Chapter 1. The Incident Which Changed Everything

Tap, tap. 

Lorenzo lightly rapped on the desk with his pen. He looked up at the clock. 

9:52 pm. 

The candles in the manor had been lit long ago, the curtains drawn and dinner was served. Evening had long since turned to night. 

And yet, Floriana was nowhere to be seen. 

Lorenzo narrowed his hazel eyes as he watched the second hand tick away. 

‘That Floriana… What is she doing out so late?’

He ran a hand through his hair, sighing tiredly. As he gazed blankly into the office room, he thought about his sister. 

‘Probably fraternising with her girlfriends.’

His lips crinkled into a frown, his brows furrowing unconsciously. It hadn’t been that long since their father died, leaving the estate to him. Yet, Floriana was already back to her ways. Always socialising, partying, spending lavishly. 

Those friends of hers were no better. Floriana always hung out with them, spending more time out than inside the house. 

Then a thought occurred to him. 

‘Or… is she with a man?’

Finally, Lorenzo stood up. 

His steps echoed in the foyer as he fixed the cuffs of his shirt. 

“Bring me my coat. I’m going out.”

He called out to the butler standing by, who moved without delay. Lorenzo waited patiently. 

Floriana had said she was dining out in town. To be honest, when was she not? It was probably a popular restaurant, given her usual tastes. 

But she hadn’t mentioned a specific place. 

Lorenzo sighed irritably, thinking that he would have to go to the trouble of checking all the high-end restaurants just to find her. He had only hoped that she hadn’t caused any trouble while she was out. 

“Your coat, Your Lordship.”

His butler returned promptly and Lorenzo slipped an arm into a sleeve of the long coat. 

It was at that moment. 

Knock, knock, knock.  

The front doors of the manor echoed a small sound. Lorenzo nodded to his butler, who went to open the door. 

From behind, Lorenzo could see half of the person who had knocked. A young girl in a dress, but not quite a noblewoman. He tilted his head to get a better view. It was someone he recognised. 

Elodie, Floriana’s maid. 

‘Is she back?’

Despite the late hour, it would have been good timing - just before he was about to leave himself. 

But the look on Elodie’s face changed everything in an instant. 

A pale, tear-stricken, and injured face. 

The butler panicked, ushering Elodie inside, asking her what happened. 

Lorenzo, too, stepped closer. 

Why did Floriana’s maid look like that, and more importantly… Why did she return alone?

Sobs sounded in the foyer. 

“I’m sorry, Your Lordship…!”

Elodie’s cries were stuttering and hasty. With trembling hands, she produced a piece of paper from under her cloak.

Tattered, discoloured and scrawled with a most unrefined handwriting. 

Lorenzo took the page and read it. And his jaw tightened. 

We have your sister. Prepare a thousand gold and meet us alone in the alley behind Pellus Street before midnight. Alone and unarmed, or we kill your sister at the first toll of midnight. That maid of hers should suffice as evidence. A thousand gold. Don’t be late. 

Crumple. 

The page almost ripped in his grip. 

Elodie staggered forward and almost fell to the floor, had the butler not supported her. 

“Miss Floriana…! You have to help her…”

She cried. 

Lorenzo’s gaze darkened. 

His sister had gone and been kidnapped, held hostage. And the ones holding her were demanding no less than a thousand gold. 

“Your Lordship…! What will we do?”

His butler, still calming the unnerved Elodie, asked him with an alarmed expression. 

Lorenzo opened his mouth. 

“Prepare a thousand gold.”

***

In a damp, unlit alleyway, silence filled the air like fog. 

Lorenzo stepped off the carriage at the mouth of Pellus street. It was almost 11pm now. The street was quiet, unpopulated. Still, he wore a long cloak that covered his entire figure, and a low hood that almost covered all of his face.

He walked the rest of the way, to the alley described in the letter. Dark, filthy and cold. 

In the shadows, figures moved. The moonlight revealed their presence faintly. They wore masks and rugged clothes, typical of petty criminals. 

“Identify yourself.”

A muffled voice with an accent came from the man standing at the front. Lorenzo eyed him up and down. He was a lean man, small enough that Lorenzo could beat him down in seconds. 

But he had a weapon sheathed at his waist and likely more elsewhere. And behind him, three or four others were about the same. 

Amongst them, a young woman in a tattered, maroon dress on her knees with a dusty sack over her head. 

Lorenzo’s eyes twitched at the dim sight. 

It was undoubtedly Floriana. 

How that proud and headstrong woman managed to get kidnapped was beyond him. 

Regardless, if she hadn’t been there, he could have taken them all on in this small alley. 

“A thousand gold. I’ve brought it.”

Lorenzo slowly produced a pouch from his cloak. It was a heavy, thick skinned pouch, high-pitched clinking sounding from within. 

The criminal smiled, a crazed ecstasy in his eyes. He threw out his palm. 

“Hah, great. Now give it—”

“Not so fast.”

Lorenzo held onto the pouch, drawing back slightly. 

“Release the woman.”

The faces of the criminals darkened as they frowned. But Lorenzo’s gaze remained cold and unwavering. 

The man at the front nodded with his chin to someone behind him. 

“Get up.”

A gruff man grabbed Floriana’s arm and yanked her up. Then he pushed her in the direction of Lorenzo. 

Lorenzo watched as Floriana stumbled towards him. She looked like someone who had just learned to walk. Her balance was probably thrown off because her hands were tied behind her back, and the sack obscured her vision. 

She had made it halfway to him, leaving the criminals behind her. Just as he was about to call out to her, Floriana tripped and crashed backwards with a grunt. 

“…!”

Behind her, someone’s boot was stepping on the hem of her dress. A hand slid up and revealed her neck under the sack, and pointed a musty blade towards her. Lorenzo’s eyes narrowed sharply. 

“Not so fast. Meet us halfway. Hand over the gold first, and we’ll let her go.”

The scumbag demanded. 

Lorenzo frowned, wanting to make a face of disgust. These criminals were grating on his nerves. 

With an antagonising slow step, he walked forward until he was in arms reach of Floriana. Then he threw the pouch at the criminal with his hand out. 

Jingle!

The coins in the heavy pouch made a noise as they landed in the man’s hand. 

“Hey. Count it all.”

He ordered his fellow thugs, his blade still pointed to Floriana’s neck. If Lorenzo had just gotten her out of there, he could have dealt with them. 

One minute, two minutes, three minutes… 

It wasn’t until six minutes later that the filthy criminals had finished counting all the coins, split up between them. At least when it came to counting coins, their heads seemed rather capable of arithmetics. 

Only when the numbers added up to a thousand exactly, did the leader lift his foot. 

“Alright. Thank you for your service.”

He kicked Floriana, urging Lorenzo to rush to her. In that second, the lowly scum fled the alley. 

“Tsk.”

Lorenzo tore his gaze away from the now empty alley, and looked down at his sister. She collapsed on the floor, her large, billowing dress an obstacle to standing with her hands tied up. 

Lorenzo thought he should remove the sack off her head first. 

‘Not a single word of insult or complaint.’

He had expected a rather pronounced reaction. The audacity of those vermin to even touch her, let alone kidnap her and hold her hostage. She wouldn’t have let it slide, not with her prideful character. 

Of course, he didn’t even expect any gratitude. 

He reached out for the dank sack over her head, and she recoiled harshly. 

“Sister. It’s me.” 

Only then did Floriana stop moving. 

Slip. He pulled the sack off. 

Floriana’s eyes and mouth were both covered with a black cloth. She was blindfolded and gagged. The remainder of her face was unthinkably rough and dirty. 

Her breathing was stifled and staggering. Lorenzo reached behind her head and undid the gag. As soon as it was done, Floriana gasped deeply, coughing and gagging. 

Lorenzo pulled the blindfold off too, revealing her chocolate brown eyes. In the dim moonlight, they sparkled. She blinked profusely, looking at Lorenzo. Then tears overflowed, rolling down her already-streaked face. 

Stifled cries filled the silence of the alley. 

Floriana leaned forward, closer to Lorenzo. He took the chance to reach behind her and undo the binds on her wrists. It was more difficult than the knot of the gag or the blindfold. 

For a few seconds, he tugged and twisted the ropes that bound her arms. Only Floriana’s sobs could be heard. 

Roll, roll. The ropes fell loose and Floriana’s arms dropped limply. Trembling, she reached out and threw her arms around Lorenzo’s neck. Her cold skin pressed against his nape and face as she hugged him. Her body shook with every sob. 

And Lorenzo… wrapped his arms around his sister tightly.