Page 45 of Silent Night With Luca

“She’s trying to turn you against me,” Luca says, his voice low and controlled. “She thinks she can still manipulate you.”

I stare at the message, my mind spinning. Arianna was just pretending to be my friend this whole time, and even now, she’s playing her part, trying to make me doubt Luca. She’s still trying to use me.

“What do we do?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper, as if saying it any louder will make this whole nightmare more real.

Luca’s jaw clenches, his mind already working, calculating. He looks at me, his dark eyes locking onto mine with fierce intensity. “We use her trust in you to lure her in. Do to her what she did to you.”

I blink, trying to absorb the weight of his words. “You want to set her up?”

He nods, his expression cold and unrelenting. “We set up a meeting. Make her think you’re still on her side. We’ll take her somewhere… discreet. Then we’ll get the truth out of her. She won’t see it coming.”

My stomach twists in knots. The idea of using Arianna’s own tactics against her is… brutal. But she betrayed me. She was never a friend. She played me like a fool, and she would have helped destroy my family.

I glance back down at the phone, my fingers trembling as they hover over the keyboard. “I don’t know if I can do this,” I admit, my voice cracking.

Luca places his hand over mine, steadying me. “You can. And you need to. This isn’t just about revenge. We need answers. We need to know how deep this goes. She’s athreat, Fiamma. She’s already shown she’ll do anything to bring us down.”

I nod, swallowing the lump in my throat. I type back a reply, trying to keep my words casual, like nothing’s wrong.

Yeah, things have been crazy. Luca’s acting really weird. Maybe we should meet up. I could use some space. Meet at Green Park in 30?

I send the message, my hands still shaking. Luca watches me closely, his face unreadable, but I can feel the tension radiating off him like a storm waiting to break. The silence between us is thick with unspoken fear and anticipation.

Moments later, my phone buzzes again.

Good idea. We’ll figure out what to do.

I look up at Luca. “She took the bait.”

He nods, his eyes narrowing. “Good. Now we take her somewhere she can’t run.”

I feel a knot of dread form in my stomach. “What if… what if she’s dangerous? What if she has people watching me?”

Luca’s hand tightens on my arm. “That’s why I’m not letting you out of my sight. We’ll take control of this. She won’t have a chance to slip away.”

The wind howls outside the windows, rattling the glass as if the world itself is warning us of what’s to come. The tension is thick in the air, and the festive lights twinkle innocently outside, a stark contrast to the darkness swirling inside.

We sit in silence for what feels like hours, though it’s only minutes. The weight of what’s about to happen presses down on me, the fear of what I’ll have to face. The person I thought was my friend… is my enemy, Our friendship was a lie.

Luca’s grip on me tightens just a fraction. “Are you ready for this?”

I nod, though I’m not sure if I’m ready at all. But there’s no turning back now. Arianna’s going to get what’s coming to her.

I take a deep breath, my heart racing, as we head out into the cold.

I pace around the park,my phone clutched tightly in my hand as I try to steady my breathing. Arianna should be here any minute, and I have to play this right—convincing enough to get her to come with me, but not too desperate.

The text Luca sent still echoes in my mind.

Get her to the car. We’ll take it from there.

I spot her the moment she turns the corner, her coat buttoned up tight and her scarf wrapped around her neck, looking like the carefree, harmless friend I once believed she was. My stomach turns at the sight of her, knowing now that it was all a lie. She waves, oblivious, and quickens her pace toward me.

“Fiamma! You’re alone?” she asks, glancing around as if Luca could appear from the shadows any moment.

I give her a quick, nervous smile. “Yeah, I managed to ditch him. He’s driving me crazy. I took his keys—I need to get out of here. Let’s find somewhere fun to go and blow some shit up. You and me.”

Her eyes widen, surprise flickering across her face. “You took his keys? Seriously?”

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