Chapter 60

Chapter 60
Sofia's POV

The ocean swallowed me whole.

The shock of the water punched the air from my lungs, icy and merciless. Darkness closed in as waves dragged me under, flipping me over and over. My scream dissolved into bubbles. Salt stung my eyes, my throat burned, my arms thrashed.

Up—up—where’s up?

The weight of my clothes pulled me down. My chest screamed for air. Panic clawed through me as I kicked blindly. For one heartbeat, I thought this was it.

Then—arms. Strong, iron, pulling me up.

I broke the surface with a violent gasp. The night sky reeled overhead, smoke and fire from the burning ship still glowing through the fog.

“Sofia!” Luca’s voice roared in my ear. He kept me afloat with one arm, his other slicing through the waves. His face was wet, furious, alive. “Breathe! I’ve got you.”

I coughed seawater, choking. “The ship—it’s—”

“Forget the ship,” he cut me off, dragging me closer against his chest. “I’m not losing you again.”

Another splash erupted nearby. Diego surfaced, spitting water, his hair plastered to his face. “Hand her over!” he shouted, kicking toward us. “You’ll drown with her!”

“Over my dead body!” Luca snapped, tightening his hold.

“You’ll both sink!” Diego surged closer, grabbing my other arm. The three of us collided in the waves, the ocean tossing us like rag dolls.

“Stop!” I cried, coughing. “You’ll kill us all!”

“Then choose!” Diego snarled, salt water dripping from his lips. “Him or me, Sofia—now!”

Before I could answer, Alessandro surfaced on my other side, calmer, colder. “Both of you are wasting time. Keep fighting, and the current drags us under.” His hand caught my shoulder, steady in the chaos. “Look at me, Sofia. Focus. Do you see the rocks?”

I twisted my head, blinking through spray. A jagged outline loomed through the mist—a dark shore, waves crashing against sharp cliffs.

“Yes,” I gasped.

“That’s where we’re going,” Alessandro said firmly. He shoved at Luca and Diego, forcing distance. “You want her alive? Swim. Argue later.”

“Don’t order me—” Luca began, but Alessandro’s glare cut him off.

“Move, little brother.”

With no choice, Luca shifted, keeping his arm wrapped tight around me as we fought toward the shore. Diego swam alongside, never letting go of my hand, as if he feared I’d vanish beneath the waves if he loosened. Alessandro led, his strokes sharp, precise, guiding us through the current.

Behind us, the ship burned brighter, flames devouring it from within. Screams carried across the water, then cut off. The suited man’s voice never came again, but I could feel him—watching, waiting.

The tide smashed harder as we neared the rocks. My muscles ached, lungs burning, but Luca’s voice never stopped in my ear. “Stay awake, Sofia. Don’t close your eyes. I’ve got you.”

Finally—finally—Diego shouted, “There! A ledge!”

A flat stretch of stone jutted out from the cliff, slick with spray but climbable. Alessandro hauled himself up first, then reached back. “Give her to me.”

Luca boosted me up, his hands firm on my waist. I scrambled onto the stone, my knees scraping raw. Diego shoved from behind until we were all sprawled on the ledge, gasping, dripping, alive.

For one long moment, the only sound was the ocean.

Then Luca rounded on Diego, shoving him hard. “You almost drowned her!”

Diego shoved back. “You were dragging her under! You think you’re her savior, but you’re just an anchor!”

“Both of you—enough,” Alessandro snapped, wringing seawater from his jacket. His eyes cut to me, sharp, assessing. “She doesn’t need your pissing contest. She needs answers.”

I sat up, trembling, my teeth chattering. “Answers?”

“Yes,” Alessandro said, his tone even, too even. “What he said on that ship.”

Luca stiffened, his gaze snapping to me. “Sofia. Tell me it’s a lie.”

My stomach twisted. The words stuck in my throat.

Diego’s voice sliced through, low and fierce. “She can’t. Because it isn’t.”

“Shut up,” I whispered, my voice breaking.

Luca grabbed my shoulders, shaking me lightly. “What truth, Sofia? What’s he talking about?”

Tears burned hot against the salt on my cheeks. “Not now. Please—”

“NOW!” Luca roared.

The cliffs threw his voice back at us.

I flinched. “I left because I thought if I stayed—if I stayed with you—someone else would die. Because someone already did.”

Silence. The waves crashed below.

Luca’s hands loosened on me. His face drained, confusion and fury colliding. “Who?”

I shook my head, sobbing. “Your family… your father. He—he ordered it. My father. That night—he never came home. He never came back.”

The truth ripped free at last, raw and brutal.

Luca staggered back, like I’d struck him. His eyes burned into mine. “You knew? All this time?”

“I didn’t want to believe it!” I cried. “I didn’t know until after—until I saw—”

Diego cut in, voice sharp. “And they covered it up. Buried it. Just like they bury everything.”

Alessandro’s face stayed stone, but his jaw ticked. “Careful, Diego.”

“You think I’m lying?” Diego spat. “Ask her. She’s been choking on it for three years.”

Luca’s chest heaved. His fists clenched. His eyes darted between me, Diego, and Alessandro. “My father killed hers?”

My voice cracked. “Yes.”

The words hung heavy, heavier than the sea.

Luca dropped to his knees, his hands tearing at his wet hair. “You left because of him. Because of us.” His laugh broke, harsh and broken. “And all this time I thought—you hated me.”

“I never hated you,” I whispered. “I loved you too much. That’s why I couldn’t stay.”

The confession shattered the air.

Diego knelt closer, seizing the moment. “Do you see now, Sofia? He’s poison. That family will keep bleeding you dry. You want freedom? You want truth? Choose me.”

Luca’s head snapped up, fury blazing. “You think you can take her from me?”

“She already left you once,” Diego shot back. “She’ll leave you again.”

Alessandro stepped between them, his voice cold steel. “Neither of you decides. She does.” His eyes pinned me. “So which is it, Sofia? The brother who loved you and lost you? The man who claims to free you? Or me—the only one who can protect you from both?”

The waves crashed harder, echoing his words. My chest caved under the weight.

“I—I can’t—”

“You will,” Alessandro cut in, his tone final. “Because if you don’t, we all die here tonight.”

The cliffs trembled then—not from waves, but from engines.

A deep rumble carried across the water. Lights cut through the fog. A second ship approached, larger, faster, bristling with weapons.

The suited man’s voice carried faint and cold through a speaker. “Round two.”

My blood froze.

Diego cursed. Luca surged to his feet, gun already in his hand though it dripped seawater. Alessandro’s jaw tightened.

The new ship’s spotlight locked on us, bright and blinding.

The man’s voice echoed again. “Choose quickly, little dove. Your time’s almost up.”