Chapter 139: I’m terrified

"Oh, completely." Aria laughed. "You walked in looking like someone handed you the happiest day of your life."

Sienna groaned and hid behind her mug. "We... did some stuff."

"Some stuff?" She nodded quickly.

"But we didn’t have sex." Her eyes widened as though she were defending herself in court. "I swear. He was still injured." Aria stared for a second.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Hmm." She leaned back with a mischievous smile. "You look disappointed."

"I’m not!"

"Oh?"

"I’m..." Sienna stopped herself and sighed. "I’m not having this conversation with you." Aria burst into laughter. "You absolutely are disappointed."

"I’m absolutely not."

"Liar." Sienna pointed a finger at her.

"I’m not giving you any details about what happened between me and your uncle."

"Fine."

"You can ask him. If you ever see him." That made Aria’s smile falter.

The empty seat at the head of the table suddenly felt far more noticeable. Sienna glanced toward it. "I still don’t understand why he left without telling me."

"He probably didn’t want to wake you."

"He could’ve left a note."

"He isn’t exactly the note-writing type." A reluctant smile tugged at Sienna’s lips.

"No..."

"Definitely not." They both laughed softly. Sienna finally picked up a piece of toast before looking at Aria’s arm. The sling was still there. Bruises peeked out beneath the sleeve of her shirt.

"Enough about me." Sienna’s smile faded. "How’s your arm? Are you okay?" Aria blinked.

"Seriously?"

"What?"

"I should be asking you that." Sienna frowned.

"I got a scratch."

"A scratch?"

"Sienna." Aria shook her head. "You were kidnapped."

The word hung heavily between them.

"You had a gun pointed at you." Sienna looked down at her breakfast. "You were nearly taken out of the country."

Silence. "And if my uncle hadn’t arrived..." Aria couldn’t finish the sentence. Sienna’s fingers tightened around her coffee cup.

"I know." She swallowed. "It was horrible." The words came out quietly. "I honestly thought..." She stopped, staring into the dark surface of her coffee.

"I thought I was never going to see any of you again." Her throat tightened. "The plane was almost ready."

She could still hear the engines. Still smell the fuel. Still feel the cold metal digging into her wrists. "If Viktor hadn’t come when he did..." She slowly shook her head.

"I don’t think I’d be sitting here." Aria reached across the table and squeezed her hand.

"You have no idea what happened after you disappeared." Sienna looked up.

"My uncle lost his mind." There wasn’t even a hint of exaggeration in Aria’s voice. "He burned half the city down looking for you." Sienna blinked.

"What?"

"He tore through warehouses, ports, safe houses..." Aria exhaled slowly. "Every criminal organization within reach was dragged into it." Her voice dropped.

"The number of people who died..." She didn’t finish. She didn’t have to.

"I grew up hearing stories about Viktor Kessler." Sienna listened quietly.

"They called him a beast." Aria smiled sadly. "I thought those stories belonged to the past." She looked directly at Sienna.

"They weren’t."

"When you disappeared..."

"My uncle became that man again and even worse." A chill crawled across Sienna’s skin.

"He wasn’t sleeping."

"He wasn’t eating."

"He barely spoke."

"He just kept searching."

Sienna lowered her eyes. Her heart squeezed painfully. "He..." Her voice barely came out. "He really did all that?"

Aria laughed softly.

"Sienna."

"My uncle is completely gone when it comes to you." The words lingered. Sienna glanced around the dining room. Only now did she notice it.

More guards. Twice as many as yesterday. Every entrance watched. Every corridor occupied. Outside the windows, armed men patrolled the gardens.

All of this... Because of her. She looked back at Aria. "Fabio said something."

Aria’s expression immediately turned serious. "He said I looked like my mother." She nodded slowly.

"And then..." Sienna frowned, replaying the words. "He said I was a gold mine." Aria didn’t interrupt.

"He made it sound like someone would pay anything to have me." Silence settled over the table.

"Like your family?" Aria asked carefully. "Maybe."

Sienna wasn’t convinced. "Or..." She looked toward the window. "Someone who knows my family." The possibility sat heavily in the room. Neither of them spoke for several seconds.

"I need to find out what’s going on." Aria’s head snapped up. "Sienna."

"I mean it."

"No."

Sienna blinked.

"No?"

"You should let my uncle handle this."

"There are answers out there."

"There are bullets out there too."

Aria leaned forward, her voice low. "I’m terrified." The playfulness from earlier had completely disappeared. "This isn’t just another mafia family."

"They mentioned the Middle East." She shook her head. "We don’t even know who we’re dealing with."

"The people behind Fabio may be far more powerful than we realize." Sienna stared at her plate. Then she smiled. A small smile. The kind Aria recognized immediately.

"Oh no."

"What?"

"I know that look."

"What look?"

"The one that says you’ve already made up your mind." Sienna finally looked up.

"When have I ever stopped looking for answers?" Aria groaned.

"Never."

"Exactly." She had spent her entire life chasing ghosts. A mother with no face. A father with no name. A past stitched together from rumors and unanswered questions. Now, for the first time...

Someone had recognized her. Someone knew exactly who she was. She couldn’t walk away now. Not when she was finally standing at the edge of the truth. But beneath that determination, another thought quietly settled into her chest.

One she hadn’t dared say aloud. What if she found them? What if the family she’d spent her whole life dreaming about wasn’t waiting with open arms?

What if Viktor’s world, the blood, the violence, the endless cycle of revenge, was only the surface? What if the people she belonged to were darker? Older. More ruthless. The idea should have frightened her.

Instead... It left her wondering whether she would still recognize herself when all the answers finally came. The hours slipped by almost unnoticed.

Aria refused to let the silence win.