Chapter 130 Fiorella
The air reeked of gasoline and steel. The smell that always made me think of war, now made me think of justice.
I stood beside Leo in the dimly lit room we’d turned into a temporary command base. Maps, blueprints, and screens filled the table between us. My fingers brushed over the red marks we’d made on the photo of Phillipe’s estate. Every circle represented a weak point. Every weak point meant a message.
"Are you certain of this?" Leo spoke softly but firmly. His shoulder remained wrapped, the memory of their last encounter still fresh. Still, he stood as a soldier at attention, ready for his command.
I gazed up at him, my own image clear in his dark eyes. "He attempted to burn me alive, Leo. He had men come into my house, into my life. It's no longer about revenge, it's a reaction."
He exhaled slowly, tilting his head. "Then what's the plan?"
I pointed to the middle of the blueprint. "There. His compound. We blow up the east wing. He keeps his accounts there, and his security department. That's where he would hurt. If we strike him there, we don't just destroy property, we break his authority."
Leo's lips curled into something between admiration and astonishment. "You've changed, Fiorella."
I smiled faintly. "No, Leo. I've merely stopped pretending to be a woman who waits for mercy."
He did not argue. He did not need to. We both understood that mercy had been extinguished the day Phillipe tried to kill me.
⸻
By midnight, everything was in motion.
Leo's guys had already planted the explosives earlier that day. The estate was securely guarded, but money and fear worked pretty well as diversions. I'd made the final decision on the detonator, of course. I wanted Phillipe to realize I was there even before the fire hit him.
Rocco had insisted that I stay at the mansion, but he had sense enough to leave things be when I set my mind on something. He just kissed my forehead and grumbled, "Don't let the darkness consume you, Fiorella."
But he should have known,it already had.
Now, in the quiet of Leo's car a few miles out from Phillipe's compound, the tension coiled around us like smoke. I could glimpse the shimmer of the grand villa, white marble, fountains, that made it perfect.
Leo adjusted his earpiece. "We're clear on all sides."
"Good." I took the detonator out of his hands. It was smaller than I'd thought. Dainty. "East wing for east wing," I whispered.
I pressed the button.
For one fleeting moment, nothing happened.
Then
A blinding flash.
A boom like thunder splitting the ground.
Flames burst from the east side of the estate, exploding upward in gold and red. The blast caught up to us seconds later, an explosion that rattled the ground.
Leo craned his head toward me, his smile sharp and feral. "Direct hit."
I didn't grin. My chest swelled and fell, the flames dancing in my eyes. "That's only the start."
We waited long enough to see the destruction unfold, guards fleeing, sirens screaming, the estate burning like a fallen empire. Then we left. No words, no victory. Only the quiet contentment that Phillipe had received the first phase of my revenge.”
⸻
A few hours later, I received a call on my phone. The ring was audible in the silence of my room.
Rocco slept alongside me, his arm loose around my waist, his breathing slow and peaceful. I slid quietly out of bed and went to the balcony before answering.
The caller was anonymous.
"Fiorella," a voice snarled through the phone, one I knew. Phillipe. I could even hear the rage seeping out of each word into the static. "You think you can touch me? You think this counts?”
I leaned my back against the railing, the moonlight caressing my skin. "It's already changed everything, Phillipe. You're not the unbeatable god you believe you are."
"You've made a mistake," he sneered. "You hurt my son—"
"Oh, Armand ?" I interrupted silkily. "Yes, I heard. A shame about his leg. But at least you and Victor escaped with nothing worse than bruises." It was really a shame though, I wish it was Victor and Phillipe that were brutally hurt but at least Victor’s arms got burnt from what I hear.
"You'll regret this." His breathing turned harsh, almost feral. "You can't defeat me. You'll lose all that you love."
I smiled, soft and cold. "You might want to buckle up, Phillipe. The ride's about to get started."
And I hung up.
⸻
The night wind rushed through my hair as I sat there, the city lights shimmering in the distance. Behind me, I could sense Rocco stir, his warmth returning as he woke.
He wrapped his arms around me from behind, planting a slow kiss on the curve of my neck. "Couldn't sleep?"
"Received a call," I whispered.
He frowned but did not ask who. He knew better than to make inquiries when I had that kind of tone. Instead, he turned me back around in his arms, his thumb tracing my jaw. "You shouldn't be dealing with this alone."
"I don't." I leaned my hand on his chest, the heavy thud of his heart beneath my hand. "I have you."
He kissed me then, slowly, then harder, more furiously, his hand tracing the curve at the small of my back. Heat seared between us, hot, but it was not lust. It was relief. Possession. Fear dissolving into passion.
When finally he retreated, his forehead against mine. "Promise me you will be careful."
"I'll promise when he leaves," I whispered.
He let out a frustrated breath, knowing it was as close as he'd get to agreement. "Just be careful Fiorella."
"I will," I answered with a weak, exhausted smile.
He smiled softly and kissed me again, longer this time, his lips tasting of warmth and worry. There was no war, no fire, for a moment, there was just us, together in something fragile and real.
And then my phone buzzed again.
I glared, moving out of his arms to take it. No number this time, just a string of blocked digits and a single message on the screen.
"Nice fireworks, Fiorella. You're making enemies faster than you can dig holes. – N."
My heart stopped.
Who the hell is it this time?
Rocco saw the look on my face. "What is it?"
I didn't answer. I just passed it to him.
His face dropped as he read the note, his jaw clenching. "Who the fuck is 'N'?"
I looked out into the night, the smoldering remains of Phillipe's estate still burning miles away.
"I don't know," I gasped. "But whoever they are… they've been watching."
Another text.
"Don't worry. I'll introduce myself soon."