Chapter 29

Chapter 29
Chapter 29

Raelyn’s POV

The note quivered in my hands, my fingers sweaty as if the paper was on fire. The words blurred in my vision, but the meaning cut through me with chilling clarity.

You can’t hide forever, Raelyn. Not from me.

The handwriting was jagged, furious strokes as if the writer had carved the letters into the page. It felt both unfamiliar and deeply personal. It wasn’t a threat to Rafael or his empire, but to me.

It felt like a knife pressed against my throat.

Rafael seized the note from my grip before I could react, his eyes scanning the words. His face darkened, his jaw clenched tight, and a shadow passed over him, just like the night he shot Rossi without a moment’s thought.

“Who the hell left this?” His voice was rough and menacing. The note crumpled in his fist.

Sofia lingered in the doorway, her face pale and her hands twisting her apron. She looked more like a guilty child than the sharp, unwavering woman I had known since I arrived here.

“One of the guards found it,” she stammered. “Pinned to a tree, right where the shooter must’ve been. They’re searching the grounds now, but…” She hesitated, her gaze darting to me before returning to Rafael. “Rafael, this is bad.”

“No kidding,” he snapped, raking a hand through his hair. His pacing was sharp and restless, like a caged animal about to break free.

My heart raced as if it would drown out everything else. Who was this? The scarred man from the ambush? Someone working with Dante? Or worse—someone I hadn’t seen yet. Someone who knew my name and wanted to scare me.

Rafael stopped abruptly, his gaze locking onto mine. He closed the distance between us in three strides, pulling me tight against him. His grip was firm, almost bruising, but I held on like it was my lifeline.

“No one’s getting near you,” he growled into my hair. “I’ll kill them first. Every last one.”

His promise should have made me pull away, but it didn’t. Not this time. His violence wasn’t aimed at me. It was like a shield—rough and fierce, but still a shield. I nestled against his chest, listening to his wild, uneven heartbeat.

“I’m scared, Rafael,” I whispered, my voice muffled by his shirt. “I don’t know who’s doing this or why.”

His hand lifted my chin, forcing me to meet the fire in his eyes. “You don’t need to know. That’s my job. Your job is to stay with me. To trust me.”

Then he kissed me not the desperate way he had last night, but softly. It felt like a promise pressed against my lips, steady and consuming. I melted into him, grabbing his shirt as if I could hold myself there forever.

When he pulled back, our foreheads touched, and his breath was rough. I saw something flicker in his gaze guilt, perhaps, or fear of losing me again.

“I care for you, Raelyn,” he said, his voice raw. The words sounded strange coming from him, like he didn’t say them often. “I don’t say it enough, but I do. And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”

My breath caught. My heart swelled and ached at once. The words escaped before I could think twice. “ Me too”

But that moment shattered with a voice booming up the stairs.

“Rafael!”

Lorenzo boomed, his voice carried a sense of urgency.

“Get down here—now!”

Rafael stiffened, his mouth pressing into a flat line. The lover disappeared, replaced by the soldier. His hand instinctively dropped to the gun at his waistband as he tugged me toward the door.

“Stay close,” he ordered, his tone leaving no room for argument.

We rushed down the stairs, Sofia trailing silently behind us like a ghost. In the foyer, Lorenzo waited, his shirt speckled with dark stains, his jaw set like stone. In his hand, a knife gleamed, its blade slick with drying blood.

“Found this in the guardhouse,” he said flatly, holding it up. “One of our men is dead someone slit his throat. This was next to him.”

My stomach knotted as I gripped Rafael’s arm, bile rising in my throat.

“The shooter?” My voice cracked on the word.

Lorenzo’s expression stayed unchanged. “No. This wasn’t the shooter. This was someone who was already inside.”

Rafael’s eyes narrowed, his hand tightening where it held my hip. “A traitor.” The word dripped with venom.

The room spun around me. A traitor inside. Dante’s voice echoed in my mind “Be careful who you trust.” His secretive phone call...His shifty eyes. My pulse stumbled.

I should tell Rafael. I should share everything. But fear clawed at me. What if I was wrong? What if Dante wasn’t the traitor? What if speaking out ruined the fragile trust I had here?

Doubt poisoned my thoughts but I chose to remain quite.

Rafael barked out orders, shattering the silence. His men stormed the villa, locking doors, securing windows, and searching every corridor. His voice sliced through the air, ruthless and relentless as the guards obeyed his orders.

But the walls felt like they were closing in to me.

The villa turned into a fortress guards patrolled outside, guns shining in the moonlight. Every window was locked, every door was locked too yet I felt more unsafe than ever.

Rafael lay beside me in the dark, his one arm around me, his gun within reach on the nightstand. His breathing was steady but too calm.

A lie.

He wasn’t sleeping and neither was I.

I still remembered the note in my mind, its jagged letters kept me restless trying to think what is going to happen.

You can’t hide forever, Raelyn.

I shifted slightly, staring at the ceiling. “Rafael,” I whispered.

He turned his head, eyes catching the moonlight, glinting with anger and uneasiness. “What?”

My throat tightened. “What if it’s someone close to you?”

He stayed silent for a moment then his mouth twisted in a cruel smile. “Then they’re already dead.”

His voice was cold and unwavering like he had meant everything he said. I shivered, unsure if that reassured me or terrified me.

He pulled me closer, his lips brushing my forehead. “Sleep,” he murmured. But neither of us closed our eyes.

A faint sound broke the silence. It was a scrape that was barely audible.

Every nerve in my body went tense.

I sat up slowly, my heart pounding against my ribs. The room was in shadows, the curtains were shaking softly. My gaze fixed on the glass, breath caught in my throat.

“Rafael,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “Someone’s out there.”