CHAPTER 118: THE HOUSE THAT REMEMBERS

Luca

The helicopter blades churned the early morning fog into a white storm. Guards rushed across the landing pad, arms raised to shield their faces as the wind whipped against them. Luca did not slow his steps. He held Aria tightly against him, her body tucked beneath his coat to shield her from the cold.

Nico walked at Luca’s side, barking orders into the radio.

"Perimeter secure. Southwest patrol ready. All weapons loaded. Backup team following by convoy."

The doctor trailed behind with two armed escorts, keeping a close grip on the portable monitor strapped over his shoulder.

Aria clung to Luca, her cheek pressed against his chest. She did not speak, but he felt the tension in her trembling muscles. He pulled her closer.

"I am here," he whispered over the roar of the blades.

She nodded weakly, her fingers gripping the collar of his coat.

As they neared the helicopter, the fog thickened again. Not natural fog. A heavy, humming presence hidden inside it. Luca felt every hair on the back of his neck rise.

He stopped abruptly.

Nico turned. "Boss."

Luca scanned the air, his eyes narrowing. "He is watching."

Nico swallowed. "From where?"

The fog drifted to the right, swallowing the edge of the roof. Luca stared into it. He could not see anything, but he felt the pull. A presence deep and old and hateful.

Aria’s hands trembled against his chest.

"Do not let go," she whispered.

"I never will."

He lifted her into the helicopter, settling her gently into the seat. Rosetta climbed in behind her, gripping Aria’s arms to help steady her.

The doctor entered next, snapping sensors into place.

Nico jumped into the front cabin. The pilot shouted through the headset, "We need clearance. Visibility is low."

"Lift us anyway," Luca ordered. "Now."

The pilot did not argue.

The helicopter rose, groaning under the weight of the fog pressing against it. Aria reached for Luca’s hand the moment he sat beside her. Their fingers intertwined.

The estate shrank beneath them.

And the fog thickened again, as if trying to hold onto the aircraft.

Aria’s breath hitched.

"Luca," she whispered. "He does not want us to leave."

Luca gripped her hand harder. "Let him try to stop us."

But the moment he said it, the helicopter shuddered.

Rosetta clutched the seat. "What was that?"

The pilot wrestled with the controls. "Wind shift. This fog is unstable. I cannot see the valley."

The doctor looked up, pale. "We should land. It is not safe."

"No," Luca said. "We keep moving."

Another jolt hit the aircraft, shaking the cabin.

Aria bit her lip to keep from gasping. Something inside her twisted again.

The child kicked. Hard.

Luca felt her grip tighten. "Aria."

Her eyes lifted to his.

And he saw it.

A flash of gold.

Her pupils glowed for a split second, glowing with the same light he had seen in the visions she described.

Then the glow faded.

Aria shuddered violently.

"I felt him," she whispered. "In the fog. He is trying to confuse us."

Luca turned sharply to the pilot.

"Switch us to manual. Ignore the sensors. Follow the coastline."

"Yes, sir."

The helicopter banked left, engines whining. Aria leaned into Luca as another cold wave washed over the cabin. Rosetta wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and pressed her forehead vigorously against Aria’s shoulder.

"You breathe," Rosetta whispered. "You stay with me."

Luca cupped Aria’s cheek gently. "Look at me."

Her eyes lifted again.

He kissed her forehead softly.

"You stay awake. Do you hear me? No matter what you see."

Aria nodded, though her breath trembled.

The helicopter finally broke through the fog.

The coastline appeared beneath them. Jagged, rocky cliffs. Endless stretches of cold water. White spray crashing against stone.

Relief hit the cabin like sunlight.

Luca exhaled.

Nico turned from the cockpit. "Fifteen minutes. The estate is inland."

Rosetta leaned in closer to Aria. "We are almost there."

But Aria did not answer.

She stared out the window, her breath fogging the glass. Her voice was barely a whisper.

"It remembers me."

Rosetta stiffened. "What does?"

Aria’s gaze stayed fixed on the cliffs. "The land. The house. All of it. It is waiting."

Luca turned to her slowly. "Aria. How do you know?"

Aria lifted a trembling hand and pressed it against her stomach. "Because she knows."

The baby kicked again.

Not in fear.

In recognition.

Luca felt a chill ripple down his spine.

The doctor checked Aria’s vitals and swallowed. "Heart rate rising again. Pressure spiking. Something is destabilizing her system."

Aria inhaled sharply.

A pressure started behind her eyes.

The humming presence.

Luca grabbed her shoulders. "Aria. Stay with me."

She blinked quickly. "I... I am trying."

Another vision slammed into her.

The Morrelli estate.

Lit by torches hundreds of years ago.

A stone circle on the ground.

The same symbol was burned in the earth.

A woman chanting.

A baby in her arms.

A man watching from the shadows.

The same whispering voice that haunted Aria’s dreams.

Aria’s hands flew to her temples. "Stop."

Luca held her tighter. "Aria. Open your eyes."

"I cannot," she gasped. "He is inside my head."

Rosetta grabbed her hand. "Fight it. Do not let him in."

The helicopter turned sharply toward a valley between the cliffs.

Aria opened her eyes.

And screamed.

Luca’s heart stopped.

"What?" he shouted.

Aria pointed ahead with a shaking finger.

"There."

The helicopter banked left.

And out of the mist, the Morrelli estate appeared.

Ancient stone walls.

Tall, arched windows.

Broken statues.

Vines crawling over every surface.

The house looked as though it had been waiting centuries for someone to return.

Luca stared at it.

Cold washed through him.

"This is it," Nico said quietly. "The old Morrelli manor."

The pilot hovered over the courtyard.

Aria’s pulse spiked violently.

Rosetta squeezed her arm. "Aria. Breathe."

But Aria stared at the house with wide, terrified eyes.

Her voice cracked.

"I have been here before."

Luca leaned closer. "When."

Aria shook her head violently. "Not me."

She pressed a trembling hand to her belly.

"Her."

The helicopter touched down.

The moment the blades slowed, Luca lifted Aria into his arms. Rosetta followed. Nico and three guards jumped out, weapons drawn. The doctor carried the medical kit.

Luca stepped onto the rocky courtyard.

And the house groaned.

As if exhaling after centuries of silence.

Aria clutched Luca’s coat, her voice trembling.

"This place remembers our blood."

Luca turned to Nico. "Secure the perimeter."

Nico nodded and motioned the guards forward.

Rosetta touched Aria’s shoulder gently. "We are here with you."

Aria nodded weakly.

Luca stepped forward.

The house loomed above them.

Tall.

Silent.

Watching.

He felt it.

A weight.

A pull.

A presence pressing against the air like a heartbeat beneath stone.

Aria felt it too.

She whispered softly.

"He was here."

Luca froze. "Who?"

"The Patron."

Another wave of pressure slammed into her chest. She gasped and doubled over in Luca’s arms.

Rosetta panicked. "She is losing strength."

The doctor rushed forward. "We need to get her inside."

Aria reached out, her fingers brushing Luca’s cheek.

Her voice cracked.

"The house remembers me. And it remembers him."

Luca swallowed hard.

"Then we go inside."

He carried her toward the massive wooden doors.

The moment he stepped over the threshold...

A voice whispered through the walls.

Welcome home.

Aria collapsed in Luca’s arms.

Her eyes rolled back.

And the entire house trembled.