POV: Emilia

I woke up feeling like my body had been weighed down by stones. My skin felt clammy, my head a little too heavy, but the worst of the fever seemed to have passed. Blinking against the soft morning light filtering through the curtains, I slowly pushed myself up, wincing as my arm ached in protest.

The voices outside my door were low, quiet enough that they probably thought I was still asleep.

"She's doing better," Matteo was saying. "The fever's going down, but she's still weak. We should keep her inside another day or two, just to be safe."

"Maybe," Luca's voice countered, "but she needs to get out at some point. If we wait too long, she's going to be even more scared of stepping outside."

"She already is scared," Nico muttered. "You saw how she was with the infection. She won't tell us when something's wrong, and if we push too hard, she'll just shut down again."

"So, we don't push," Raffaele said, his voice lighter than the rest. "We just... suggest. Ease her into it. Let her think it's her choice."

A pause. Then Matteo sighed. "I don't like the idea of overwhelming her."

"We don't have to take her far," Luca said. "Just something small. She needs to see that the world outside this house isn't dangerous. That she's safe with us."

There was another stretch of silence before Matteo finally spoke again. "Fine. But we keep it short."

My stomach twisted.

They wanted to take me outside.

My fingers curled into the blanket, gripping it tightly. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. The idea of leaving the house—of being in an open space, of being seen—made my chest tighten.

But a part of me, a very, very small part, whispered that maybe... maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

The door opened a few seconds later, and Matteo stepped in first, his face immediately softening when he saw I was awake. "Morning, dolcezza. How are you feeling?"

I hesitated, shifting under the blanket. "Okay," I said, though my voice was hoarse.

Matteo gave me a look that said he didn't quite believe me, but he let it slide.

Luca leaned against the doorway, arms crossed. "We were thinking about getting some fresh air today." His voice was casual, like it wasn't a big deal, but I could feel the weight of the suggestion in the way they all watched me.

I swallowed, my pulse quickening. "Outside?"

"Not far," Raffaele said quickly, stepping forward. "Just a short drive. There's a quiet spot outside the city—trees, fresh air, no people."

No people. That made it a little less terrifying.

Still, I hesitated.

Nico, who had been silent, finally spoke up. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

I looked at him, then at the others. They were all watching me, waiting—not pressuring, just waiting.

I shifted under their gazes, chewing the inside of my cheek. My instinct was to say no. To hide in the house where it was safe, where I knew what to expect.

But if I stayed inside forever, would I ever really feel safe?

I swallowed hard. "Okay," I said before I could talk myself out of it. "I'll go."

Matteo blinked, surprised, but then he smiled. "Good, stellina. We'll keep it easy."

I nodded, gripping the blanket tighter as my heart pounded.

Easy.

I could do easy.

Right?

I wasn't sure if I regretted saying yes yet.

The idea of going outside had felt manageable when we were just talking about it, but now that I was actually getting ready, my stomach twisted with anxiety.

Matteo had helped me change into something comfortable—soft leggings and another one of Raffaele's oversized hoodies, the fabric swallowing me whole. I felt small in it, but it was warm, and right now, I needed that.

When I finally made my way downstairs, they were all waiting.

Luca had the keys in hand, Matteo was watching me carefully, and Raffaele grinned like this was the best idea in the world. Nico, on the other hand, was leaning against the counter, arms crossed, his expression unreadable.

"We'll take the SUV," Luca said, jingling the keys lightly. "Tinted windows, plenty of space. No one will even see you."

That helped. A little.

Matteo must have noticed the way I hesitated near the bottom of the stairs because he stepped forward, offering his hand. "We can change our minds, dolcezza. You just say the word."

I swallowed, glancing at the front door. The weight of my brothers' stares pressed down on me, but it wasn't bad. They weren't waiting for me to fail. They were waiting for me to decide.

I inhaled slowly and forced my feet to move. "No," I murmured. "I can go."

Matteo didn't push me to take his hand, just nodded and walked beside me as we headed toward the door.

The second Luca opened it, the rush of fresh air made me freeze.

It smelled... different. Crisp, clean. The sky stretched wide and endless above me, and for a moment, I felt so small I couldn't breathe.

I must have stiffened because suddenly, Raffaele was next to me, his voice light but careful. "Hey, topolina, look at that. The world didn't explode."

I blinked at him, my fingers curling into the sleeves of my hoodie.

He grinned, nudging my arm just slightly. "Come on, piccola, we don't bite."

"You don't," Nico muttered from behind us.

Raffaele snorted. "Okay, fair, but I am fun, so let's go."

Matteo shot him a look, but whatever irritation he had was softened by the fact that—somehow—it worked. The tiny flicker of panic didn't fade completely, but I forced my feet forward, one hesitant step at a time.

Luca had already opened the car door, and I climbed in quickly, curling into the corner of the seat as the others filed in.

The doors shut with a solid click, and suddenly I was in an enclosed space with all of them.

I swallowed hard, my fingers tightening into the fabric of my hoodie.

"Alright," Luca said, glancing at me in the rearview mirror. "Last chance to back out."

I hesitated. I really, really wanted to say no.

But I didn't.

Instead, I shook my head. "I want to try."

Matteo smiled. "Brava, stellina."

Luca put the car into drive, and we pulled away from the house.

I didn't know where we were going.

But for the first time in a long time, I wasn't running away.

The hum of the car engine filled the silence as we drove, the steady rhythm of the tires against the pavement doing little to calm the knot of nerves twisting in my stomach.

I kept my eyes on my lap, focusing on the fabric of my sleeves where my fingers had curled into them. The car felt too big and too small at the same time—spacious enough that I wasn't trapped, but not enough to shake the suffocating awareness that I was outside the house.

Outside the only place I'd known for weeks.

The brothers talked in quiet voices around me. I could feel their eyes flicking toward me every so often, watching, assessing. They weren't being obvious about it, but I knew they were gauging my reaction.

"We're almost there," Luca said after a while, his voice steady, controlled. "No people, no stress. Just us."

I nodded, though I wasn't sure how much of that was actually reassuring.

I still didn't know exactly where there was.

Matteo must have sensed my hesitation because he turned in his seat, his tone as gentle as ever. "It's just a quiet spot outside the city, dolcezza. Trees, fresh air. You don't even have to get out of the car if you don't want to."

That made my chest loosen slightly.

"Okay," I murmured, gripping the sleeves of my hoodie tighter.

Raffaele, from beside me, shot me a lopsided grin. "And if it's awful, we'll just turn around. Easy."

I didn't say anything, but I nodded.

The car slowed as we turned onto a narrower road, trees lining both sides. The air felt different here—quieter, heavier. The scent of pine and earth drifted in through the vents, mixing with the faintest hint of something else.

Something metallic.

I stiffened.

Matteo's head snapped toward me immediately, his eyes sharp. "Emilia?"

I swallowed, trying to pinpoint what was wrong. Nothing looked dangerous. The road was empty. The trees swayed gently in the wind. But something felt off.

Luca must have felt it too because his fingers tightened on the wheel, his posture shifting. "Something's wrong."

"Yeah," Nico muttered, his voice low. "Smell that?"

"Blood," Luca confirmed, his tone turning cold.

The air in the car changed instantly.

The easy-going conversation from earlier was gone. The brothers were alert now, their movements sharp and efficient.

I shrank into my seat, my heart pounding.

Raffaele's usual smile disappeared. "Luca?"

"We're turning around," Luca said, his voice like steel.

Matteo twisted in his seat, his eyes scanning the trees. "Stay close," he murmured to me. "Don't move."

I nodded quickly, my throat too tight to speak.

The SUV slowed as Luca reversed, but before we could fully turn back onto the main road—

A figure stumbled out from the trees.

A man. Bloodied, limping. One hand clutching his side. His face was pale, twisted in pain as he collapsed onto the road in front of us.

I sucked in a sharp breath, my nails digging into my sleeves.

"Shit," Raffaele muttered.

"Stay in the car," Luca ordered, his tone absolute as he put it in park.

Matteo was already unbuckling his seatbelt, his instincts as a doctor overriding everything else. "He's still breathing," he muttered. "I need to—"

"Wait," Nico interrupted, his voice dark. "This could be a trap."

The words sent a new kind of fear curling in my stomach.

A trap.

Suddenly, the trees felt too still. The silence too heavy.

"Matteo, get back in the car," Luca ordered. His hand was already on his gun. "Now."

I barely registered what was happening before Raffaele was shifting in front of me, his posture tense, protective.

Matteo hesitated for only a second before stepping back into the vehicle, his jaw tight. "If he's bleeding out—"

"Then it's not our problem," Nico said, his voice hard. "Not until we know if we're walking into something."

Luca exhaled sharply, his eyes scanning the trees. Then, after a moment, his decision was made.

"Raff, take Emilia back."

"What?" My head snapped up, my breath hitching.

"You're taking her home," Luca said firmly. "Now."

"But—"

"No," Luca's voice was final. "Now."

I felt Raffaele shift beside me, his hand resting lightly on my arm, but my mind was spinning too fast.

I knew they were dangerous. I knew they did things I wouldn't understand. But hearing it—seeing it—was something else entirely.

Raffaele sighed, running a hand through his hair before turning to me. His usual lightheartedness was gone. "Come on, topolina. Let's get you out of here."

I hesitated, my fingers curling tighter into the sleeves of my hoodie. "Are they going to be okay?"

Matteo's expression softened slightly. "We'll be fine, stellina. We just need to check this out."

I swallowed hard and nodded.

Raffaele reached over, buckling my seatbelt for me before moving into the driver's seat.

As we pulled away, my stomach twisted. I cast one last glance at Luca, Matteo, and Nico through the mirror, watching as they stepped out of the SUV, their movements sharp and methodical.

I didn't know what was about to happen.

And, for the first time since I'd been here, I wasn't sure I wanted to know.