Chapter 70

Chapter 70

Sofia's POV

Gunfire ripped through the storm.

I dropped low, clutching Luca’s limp body tight against me as bullets sparked off stone. Diego fired wild down the slope, screaming curses, while Alessandro moved precise, every shot a soldier falling.

The third faction advanced from the ridge above, their leader calm in the chaos. His face still burned in my mind. Alive when he shouldn’t be.

“You can’t be here,” I whispered, my voice breaking.

He smiled coldly, stepping closer through the gunfire. “And yet here I am.”

Diego snarled, unleashing another burst. “Who the hell is this?”

“Later!” Alessandro barked, dragging me behind a boulder for cover. He pressed his hand against Luca’s chest, checking for breath. “Still alive. Barely.”

“We’ll keep him alive,” I said fiercely, though my arms shook. “We have to.”

The man above lifted his hand. Instantly, his soldiers stopped firing, holding formation. Rafael’s and Marco’s forces, caught mid-battle, hesitated, turning their guns toward the newcomers.

Even through the storm, the silence cut sharp.

The man’s voice carried. “Enough! This ends tonight.”

Rafael stepped forward, his coat torn from the fight, his gun still raised. “Who are you to order me?”

Marco laughed harshly, blood dripping from his shoulder. “Another fool crawling out of the grave.”

The man’s eyes flicked down at me, then at Luca pale in my arms. “I want her. No one else matters.”

“Over my dead body,” Diego snapped.

“That can be arranged,” the man said smoothly.

Rafael’s gun lifted higher. “She’s mine. You’ll bleed before you touch her.”

“Yours?” Marco spat. “She was always mine.”

The three leaders locked eyes, their armies tensing, guns steady.

Alessandro’s voice was a hiss in my ear. “They’ll slaughter each other to get to you.”

“Then what do we do?” I whispered, panic choking me.

“Survive,” he said simply.

The first shot cracked like thunder.

Chaos exploded again. Rafael’s men surged forward. Marco’s soldiers lunged from the side. The third faction opened fire from the ridge.

Diego shoved me down. “Stay low!”

Alessandro pulled Luca into his arms, dragging him into the shadow of the boulder. “Cover me!”

Diego fired over us, mowing down a wave of men. “Already on it!”

I crawled to Luca, pressing my hands against his wound, my voice breaking. “Don’t leave me. Please.”

His eyelids fluttered, a faint groan escaping. Relief sliced through me. “He’s still with us!”

“Then keep him there,” Alessandro barked.

The ridge shook with the battle. Men screamed, guns cracked, blades clashed in the storm. The air was thick with smoke and rain.

Through it all, the man’s voice rose again, calm, cutting through the chaos. “Sofia! Stop fighting. Come to me, and this ends.”

“Don’t listen!” Diego shouted.

“He’s lying,” Alessandro snapped.

But my heart pounded. That voice. That face. “He shouldn’t be alive,” I whispered.

“Then he’s not worth saving,” Alessandro growled, his gun snapping another man down.

The armies pressed closer. We were trapped in the center, their fight collapsing on top of us.

Alessandro glanced at Diego. “We can’t hold this ridge.”

“Then where?” Diego barked.

Alessandro’s eyes flicked down the slope. “The ravine. We move now.”

Diego’s jaw tightened. “Too steep.”

“Not steeper than death,” Alessandro said coldly.

Bullets shredded the ground inches from us. One ricocheted off stone, slicing my cheek.

I tightened my grip on Luca. “Whatever we do, we do it now!”

Alessandro locked eyes with Diego. “Cover me. I’ll carry him.”

“No!” I shouted. “He can’t take another fall.”

Alessandro’s voice was steady, iron. “If we stay, we die. If we move, he has a chance. Choose, Sofia.”

My throat closed. But there was no choice. “We move.”

Diego nodded once, rising into the storm with a roar, unleashing fire down the slope. “Then let’s clear a path!”

We stumbled down the ridge, Alessandro hauling Luca, me at his side. Diego fought like a beast, covering every angle, mowing down anyone who stepped close.

The ravine opened below—a black drop into roaring water.

“Not again,” I whispered, dread in my chest.

“We survive this, or none of it matters,” Alessandro said, his voice flat.

Rafael’s soldiers closed from one side. Marco’s from the other. And the third faction pressed from above, their leader stepping calmly through the blood.

His eyes locked on me, his voice cold. “Sofia. Don’t let them drag you down again. Choose me.”

“No!” I screamed back.

He raised his hand. His soldiers steadied their rifles.

Alessandro spun, gun raised, but he was outnumbered ten to one.

Diego dropped beside him, teeth bared. “We’re not dying here.”

“Then jump,” Alessandro snapped.

The ground trembled under another explosion. Bullets tore the dirt. The armies screamed, clashing all around.

And Alessandro shoved me hard—straight toward the ravine.

I screamed, clutching Luca as the world tilted, the black water rising fast.

Diego’s roar echoed behind. “SOFIA!”

The last thing I saw before we fell was the man’s face at the ridge, smiling cold.

The river hit like stone.

Pain shot through my body as we plunged under. My grip on Luca almost broke, but I held tighter, kicking hard, forcing us to the surface.

Alessandro surfaced beside me, gasping. Diego crashed through the water seconds later, roaring with fury.

“We’ve got seconds before they follow!” Alessandro barked.

“Then we make them choke on it!” Diego shouted, firing blindly upward from the water.

Bullets whined down, splashing close.

“Move!” Alessandro ordered, dragging us with the current.

We let the river take us, tumbling, spinning, choking, until at last we were spit out into calmer water downstream.

I dragged Luca onto the muddy bank, collapsing beside him, sobbing. “He’s not breathing—”

Alessandro dropped beside us, pressing against Luca’s chest, pumping hard. “Come on. Don’t you dare.”

Diego stood over us, firing at shadows moving through the trees. “We’re not safe here!”

Alessandro’s voice rose, sharp. “I said come on!” He pressed again, again—until at last Luca coughed weakly, water spilling from his mouth.

Relief broke me. I sobbed, clutching his face. “He’s alive. He’s alive.”

Diego spun, firing again. “Not for long if we don’t move!”

Alessandro nodded grimly. “Then we move. Now.”

But before we could rise, a shadow fell across us.

The man.

He stepped from the trees, dry, untouched by the river, his soldiers fanning out behind him.

His smile was slow, certain. “You can run forever, Sofia. But you’ll always end up in my hands.”

Alessandro raised his gun instantly. “Not tonight.”

The man’s soldiers cocked their rifles.

Diego bared his teeth, raising his own. “Come closer. I’ll put you back in the grave.”

The man only looked at me, ignoring them all. “You know this ends with you beside me. Stop fighting it.”

My arms tightened around Luca. “Never.”

His eyes darkened. “Then watch them all die for your answer.”

And with a single wave of his hand, his soldiers opened fire.