Chapter 232 The Last Night in Naples

Chapter 232 The Last Night in Naples
ELARA

I had already made my decision. I was leaving Naples City. Not because I wanted to. Not because my heart was ready to walk away from everything I knew.

But because Adrian was angry, and he kept telling me this was the only way to protect me.

I knew why. He knew. Everyone knew. It was because of him. Alessandro. The man who had destroyed my life. The man who took my parents from me. The man who took my husband away. The man who forced me to lose the child I carried. The same man my heart still refused to let go of.

I hated myself for it.

I hated that after everything he did, after all the pain he caused, my heart still reacted whenever I thought about him.

I didn’t want to feel anything for him. I wanted to hate him. I wanted to erase every memory of him. But my heart didn’t listen, and that was the part that scared me the most.

I folded another piece of clothing and placed it inside the suitcase, trying to focus on what was in front of me.

Tomorrow, my kids and I would leave Naples City.

Egypt. A new place. A new beginning. That was what Adrian promised me.

He had planned everything carefully, and no matter how angry he was with me, I knew one thing.

He would never intentionally hurt me. But there was one thing I couldn’t understand.

Where was Mia?

I looked at my phone sitting beside me. Her name was still there. I had called her countless times over the past few weeks, but there was nothing. No answer. No return call.

My chest tightened.

Maybe she was angry with me. Maybe after everything, she didn’t want me in her life anymore.

But we promised each other. We promised we would never leave each other behind. My fingers moved over the screen as I typed another message.

I’m leaving tomorrow.

I stared at the words before sending them.

Didn’t she know? Didn’t she know I just wanted to see her one more time? To hug her. To tell her goodbye.

I placed the phone down, but my thoughts wouldn’t quiet.

That was when a knock came from the door. “Can I come in?”

Adrian.

I quickly wiped the emotions from my face. “Come in.”

The door opened, and he walked inside. He didn’t look like himself.

Usually, Adrian always carried confidence, always looked like he had everything under control.

But now… there was something heavy in his eyes. He walked toward me and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Elara,” he called softly.

I turned to him. “What is it, brother?”

He looked away for a moment, like he was trying to find the right words. “I have something I need to tell you,” he said. “But before I do it, I need your permission.”

My brows pulled together. “Permission for what?”

His eyes met mine, and something in the way he looked at me made my stomach twist.

“You are going to hate me for this.”

A strange feeling settled in my chest, heavy and unsettling. The way he said it made me feel like whatever came next was something I wasn’t ready to hear.

“Adrian…”

His jaw tightened, and for a moment, he looked like he was struggling with the weight of his own words.

“I want to wipe your memories.”

For a moment, I forgot how to breathe. I could only stare at him, trying to understand the person standing in front of me.

My own brother.

The person I trusted more than anyone.

The person who always promised he would protect me, no matter what.

Slowly, I took a step back, like putting distance between us could somehow make his words less real.

“What did you say?”

“Calm down, Elara,” he said as he stood up.

He started moving toward me, but I immediately raised my hand, stopping him before he could come any closer.

“Don’t.”

The word came out louder than I expected, filled with fear and disbelief I couldn’t hide.

He stopped, his eyes fixed on me. For the first time, I saw hesitation on his face, like even he understood that whatever happened next could change everything between us.

“Why my memories?” I asked, my voice shaking. “Why do you want to take them away from me?”

His jaw tightened.

“I don’t want you to remember Alessandro.”

The name alone made my chest ache. It carried too many memories, too much pain, and too many emotions I had tried so hard to bury.

“Maybe if I wipe your memories, you will forget that Alessandro ever existed.”

I stared at him, feeling like I was looking at a stranger instead of my own brother.

“No.”

My voice grew stronger, even though my heart was shaking.

“No, I won’t allow you.”

“Did Mia know about this?” I asked, searching his face for any sign that I was wrong.

Adrian looked away, avoiding my eyes.

A heavy silence settled between us, and somehow that silence gave me the answer before he even spoke.

“No.” My heart sank.

“This is between us,” he said. “I don’t want you to remember him. He has hurt this family too much.”

I shook my head, refusing to let him take away the one thing that still belonged to me.

“I won’t allow you, brother.”

My hands curled tightly at my sides as I fought to keep myself from breaking down.

“These are my memories. My life.”

I looked straight into his eyes, hoping he could see how much this was hurting me.

“If you wipe them away, do you really think my heart will forget him?”

For the first time, Adrian had no answer. He just stood there, silent, as if even he didn’t know how to fight against the truth in my words.

The room fell quiet, and the silence between us felt heavier than anything either of us could say.

“It’s for your own benefit, Elara,” he finally said. “After this, you won’t see him again. You won’t even know he exists.”

Before I could respond, a loud sound cut through the room.

Bang.

My entire body froze.

Another gunshot followed, sending a wave of panic through me.

Adrian and I immediately rushed toward the window, both of us trying to see what was happening outside.

My breath caught.

Outside, Mia and Costa were standing there, both holding guns.

The calm expression on Costa’s face made my blood run cold, but Mia was the one who truly shocked me.

I had never seen her like this before.

Her eyes were different cold, focused, and dangerous.

She didn’t look like my best friend.

She looked like someone who was ready to destroy anyone who stood in her way.

She looked like someone who was ready to kill her own uncle.