. He doesn’t look surprised.
“You’re loud,” I reply.
A faint curve touches his mouth. Not amusement. Recognition. “We identified the vehicle type,” he says. “Northern build. Not local.”
“Which means?” I ask.
“Someone testing the perimeter.” My pulse steadies instead of spikes. “Or testing you.”
His gaze sharpens. “Explain.”
“They didn’t slow. They didn’t shoot to kill. They drove through. To create chaos. To measure response time,” I finished.
Silence hangs between us.
He studies me in that assessing way he does—like I’m either an asset or a risk. “Come downstairs,” he says finally.
“That wasn’t a request, was it?”
“No.”
I sit up slowly. “Then say it.”
His eyes narrow slightly. “Come downstairs, Lina.”
Better.
The security room smells like coffee and metal. Screens line the wall, replaying the footage from different angles. Guards step aside when we enter.
Carlino gestures to the central monitor. “Run it.”
The car appears again—blinding lights, acceleration, chaos.
“Pause,” I say. The guard freezes the frame. “Zoom in the driver’s side mirror.”
Carlino glances at me but nods. The image sharpens. “There,” I point out. “Sticker.”
Niel leans closer. “That’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing,” I reply. “It’s a racing insignia. Semi-pro circuits.”
Carlino tilts his head slightly. “You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
He watches me instead of the screen. “How?”
“My father used to restore engines,” I say. “I know builds.”
A quiet ripple moves through the room. Carlino turns back to the monitors. “Cross-reference northern builds with racing affiliates,” he orders.
“Yes, Don.”
The men move fast. He steps closer to me, voice lower now. “You see something else?”
“Yes.”
“Say it.”
“They weren’t trying to take me tonight.” His jaw tightens. “They were proving they could,” I continued. “That your fortress isn’t sealed.”
A muscle flexes in his cheek. “You embarrassed me,” he says quietly.
I look at him. “I exposed a flaw.”
His gaze drops briefly—to my leg, then back to my eyes. “And you endangered yourself.”
“I calculated.”
“You gambled.”
“Is that what you call every move that isn’t yours?” I shoot back.
Niel clears his throat awkwardly. “We have a match on a custom engine build registered to a private garage outside Turin.”
Carlino’s attention shifts instantly. “Owner?”
“Shell company.”
“Dig deeper.”
He steps aside to take a call, voice turning colder, more clipped. Orders. Directives. Pressure.
I watch him command the room. He thrives here. Control is his oxygen.
When he finishes, he turns back to me. “You will not move without an escort.”
“I won’t need one in this room.”
“You will have one anyway.”
I fold my arms. “You want partnership, remember?”
“I want stability.”
“You want obedience.”
His eyes flash. For a moment, I think he’ll snap again. Instead, he leans closer. “You think I punished you because of pride?” he asks softly.
“Yes.”
He studies my face. “I punished you because when that car accelerated, I saw the future.”
“And?”
“You weren’t in it.”
The words land heavier than they should. They always did. I don’t look away.
“That’s not leadership,” he continues. “That's a weakness.”
“Are you allowed to be human?” I asked quietly.
“Not here.”
A guard approaches. “We traced a secondary signal ping from a cell tower near the east perimeter just before the breach.”
Carlino straightens. “Inside job?”
“Possibly.”
The room tightens.
Carlino’s gaze shifts to me. Not accusing. Calculating. I raise my chin. “Don’t.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You thought about it.”
His silence confirms it.
“If I wanted to sabotage you,” I say evenly, “I would’ve done it smarter.”
A faint, dangerous smirk touches his mouth. “I don’t doubt that.”
Niel speaks again. “We’re isolating internal communications from the last forty-eight hours.”
Carlino nods once. “Lock the east wing. No one in or out until cleared.”
The command ripples outward. He turns back to me. “Satisfied?”
“No.”
“What more do you want?”
“Transparency.”
A beat.
“You’ll have it,” he says.
“Not filtered.”
His jaw tightens. “You push.”
“I adapt.”
The tension between us hums.
A junior guard suddenly rushes in. “Don—vehicle spotted again on outer highway camera. Same model. Heading south.”
The room freezes.
Carlino moves instantly. “Track it.”
“It’s not slowing.”
“Deploy two units. Non-lethal intercept.”
He glances at me. “Stay here.”
I step forward instead. “I’m coming.”
“No.”
“You said together.”
“This isn’t a debate.”
“It never is with you.”
He grips my arm—not harshly this time. Firm.
“You don’t understand what you trigger in people,” he says lowly.
“Enlighten me.”
“They see you beside me and they aim higher.”
“Then stop hiding me,” I fire back.
Silence.
His men wait for the next order. Carlino releases my arm slowly. “You stand behind me,” he says finally.
It’s the closest he’ll come to compromise. We move fast through the corridor, down the back stairs, into the armored SUV. Engines roar to life.
As we pull through the gates, I glance at him.
“You don’t scare me,” I say quietly.
“I don’t try to.”
“That’s the problem.”
His eyes stay on the road ahead.
“You think this is about control,” he says. “It’s about survival.”
“And what happens when I refuse to survive your way?”
He finally looks at me. A slow, assessing look.
“Then we evolve,” he replies.
Ahead, in the distance, flashing lights flicker on the highway bend. The same model car. Waiting. My pulse steadies. The board isn’t empty. It’s just getting crowded. This time… I’m not the piece being chased.