Laurel P.O.V
Abigail burst into the house like the walls were already closing in.
The door slammed behind her, hard enough to shake dust from the ceiling. The Caporegime straightened instantly,his hand drifting toward his gun out of reflex, while I flinched on the narrow mattress, pain flaring up my leg again.
"We're not moving" Abigail said, breath tight, eyes sharp. "Not tonight. Not tomorrow morning either"
The Caporegime frowned. "Why?"
"They're patrolling the perimeter" She replied. "Dock workers. Fishermen. Men pretending to be nothing. Anyone who steps out gets noticed"
My chest tightened.
"So we're trapped" I whispered.
Abigail's gaze flicked to me. "No. We're hidden. There's a difference"
The Caporegime didn't look convinced. He glanced at the door, then at the boarded-up window. "One day" He muttered. "That's all this place can buy us"
"One day is everything" Abigail said flatly.
Silence settled, thick and suffocating. Somewhere far off, I could still hear faint echoes of chaos from the port—sirens, engines, the distant crack of something I didn't want to name. Each sound felt like a countdown I couldn't see.
Then Abigail's phone rang.
The sound sliced through the room.
She froze.
I knew before she answered. I felt it in my bones, the way fear crawled up my spine and wrapped itself around my throat.
She looked at the screen.
ALPHA.
The Caporegime swore under his breath.
Abigail answered with her voice steady in a way that terrified me more than panic ever could. "Don"
The voice on the other end wasn't loud. It didn't need to be. It came through the speaker like cold metal dragged slowly across skin.
"Mi stai deludendo, Consigliere"
(TRANSLATION: You are disappointing me, Consigliere)
My heart started racing.
"She was nearly executed at the port" Alpha continued. "And yet she's still breathing"
Abigail didn't speak.
"I gave you a simple task" Alpha said. "Bring her to me. Dead. Or alive. You chose to follow Richardo's orders"
My hands curled into my shirt. Why was it always me? Why did my existence feel like a crime punishable by death?
"I'm containing the situation" Abigail replied carefully.
A pause came. Long and heavy.
"By hiding her?" Alpha asked softly. "By protecting her?"
"No" Abigail said. "By controlling her"
The Caporegime shot her a sharp look.
Alpha laughed. A sound with no humor in it. "Do not insult me with strategy, Abigail. I taught you better than that"
I swallowed hard, my throat burning.
"You have until sundown" Alpha went on. "Bring her to me…or bring me proof that she's dead"
Abigail's jaw tightened.
"And if I don't?" She asked.
The answer came without hesitation.
"Then I will carve your replacement before the sun disappears"
My breath hitched. I clamped a hand over my mouth, afraid even breathing too loudly would get us all killed.
"E ancora una cosa" Alpha added, almost gently. "Se scegli lei invece dell'ordine...farò guardare Richardo"
(TRANSLATION: And one more thing)
(TRANSLATION: If you choose her over the order…I will make Richardo watch)
The call ended.
Abigail stared at the phone for a full second before lowering it.
No one spoke.
The house felt smaller. The walls seemed closer. Like the air itself was listening.
I shook my head slowly, tears burning behind my eyes. "Why is it always me?" My voice cracked despite my effort to stay quiet. "I didn't choose this life. I didn't choose any of you"
Abigail finally looked at me.
For the first time, I saw something slip through her armor, not softness, not pity, but strain.
"You're alive" She said. "That's why"
"That doesn't feel like a reason" I whispered.
The Caporegime moved toward the door. "If Alpha is serious, they'll tighten the net. This house won't stay invisible forever"
Abigail nodded. "Which means we don't just hide"
My pulse spiked. "What does that mean?"
She met my eyes.
"It means we survive until sundown," She said. "Or we don't survive at all"
Outside, footsteps crunched over gravel.
Slow. Deliberate.
Too close.
Abigail lifted her finger to her lips.
And in that moment, as the shadows crept toward the windows and my injured leg throbbed in time with my heartbeat, I realized something terrifying—
This wasn't an escape anymore.
It was a hunt.
And I was still the prize.
_________
Sundown didn't fall.
It closed in.
The light outside the hidden house thinned slowly like a dying pulse, bleeding orange into rust, rust into something bruised and sickly. Shadows stretched and twisted along the cracked walls which looked like a mouth ready to swallow us whole, turning the room into a cage that breathed with us. My injured leg burned beneath the rough bandage, every throb reminding me that even if the door opened, running would still be a lie.
Abigail stood by the narrow window,her back to me, still as stone and half-hidden by the curtain, watching the world as if daring it to blink first.
Her phone rang.
The sound cut through the room like a blade dragged across bone.
She didn't flinch. Didn't curse. She simply looked at the screen, and for the first time since I met her, something like tension cracked through her composure.
"Richardo" She answered.
I held my breath.
His voice came through sharp and low, stripped of its usual control.
"Abigail, listen to me carefully. You have to get out of the country now"
Her jaw tightened. "That bad?"
"The Don are moving fast" Richardo said. "Alpha has sent men to look for your replacement tonight"
The word landed hard.
Replacement?
I felt cold crawl up my spine. Even I knew what that meant. In their world, replacements didn't relieve you of duty, they erase you,anyone who fails.
Abigail exhaled slowly, like someone bracing for impact. "So it's official"
"Yes" Richardo snapped. "And he's not hesitating this time. You don't have the luxury of pride or loyalty right now"
She leaned her forehead briefly against the wall. "You always told me loyalty was everything"
"And I was right" He shot back. "That's why you're still alive. That's why I'm still standing. But Alpha doesn't see loyalty anymore,he sees risk"
There was a pause. Then Abigail said quietly, "I'm ready for my replacement"
"No" Richardo yelled. "Non sei pronto a morire. Non dirmelo"
(TRANSLATION: You're not ready to die. Don't say that to me)
I swallowed hard.
"You have limited time" He continued, his voice lowering. "You leave the country tonight. I'll find a way to calm the Don. I always do"
"And if you don't?" She asked.
Another pause came. Longer this time.
"Allora brucerò ogni ponte che porta a lui" Richardo said. "Ma non gli permetterò di prenderti"
(TRANSLATION: Then I'll burn every bridge that leads to him)
(TRANSLATION: I won't let him take you)
Abigail's fingers tightened around the phone.
There was a brief silence. Then Abigail asked the question that made my heart pound harder than the gunfire earlier.
"What about Laurel?"
My name felt like a curse.
"She goes with you" Richardo replied immediately. "I already booked the earliest flight to Zimbabwe. It's quiet. No usual routes. No attention"
My chest tightened.
Running again.
Always running.
Never allowed to stay long enough to breathe.
"If Alpha fulfills my replacement" Abigail said lightly. "I want a coffin made of gold"
"Non scherzare" Richardo barked at the top of his voice. "Non permetterò che ciò accada. Mi hai sentito? Non hai il diritto di morire"
(TRANSLATION: Don't joke)
(TRANSLATION: I won't let that happen. Do you hear me? You have no right to die)
Her voice softened just a fraction.
"Stai rischiando troppo per noi"
(TRANSLATION: You're risking too much for us)
"Pensi che non lo sappia?" He shot back. "Ho rischiato tutto da quando hai iniziato a mettere in discussione gli ordini di Alpha"
(TRANSLATION: You think I don't know that?)
(TRANSLATION: I've been risking everything since the moment you started questioning Alpha's orders)
"And Laurel?" Abigail pressed. "She's the reason this exploded"
"She's also the reason Alpha is watching me" Richardo said darkly. "Il che significa che è ancora viva. Per ora"
(TRANSLATION: Which means she stays alive. For now)
"For now" Abigail echoed.
"Get to the shore" Richardo said firmly. "A boat is waiting. After that, you disappear. Both of you"
"And if Alpha comes for me personally?" She asked.
"Then he answers to me" Richardo growled. "And he won't like it"
The call ended.
The silence afterwards was suffocating.
The Caporegime stepped forward from the shadows. "Don't worry about this country," He said quietly. "I'll handle the men here. You should leave"
Abigail nodded once. Final. Unarguable.
She turned to me.
Her gaze was sharp but deliberate like she was carving something into my memory. She pulled a small pocket knife from inside her coat and pressed it into my palm.
"You need to learn how to survive alone" She said. "I might not last long"
My fingers trembled around the knife. It felt heavier than it should have. Like a promise. Or a warning.
"I can't kill" I whispered.
She met my eyes and replied. "That's not a choice you must avoid anymore"
My hands were tied moments later, rough rope biting into my wrists. I hid the knife in my hair like she taught me, my heart hammering so loudly I was sure it would give us away.
"Follow me. No questions" She ordered.
We moved fast.
Out of the hidden house. Through narrow paths between rusted metals and abandoned crates. The alley smelled like salt, oil, and old violence. Every sound felt too loud. Every shadow felt alive.
The shore appeared ahead, dark water lapping softly like it knew our names.
The Caporegime followed until Abigail stopped abruptly. She turned, raised her gun and aimed it squarely at his chest.
"Stay" She said.
He frowned. "You shouldn't go alone"
"I should" She replied. "I want to be caught alone, not with you"
"I work for the Underboss too" He said. "Your failure is Richardo's failure. I don't want his fall"
"That's exactly why you're staying" She snapped. "If I fall, I fall alone"
"I won't let you go without me,I must guide you till you get to the port"
"Stay" She repeated, her voice became scarier. "That's an order"
Then she turned to me. "Get in the boat"
I obeyed without thinking.
The fisherman started the engine at her command. The boat pulled away slowly, water churning softly beneath us. Abigail didn't lower her gun until the shore was a distant smear of darkness.
Only then did she sit down inside the boat, her face locked in something unreadable.
I wanted to speak. To ask if this would finally end. If she would survive. If I would.
But the look on her face stopped every word before it formed.
So I stayed quiet.
The wind stung my skin as the boat moved forward. I stared at the black water and wondered when my life stopped belonging to me, when my problems would finally let go of me, if they ever would.
I hoped this would be the last time I ran from death.
I hoped Abigail wouldn't die because of me.
And as the engine hummed, I remembered how this all began—how easy life used to be. The luxury. The laughter. Me and my girls, wrapped in silk, luxury and confidence.
We thought we were clever.
We thought we were safe.
But we were wrong.
As the shore disappeared completely behind us, one truth settled deep in my bones—
In the mafia's world, no one escapes clean.
They only run…until death decides it's done waiting.