The rain splashed harder as the dark-suited figure stepped into the hallway, letting the water drip off his long coat. His face was still in shadow, but the aura around him was all too clear: cold, practiced, deadly.
Lila swallowed hard. Her hands were shaking. She stood right behind Damian, feeling her heart pounding so hard it almost hurt.
The figure stopped three meters from them.
Damian stood tall, his body leaning slightly forward, like a lion ready to pounce at any moment. His breathing was steady, but Lila knew… this was not a man to be easily swayed.
This is a man ready to kill.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Damian said, his voice low and controlled.
Too calm for a situation that should trigger panic.
The man in the suit gave a short, mocking laugh.
“I’ve been ordered.”
Damian's jaw tightened. "Drakov has no right to send anyone into my territory."
“Your territory?” the man grinned faintly. “But you crossed the line first, Valtieri.”
His gaze shifted to Lila.
Lila immediately took half a step back.
“Ah,” he said softly. “So this is the girl.”
Damian immediately shifted, covering Lila's body completely. "Don't call her that."
“Oh?” the man inclined his head. “You usually don’t care about anyone but yourself.”
"Shut up."
Damian's tone turned dark, biting.
The man hissed softly. “Director Nero wants the girl. Quickly. He said… ‘anyone who gets in the way, get rid of him.’”
Lila felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
Himself?
Nero… wants her?
But why?
He didn't know who Nero Drakov was. He'd never even seen his face. But from what people called him, he knew one thing:
If Nero wants something, he will stop at nothing until he gets it.
Damian took a step forward, placing himself between the man and Lila.
The sound of the rain grew louder, almost drowning out Damian's whispered threats.
“You will touch it… over my dead body.”
The man snorted. “If you knew the consequences, you wouldn’t have said that.”
Damian didn't blink. "I know all the consequences."
They stared at each other, two predators from two worlds who hated each other.
Suddenly, the man reached into his long coat.
Lila held her breath.
Damian reflexively pulled him back.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
The man took out a thin black envelope.
“Director Nero said… ‘this isn’t a threat. It’s a reminder.’”
He threw the envelope at Damian's feet.
Damian didn't look down, but the tension in his body was obvious.
“Valtieri,” he said again, “we are on two wrong sides of the same war. Don’t make this more complicated.”
The man slowly backed away without turning around, as if he was absolutely certain Damian wouldn't attack from behind. And indeed, Damian simply stood there, his fists clenched.
Only when the man finally disappeared into the rain did Damian move.
He kicked the envelope. The black paper creaked silently.
Lila looked at him.
“W-what is that?”
Damian didn't answer.
He bent down, picking up the envelope with two fingers as if it were poisonous. He opened it slowly. Inside was a single photograph. Damian looked at it. His face immediately changed.
Lila had never seen that expression on him before, not anger… but sorrow.
The grief that is buried deep.
“What is that?” Lila asked again, more quietly.
Damian didn't give it right away.
He just stared at the photo for a long time, his jaw locked, his breath short and heavy like someone who had just been struck by a bad memory.
Finally, he handed the photo to her.
Lila took it slowly.
As soon as he saw it his breath caught.
It's a photo of a young woman.
Beautiful, dark hair, warm brown eyes…
Her face is soft, her smile is sweet.
And…
She looks so much like Lila. Almost like a twin.
On the back of the photo there is a small inscription in red ink:
“She died because of you.
Don’t let history repeat itself.”
Lila bit her lip, choking. “He… who is he?”
Damian closed his eyes for a moment.
When he answered, his voice was almost a whisper.
“He… was someone I should never have let die.”
Long silence.
Lila felt her throat dry. “So… Nero killed him?”
Damian shook his head slowly. “Not directly. But he caused it.”
“And I… look like him.”
“It’s not just a resemblance, Lila,” Damian replied. “You look like his shadow.”
Lila looked down at the photo.
Something squeezed his chest.
But then another thought came to mind.
“So that’s why you approached me?” her voice cracked. “Because I look like him?”
Damian opened his eyes, and for the first time, Lila saw something she never thought possible in a man like Damian Valtieri. Guilt.
“No,” he said quietly. “I came closer because you were… too stubborn to let die.”
"But..."
Damian cut in. “Lila, listen to me.”
He came a little closer.
Then get closer.
Until the distance between them was only a few fingers.
Rain dripped from Damian's hair onto Lila's cheeks.
“This isn’t a game. This isn’t a coincidence. Nero won’t stop. He wants you because you look like that woman. And because someone told him you were digging into this case.”
“So Nero considers me a threat?”
"More than that."
Damian grabbed Lila's chin, lifting it gently but firmly.
“Nero thinks you are… bait.”
Bait.
Lila felt the world spinning.
“I… I don't understand…”
“He wanted to bait me.”
Damian said slowly but clearly.
“By using you.”
The rain was falling harder and harder.
Lila stood frozen, trying to organize her chaotic thoughts.
“Then…” he whispered.
“What do you want from me, Damian?”
Damian stared at him for a long time.
Very long.
It was as if he was weighing whether to ruin Lila's life or save it.
Finally he said:
“I want you to choose.”
“Choose?” Lila repeated.
"Yes." Damian moved closer until their foreheads were almost touching.
“You have to choose a side, Lila.”
“There are two options.”
Pause.
One second that felt like an eternity.
"First..."
Damian stared at him, his voice turning low.
“You’re leaving London. Tonight. I’ll make sure you’re safe. I’ll cut off all connections. You can live a normal life. Without me.”
Lila held her breath.
“And the second one?”
Damian moved closer.
His breath was warm on Lila's face.
“You stay here.”
“Stay in this war.”
“Stay close to me.”
He stroked Lila's cheek with his thumb.
“But if you choose this, you can't go back. This world will never let you go.”
Lila felt her chest beating so hard that it hurt.
“If I… stay close to you…”
Lila's voice broke.
"What happened?"
Damian looked at him with the most honest and dangerous look he had ever given.
“If you stay… then I will never let you go.”
Silence.
Rain.
Heartbeat.
Everything happened at once.
Lila bit her lower lip. “Damian…”
He wants to answer.
But before he could, the sound of fast footsteps was heard from down the street.
Scream.
Rushed conversation.
So...
“There she is! Grab the girl!”
Lila turned around.
Four armed men ran towards them.
Damian cursed softly.
“They move fast…”
He grabbed Lila's hand.
"Run!"
"What? Where?"
“Lila, run now!” Damian pulled her with such force that Lila flinched.
The men got closer.
“VALTIERI! HAND OVER THE GIRL!”
Damian pulled Lila into another narrow alley, past an old iron door, kicking it shut.
“Damian...”
“There’s no turning back,” Damian stared at him, his breathing heavy.
“Now my choice… becomes your decision.”
He held Lila's face with both of his hands.
“You stay close to me…”
Shots were heard from outside.
“…then starting tonight, you are mine.”