RICO
"You touched her."
His voice was quiet.
Deadly.
Final.
Ethan laughed weakly, gripping his bleeding arm.
"You still don't get it, do you?" he said. "This isn't just about her."
Rico didn't blink.
Gun steady.
Eyes locked.
Ethan smiled through the pain.
"Your father started this," he continued. "That alliance… that marriage… it wasn't protection."
A pause.
"It was control."
⸻
Bella's heart slammed.
⸻
Ethan's gaze flicked to her.
"Ask him," he whispered. "Ask your husband what really ties your families together."
⸻
Silence.
⸻
For the first time—
Rico didn't shoot.
⸻
A crack.
Small.
But dangerous.
⸻
Bella saw it.
Ethan saw it too.
⸻
And Ethan moved.
⸻
Fast.
Calculated.
Prepared.
⸻
His hand slammed against something behind him—
A hidden switch.
⸻
The lights exploded out.
Darkness swallowed the room instantly.
⸻
Gunshot.
⸻
But it hit metal.
Not flesh.
⸻
"MOVE!" Marco's voice shouted from outside.
⸻
Smoke flooded the room within seconds.
Thick.
Blinding.
⸻
Bella coughed, instinctively stepping back—
Only to collide with Rico.
⸻
His arm wrapped around her instantly, pulling her against him.
Protective.
Possessive.
Unyielding.
⸻
"Stay behind me," he ordered.
⸻
Another gunshot.
Then another.
⸻
But there was no target.
⸻
By the time the lights flickered back—
⸻
Ethan was gone.
⸻
Only blood remained.
A trail.
Deliberate.
⸻
Rico's jaw tightened.
⸻
"He planned this," Marco muttered, entering the room.
⸻
Rico didn't respond.
His eyes were on the blood trail.
Then—
on Bella.
⸻
Alive.
Standing.
Untouched.
⸻
His grip on her tightened slightly.
⸻
BELLA
"He told the truth, didn't he?"
⸻
The question slipped out before she could stop it.
⸻
Rico went still.
⸻
That silence again.
Heavy.
Confirming.
⸻
"You knew," she said, her voice quieter now—but sharper.
⸻
Rico stepped closer.
Slow.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
⸻
"Yes."
⸻
Her chest tightened.
⸻
"You let this happen?"
⸻
"No."
His voice cut through immediately.
"I prepared for it."
⸻
That wasn't better.
⸻
That was worse.
⸻
Bella took a small step back.
And for the first time—
Rico noticed it.
⸻
Something dark flickered in his eyes.
⸻
"You're stepping away from me," he said quietly.
⸻
"I'm thinking," she replied.
⸻
Another pause.
⸻
Then he moved.
Closing the distance again.
Erasing it.
⸻
His hand came up, gripping her chin—not harsh, but firm.
Intentional.
⸻
"You fought," he said.
⸻
Her breath caught slightly.
⸻
"I had to."
⸻
"I know."
⸻
His thumb brushed over the mark on her wrist.
His expression darkened.
⸻
"I liked it."
⸻
The words sent something sharp through her chest.
Confusing.
Dangerous.
⸻
"Don't," she said softly.
⸻
His eyes lifted to hers.
⸻
"Don't what?"
⸻
"Turn this into control."
⸻
A pause.
⸻
Then—
he leaned closer.
Voice dropping.
⸻
"It was always control."
⸻
Silence wrapped around them.
⸻
Behind them, Marco spoke:
"He's gone. Exit point cleared. He had backup."
⸻
Rico didn't look away from Bella.
⸻
But his voice when he spoke—
⸻
"Find him."
⸻
Cold.
Certain.
Unforgiving.
⸻
"Alive."
⸻
Marco hesitated for a second.
Then nodded.
"Understood."
Because if Rico wanted Ethan alive—
⸻
It wasn't mercy.
It was something far worse.
⸻
Bella stood there, her mind racing.
Ethan's words.
Rico's silence.
The truth between them.
"You were watching me too… back then, weren't you?" she asked quietly.
Rico didn't deny it.
"I always was."
Her breath hitched.
Not fear.
Not comfort.
Something in between.
Something dangerous.
Because now she understood
She hadn't just been pulled into his world.
⸻
She had always been in it.