Chapter 62

Chapter 62
Sofia's POV

The suited man stood at the mouth of the cave, the floodwaters foaming at his boots. His face was sharp and cold, every line carved from stone. Dark hair slicked back, eyes as black as the sea.

And he was smiling.

“Finally,” he said, his voice carrying even over the roar of the water. “We meet properly.”

Luca stepped in front of me, gun raised though his hand trembled from exhaustion. “Stay back.”

The man tilted his head, amused. “You’ve always been quick to threaten, Luca. Just like your father.”

Diego’s jaw tightened. “Who the hell are you?”

The man’s smile deepened. “Ah, Diego. Always brash, always demanding. Do you even realize how alike we are?”

Alessandro spoke then, his voice calm but hard as steel. “Enough riddles. Name yourself.”

The suited man’s gaze shifted, locking on me. “She already knows.”

My chest caved. The truth hit me before the words left his lips.

“My name,” he said slowly, savoring it, “is Rafael Cruz.”

The cave tilted under me. “No,” I whispered. My legs went weak. “No, that’s—”

“My brother,” Rafael finished for me. “And your uncle.”

The world spun. “You’re lying!”

He laughed, low and bitter. “Am I? Look at me, Sofia. Look close. Do you see the blood in my face? Do you see your father’s eyes staring back?”

“No,” I gasped, shaking my head violently. “He’s dead. My father never mentioned—”

“Because he wanted to bury me,” Rafael cut in. “He wanted to bury what I became. But you can’t bury family. Not forever.”

The flood surged higher, soaking our waists now, the current dragging hard.

Luca snarled, gun steady. “You expect us to believe this story?”

“It isn’t a story,” Rafael said, his smile thin. “It’s history. Your Don ordered your father’s death, Sofia. But who carried it out? Who made sure the blade went deep? Me.”

My stomach lurched. “You—you killed him?”

His eyes glinted. “I ended him, yes. And now I’ve come for you. Blood for blood.”

“Over my dead body,” Luca spat.

“That can be arranged,” Rafael said smoothly, nodding to his men.

The rifles lifted again, barrels gleaming.

Alessandro stepped forward, calm even as the water climbed. “Why wait until now?”

Rafael’s eyes narrowed. “Because timing is everything. The girl was a child then. Now, she’s leverage.” His smile sharpened. “And a weapon.”

I shook my head, shivering. “I’m not your weapon.”

“Oh, but you are,” Rafael said softly. “Your very existence is enough to tear the Moretti family apart. You’ve already started.” His eyes flicked to Luca, then Alessandro. “Look at them—snarling over you, divided because of you. All I had to do was give a little push.”

Luca’s chest heaved, fury blazing. “You’ll never touch her again.”

“Then kill me,” Rafael challenged, spreading his arms. “Shoot me, right here, right now.”

Luca’s finger twitched on the trigger. My breath froze.

“Do it,” Rafael whispered. “But know this—if you kill me, you’ll never learn the truth about her father. Or about why I spared her that night.”

The words slammed into me. “Spared me?” I choked.

Rafael’s gaze burned into mine. “I was there, Sofia. When your father bled. I could have ended you too. But I didn’t. Because I knew one day, you’d be the blade I’d use against them.”

My knees buckled. The cave walls pressed close, the water climbing higher, soldiers surrounding us.

Luca growled, his gun shaking. “You’re finished.”

“No,” Rafael said calmly. “This is only beginning.”

With a snap of his fingers, more soldiers surged forward.

“Get her.”

Chaos erupted.

Gunfire cracked. The cave exploded with sound and light. The water churned as men charged, bullets sparking off the stone.

Luca grabbed me, dragging me behind a boulder. “Stay down!”

Diego ripped a rifle from one man, firing wild into the crowd. “Over here!” he shouted, pulling me toward him.

“No—this way!” Alessandro seized my other arm, shoving us down a narrow split in the cave. “It’s the only chance.”

“Don’t listen to him!” Luca roared.

The three of them pulled me in different directions again, even as bullets tore the air around us. My chest heaved, my mind screaming.

“STOP!” I cried. “You’ll get us all killed!”

Another blast shook the ground. The ceiling cracked, boulders crashing into the flood. A soldier screamed as he was crushed beneath the waves.

Rafael’s voice thundered through the chaos. “Choose, Sofia! Choose your side, or the sea takes you all!”

The water surged to my chest now, freezing and violent.

Luca’s eyes blazed into mine. “With me, you live!”

Diego shouted, desperation raw in his voice. “With me, you’re free!”

Alessandro’s grip was steady, commanding. “With me, this ends!”

The flood roared louder. The ceiling split again. The whole cave shuddered like it was about to collapse.

Rafael’s soldiers pressed closer, rifles gleaming through the spray. His own smile cut the darkness, cold and merciless.

And then—another explosion.

The back wall of the cave blew open. Light poured through the smoke. A second boat surged in, not Rafael’s this time. Smaller. Faster. Armed men in black stormed inside.

“Down!” Alessandro barked, shoving me to the floor.

Gunfire erupted in every direction, deafening and blinding. Soldiers dropped into the water, screams cutting short.

For a heartbeat, I thought we were saved.

Then I saw the symbol on the new men’s jackets. A crest. Not Moretti. Not Rafael.

A third family. Another enemy.

My breath shattered. “No—”

The new soldiers spread fast, guns trained on everyone—Rafael’s men, Luca, Diego, Alessandro, even me.

The leader shouted over the roar of the flood. “Nobody moves! The girl comes with us!”

Luca fired back instantly, dropping him before the last word left his lips. Chaos doubled.

Rafael cursed, his voice raw. “Kill them all!”

The cave dissolved into madness—three armies, one flood, guns blazing, water surging.

I scrambled against the rock, choking, desperate, caught in a nightmare with no escape.

Luca fought like a storm, Diego like a wolf, Alessandro like a machine. Rafael stood untouched, his eyes locked on me through the smoke.

And above the thunder of gunfire and water, I heard his voice one last time.

“You’re mine, Sofia. One way or another.”

The flood roared higher. The ceiling cracked again.

And then the world collapsed.

Stone crashed down. The flood surged. I screamed as the ground gave way beneath me.

And I was pulled under.