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Short filmTranscript
00:00The cat is staring at me again, like I'm the one who broke out of prison and not the other way around.
00:06Don't look at me like that, Gucci.
00:08I mumble, wiping cat fur off my thrift store jeans.
00:12I'm just the temporary human.
00:14Your actual owner is, uh, wherever he is, Gucci blinks bored.
00:18She's a perfect, fluffy white Persian with a diamond-studded collar that probably costs more than my entire life.
00:23When my neighbor got arrested eight months ago, animal control wanted to take her.
00:28But I stepped up.
00:29I didn't even like cats.
00:31Still don't, honestly.
00:32But I couldn't watch her end up in a cage.
00:35Now, she lives like a queen while I'm dodging eviction notices and surviving off iced coffee and granola bars.
00:42Congratulations, I say, pointing at her empty food bowl.
00:46You've officially eaten better than I have all week.
00:49The summer sun hits the glass windows of the condo building across the street, and I squint.
00:55Downtown Phoenix is scorching, alive, and just a little bit unhinged, like me.
00:59My name's Ava Marlowe, and I'm twenty-eight, jobless again, and apparently raising the pet of a criminal.
01:06Correction.
01:07Alleged criminal.
01:09No one ever said the word mafia, but the whispers around the building weren't exactly subtle.
01:14Money laundering.
01:16Luxury cars.
01:18Women who showed up in silence and left with diamonds.
01:21I thought it was all urban legend until the day I saw his mugshot on TV.
01:25Vincent Moretti.
01:26Even his name sounded like a threat wrapped in silk.
01:30He'd been gone eight months.
01:32Long enough for me to forget his voice, but not his smile.
01:36That smile had been the reason I used to wave from my balcony every time he'd drive up in one of his cars.
01:42Pretending I wasn't curious about the man who always wore black shirts and looked like he owned the sun.
01:47But that was before the FBI came.
01:50Before they took him away.
01:52Before I promised myself I'd never get mixed up in anyone's mess again.
01:56I reach for Gucci's food.
01:58Muttering.
01:59Your daddy's probably eating lobster in prison.
02:02And here I am pouring you organic salmon pâté.
02:05That's when I hear it.
02:07A low, familiar voice behind me.
02:10Smooth.
02:11Controlled.
02:12American with that faint Italian lilt you can't fake.
02:16Actually, sweetheart, they don't serve lobster in prison.
02:19I freeze.
02:20Every hair on my body stands up.
02:22Slowly, I turn around.
02:25And there he is.
02:26Standing in my sunlit kitchen like he never left.
02:29Vincent Moretti.
02:31Black dress shirt.
02:32Sleeves rolled.
02:33Collar open just enough to reveal a glint of gold chain against tanned skin.
02:37His eyes.
02:39Gray-blue and cold as polished steel.
02:41Lock on mine with that same unreadable intensity I remember.
02:45He looks unreal.
02:47Broader.
02:48Sharper.
02:50Too calm for a man who just walked out of prison.
02:53What-what are you doing here?
02:55I stammer, grabbing the nearest weapon.
02:57Gucci's squeaky mouse toy.
02:59Not intimidating, but it's something.
03:02He looks around, amused.
03:04Feeding my cat, apparently.
03:06I blink.
03:07Your cat?
03:07Excuse me, I've been feeding your cat for eight months while you were...
03:11Unjustly detained, he cuts in, one eyebrow raised.
03:15In prison, I finish.
03:16You're welcome, by the way.
03:18He takes a slow step closer, sunlight tracing the edge of his jaw.
03:23You didn't have to.
03:25Yeah, well, I'm a sucker for helpless animals.
03:28Then why do I get the feeling you're not talking about the cat?
03:31I roll my eyes.
03:33Oh my god, you're still insufferable.
03:36He chuckles, low and quiet.
03:38You remember me.
03:40Hard to forget a neighbor who had Ferraris parked like they were lawn chairs.
03:45Vincent leans against the counter, studying me with the casual authority of a man who's
03:50used to people not talking back.
03:52You changed your hair.
03:53I lost a bet.
03:55It suits you.
03:56I cross my arms.
03:58Stop that.
03:59Stop what?
04:00The charm thing.
04:01Whatever this is.
04:02Conversation.
04:04Manipulation.
04:05His smile fades just enough for me to see something real flicker in his expression.
04:10Regret?
04:11Weariness?
04:11I can't tell.
04:13Then Gucci meows from the counter, jumping toward him.
04:15He catches her mid-air, effortlessly.
04:18One arm cradling her like a pro.
04:20She purrs, melting into him.
04:22Of course she does.
04:23She missed me, he says softly.
04:26Petting her fur.
04:27She also ate my favorite slippers.
04:29But sure, let's call it love.
04:31Vincent looks at me again.
04:33But there's a gravity now.
04:35A quiet pull that pins me in place.
04:37You could have let her go.
04:38You didn't.
04:39I'm not heartless.
04:41No, he says, his voice dropping lower, rougher.
04:45You're not.
04:46There's a long pause.
04:47The kind that makes every heartbeat sound too loud.
04:50Then, without warning, he reaches into his pocket and tosses a set of car keys onto the
04:55counter.
04:55They land with a sharp jingle.
04:57What's this?
04:58I ask.
04:59Payment.
05:00I don't need a new car?
05:01He interrupts.
05:03Trust me, you do.
05:04I glance toward the window.
05:06Parked outside my peeling apartment building is a gleaming white Rolls-Royce Cullinan.
05:10It looks like it doesn't even belong on this planet.
05:13Vincent.
05:13That's insane.
05:15He shrugs.
05:15You took care of my family.
05:18Your cat.
05:19She's the only thing I trust.
05:21He says simply.
05:22That makes you family too.
05:24My laugh comes out sharp.
05:26You have got to be kidding me.
05:28I'm not.
05:29But before I can finish, there's a crash from the hallway.
05:32A shout.
05:33Two men.
05:34Big.
05:35Built.
05:35Wearing cheap suits and worse attitudes burst into the doorway.
05:40Vincent's body moves before my brain can catch up.
05:43He sets the cat down, steps between me and the door, and his whole presence shifts from
05:48calm to lethal in one breath.
05:51Gentlemen, he says smoothly, you're standing in my kitchen.
05:57One of them sneers.
05:59Moretti.
06:00Didn't take long, huh?
06:01You walk out of prison and already breaking probation?
06:04Vincent doesn't blink.
06:06You got five seconds to leave.
06:07The taller one smirks.
06:09Or what?
06:10I swear I don't even see him move.
06:12One second he's standing there, and the next.
06:14The guy's disarmed and pinned against the wall, face first, while the other one trips
06:18backward trying to draw a gun that never clears his waistband.
06:22Vincent's tone stays eerily calm.
06:25Three seconds.
06:26They're gone by the time he reaches two.
06:29I stand frozen, staring at the open doorway.
06:33The echo of slammed footsteps fading into the Arizona heat.
06:37My hands are shaking.
06:38What the hell was that?
06:40He turns to me, voice low but steady.
06:43That was a reminder that I'm not out of danger yet.
06:46And me?
06:46His eyes soften just slightly, scanning my face.
06:50Now you're not either, I swallow.
06:53Fantastic.
06:54Love that for me.
06:55Vincent sighs, rubbing a hand down his jaw.
06:58I didn't want you involved, Ava, but you already are.
07:01Because of your cat?
07:03Because you're the only person who didn't want something from me.
07:07That sentence hits harder than it should.
07:10He looks around my tiny, sun-drenched apartment one more time.
07:13Then says the words that will ruin whatever piece I thought I had left.
07:17Pack a bag.
07:18You're coming with me.
07:19I blink.
07:20Excuse me?
07:21I won't ask twice.
07:23Oh, I'm sure you won't.
07:25But I'm not.
07:26He steps closer until I can smell his cologne.
07:29Something dark.
07:30Expensive.
07:31Too smooth for daylight.
07:33His voice drops, low enough to make my pulse race.
07:36You took care of what's mine, Ava.
07:40That makes you mine now.
07:42And just like that, every part of my quiet, broke, cat-sitting life shatters in the heat
07:48of a phoenix afternoon, because the man I thought I'd never see again just came home.
07:54And he's calling me that word like it's both a promise and a sentence.
07:58Home.
07:59I don't pack a bag.
08:04I throw three t-shirts, my toothbrush, and a granola bar into a tote like some defiant
08:08toddler going on a field trip.
08:11Vincent, of course, doesn't comment.
08:14He just stands by the door with his sleeves rolled up, that black shirt fitting him like
08:18sin and authority stitched together.
08:21The sunlight from the balcony hits his cufflinks.
08:23Gold.
08:24Gold, engraved with some insignia that probably means power, legacy, or I own half the coastline.
08:31When I finally turn to face him, I blurt out the obvious.
08:36You can't just kidnap people in broad daylight.
08:39He tilts his head, calm as ever.
08:41Then it's a good thing you're coming willingly.
08:44Not even close.
08:45You fed my cat.
08:47I fed your cat.
08:48Not your ego.
08:50He smirks, faint and dangerous.
08:53Close enough.
08:55The Rolls-Royce feels like stepping into another planet.
08:58Air conditioning.
08:59Cream leather.
09:00And silence that costs more than rent.
09:03I sit stiffly, arms crossed, while he drives like he owns every lane.
09:08Where exactly are we going?
09:09I ask.
09:10My place.
09:11You mean the penthouse they raided on national TV?
09:14He glances at me.
09:16That one's...
09:17Under renovation.
09:18So where, then?
09:19He doesn't answer.
09:20Just pulls onto a long, private driveway outside the city.
09:24All palm trees.
09:25White gravel.
09:26And a mansion so glassy it looks like it was built by billionaires for a reality show.
09:31You live here?
09:32I own it.
09:33Of course he does.
09:34When he steps out, I notice something strange.
09:39Guards everywhere.
09:40But not in black suits or with earpieces.
09:43They look like landscapers, drivers, gardeners.
09:46The illusion of normal life.
09:48Vincent notices me noticing.
09:50Visibility's bad for business.
09:52You'll get used to that.
09:53Get used to that?
09:54Like I'm staying?
09:55He opens the door for me, sunlight bouncing off his watch.
09:59Like you're safe here.
10:01Inside, the mansion is all white marble and quiet wealth.
10:05Art that's probably insured for millions.
10:07The smell of lemon polish and espresso.
10:10Gucci trots in like she's been waiting for this moment her whole life.
10:14Vincent follows her with an expression I don't expect.
10:17Relief.
10:18Eight months.
10:19He says quietly, kneeling to pet her.
10:22You kept her alive.
10:24I told you.
10:26I reply, trying to sound casual.
10:28I'm good with helpless animals.
10:30His gaze flicks up.
10:32Still not sure who you mean when you say that.
10:35I roll my eyes, but my cheeks burn.
10:37Can we not do the whole smoldery mafia banter thing right now?
10:41I just want to go home.
10:42He straightens.
10:44Walks toward the window and says it like a statement of fact.
10:47You are home.
10:48I last exactly six hours before I start pacing.
10:52There's a pool outside.
10:54Bright turquoise under the Arizona sun.
10:57And I'm staring at it like it holds all the answers.
11:00Somewhere between the espresso machine and my fifth eye roll.
11:04I realize the absurdity of my life.
11:06Unemployed cat sitter now possibly held hostage by an ex-con billionaire.
11:11Vincent walks in wearing sunglasses and a crisp white blazer over that same black shirt.
11:17It shouldn't be legal to look that expensive.
11:19You're restless, he observes.
11:22You're observant.
11:24I had meetings all morning.
11:27Let me guess.
11:28The unjustly detained kind of meetings.
11:30He actually smiles.
11:32Something like that.
11:33So.
11:34What exactly do you do now?
11:35Legit business or still laundering your guilt through real estate?
11:38His laugh is short and genuine.
11:40You've got guts.
11:42I've got questions.
11:44He steps closer, removes his glasses, and leans against the counter.
11:49You really want the truth?
11:50Always.
11:52I built something people wanted to destroy, he says.
11:55Family businesses don't die easy.
11:59You take a fall, someone else fills the seat.
12:01The moment I got out, I found out one of my lieutenants took over my operation.
12:05And he's not sending you a welcome back card, I'm guessing?
12:08He shakes his head.
12:10No, he's sending men to my door.
12:12My breath catches.
12:14Like the ones who showed up at my apartment?
12:16Exactly like them.
12:17So I'm in the middle of some mafia turf war?
12:21Not by choice.
12:23Well, that's comforting.
12:25Vincent looks at me for a long moment.
12:27I didn't bring you here to scare you, Ava.
12:29I brought you here because I don't trust anyone else.
12:32That's a terrible security strategy.
12:36Maybe.
12:37But it's honest.
12:39His tone softens.
12:41And for the first time I hear exhaustion.
12:43Not arrogance.
12:45Eight months in a cell teaches you who matters.
12:47Who forgets you?
12:48Who feeds your cat?
12:50Yeah, well...
12:52I mumble.
12:53I'm great with pets and bad decisions.
12:56He grins.
12:57You keep saying that like I should believe you.
13:00Over the next few days, something shifts.
13:03He lets me roam the house.
13:05There's a chef who insists on feeding me five-star meals I can't pronounce.
13:09A sunlit library that smells like money and secrets.
13:12And Vincent.
13:13He's everywhere and nowhere.
13:14Always in meetings.
13:16Always composed.
13:16But when we do talk, it's real.
13:20He tells me about the island he owns off the coast of California.
13:23How he built it to get away from noise.
13:26He tells me prison was quiet.
13:28But not the kind of quiet that gives peace.
13:31I tell him about my string of failed jobs.
13:34How I used to dream of being a photographer.
13:37How the world always felt too big and too fast for someone like me.
13:40One afternoon, I catch him by the pool, shirt unbuttoned halfway.
13:45Phone pressed to his ear, voice sharp as glass.
13:48I don't care what you have to do, he says.
13:51If Mateo's making a move, I want to know before he breathes in my direction.
13:56Then his gaze meets mine.
13:58He ends the call instantly.
14:00You're eavesdropping.
14:01I'm sunbathing.
14:03In jeans?
14:04Fashion statement.
14:05He smiles faintly, sitting beside me.
14:07You shouldn't worry about Mateo.
14:09I wasn't.
14:11Until you said that.
14:13He exhales.
14:14Long and tired.
14:16He's dangerous.
14:18So are you.
14:19His jaw tightens.
14:20Not with you.
14:22The words hang there.
14:23Heavy.
14:23Fragile.
14:25Terrifyingly sincere.
14:26And I can't stop the small voice that whispers inside me.
14:30Maybe I believe him.
14:33The next morning,
14:34the sunlight hits the marble floors like a movie set.
14:37I'm in the kitchen making coffee when the chef bursts in,
14:41flustered.
14:42Miss Ava, you shouldn't be here.
14:44What?
14:45Why?
14:46Before he can answer,
14:47the front doors slam open.
14:50Four men stride in,
14:51dressed in pale suits,
14:53no weapons visible but menace dripping off them like cologne.
14:56Vincent appears from upstairs in the same second,
14:59calm but dangerous.
15:01You're early.
15:03The tallest man,
15:05dark hair,
15:05smug smile,
15:06nods toward me.
15:08So this is the girl.
15:09My stomach nods.
15:11The girl?
15:12Mateo's not happy you've got civilians in your war, Vin,
15:15the man says.
15:16Especially pretty ones.
15:18Vincent steps in front of me without hesitation.
15:21Say that again.
15:22The guy laughs.
15:24Relax.
15:25I'm just the messenger.
15:27Then deliver this message,
15:29Vincent says,
15:30his voice low and lethal.
15:31If Mateo touches anyone in this house,
15:34I'll bury every one of his men in daylight.
15:38There's silence.
15:39Then the messenger smirks.
15:41We'll see.
15:42They leave as casually as they came.
15:45I realize my hands are shaking around the coffee mug.
15:49Vincent turns to me,
15:50eyes softer now.
15:52You okay?
15:53No, I say.
15:54And you?
15:55I've been worse.
15:57He walks past me to the window,
15:58sunlight flaring across his shoulders.
16:01He's testing me.
16:02He wants to see if I'll protect what's mine.
16:05I'm not yours.
16:06He turns then,
16:08eyes locking on me.
16:09You keep saying that,
16:10but you haven't left.
16:11I hate that he's right.
16:13Later that day,
16:14he finds me sitting outside by the pool,
16:17watching Gucci chase butterflies.
16:19He sits next to me,
16:21silent for a long time.
16:23Finally, he says,
16:24when I got out,
16:26I didn't expect to find someone like you here.
16:30Someone like me.
16:31Someone who looks me in the eye.
16:33Who doesn't flinch.
16:34Maybe I should start.
16:36Don't.
16:37He says it so quietly,
16:38it almost sounds like a plea.
16:40I turn toward him,
16:41sunlight dancing off the pool between us.
16:44You really think you can fix whatever mess this is
16:46without getting hurt again?
16:48He leans in,
16:49just enough for his shadow to brush my shoulder.
16:52I don't plan on getting hurt.
16:53And if you do?
16:55He smiles faintly.
16:56Then you'll take care of Gucci again.
16:59That laugh of his,
17:00low,
17:01real,
17:02breaks through the tension.
17:04I can't help it.
17:05I laugh too.
17:07It's ridiculous.
17:08But in that moment,
17:10with the sun blazing
17:11and the world outside spinning with danger,
17:13I feel something terrifyingly close to peace.
17:16Because I finally see what he's not saying.
17:19He's not protecting himself anymore.
17:21He's protecting me.
17:22And that's the moment I know I'm already in too deep.
17:25By day five,
17:31I've learned two things.
17:32One,
17:33the mafia has zero respect for personal space.
17:36Two,
17:37I might actually be falling for a man who says things like,
17:40I'll bury him in daylight with total sincerity.
17:44Healthy?
17:45Probably not.
17:46Real?
17:47Way too.
17:48I'm sitting on the terrace,
17:49legs propped on a lounge chair,
17:51trying to convince Gucci not to attack a lizard
17:53when the world tilts again.
17:56A black SUV screeches up the driveway.
17:59Dust,
18:00sun,
18:00tension.
18:01I look for Vincent,
18:02but he's already stepping outside,
18:04unbothered,
18:05composed,
18:06wearing that same black shirt like it's armor.
18:09Two men get out.
18:11They're not his.
18:12I can tell from the way his guards shift.
18:14Alert.
18:15The taller one,
18:16slicked hair,
18:17smug smirk,
18:18steps forward.
18:20Matteo.
18:21I recognize him from the stories.
18:24The former lieutenant.
18:25The one who took over while Vincent was locked up.
18:28Vinny,
18:29Matteo says,
18:30spreading his arms like an old friend.
18:32Welcome home.
18:33Vincent doesn't move.
18:35You're trespassing,
18:36Matteo shrugs.
18:38Had to see it for myself.
18:39The great Moretti,
18:40out in playing house with some girl and a cat.
18:43I tense,
18:44stepping forward before I even think.
18:46You have five seconds to leave before Gucci attacks you.
18:50Gucci meows in total betrayal,
18:52licking her paw.
18:54Matteo laughs.
18:56Cute.
18:56You always had a thing for strays,
18:58didn't you,
18:58Vinny?
18:59Vincent's tone could slice through glass.
19:02You came here to die or to talk?
19:04Matteo smirks.
19:05Neither.
19:06Just to remind you,
19:07this city's mine now.
19:08You had your time.
19:09Enjoy your...
19:10retirement.
19:11Vincent doesn't answer,
19:13doesn't blink.
19:14Just nods once,
19:15like he's memorizing the man's face for later.
19:18Matteo finally leaves,
19:20his SUV rolling off in a cloud of dust and arrogance.
19:24When the gate closes,
19:25I exhale for the first time in minutes.
19:28Well,
19:29I say,
19:29forcing a shaky smile.
19:31That wasn't terrifying at all.
19:33Vincent's jaw flexes.
19:35He's not going to stop.
19:37Then maybe you should leave.
19:38Go somewhere safe.
19:40He looks at me,
19:41a small humorless smile forming.
19:43There's no safe for men like me,
19:45Ava.
19:46The rest of the day passes in bright,
19:48unbearable tension.
19:50Vincent's on the phone constantly,
19:52pacing the marble floors while I pretend not to listen.
19:56Something about accounts,
19:57shipments,
19:58alliances.
19:58His empire is rebuilding itself piece by piece,
20:01and it's clear he's trying to clean it up.
20:04Legitimize it.
20:05But Matteo's not giving up his throne.
20:08By afternoon,
20:09I can't sit still anymore.
20:11I walk into his study,
20:13sunlight pouring through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
20:16He's at his desk,
20:17shirt sleeves rolled,
20:18pen moving across a contract.
20:20Can we talk?
20:21I ask.
20:22He glances up.
20:23We've been talking for five days.
20:25I mean really talk.
20:27He sets the pen down,
20:29leans back in his chair.
20:31Go ahead.
20:32Why me?
20:32I blurt.
20:34You have an empire,
20:35a staff,
20:36actual people trained to handle this life.
20:38Why drag me into it?
20:39His answer is quiet,
20:41but it lands like a confession,
20:43because you're the only one who made me feel like I still had a life worth saving.
20:46I stare at him,
20:49throat tight.
20:51That's a lot of pressure for a girl who can't afford rent.
20:55He stands,
20:56walks around the desk,
20:57and stops in front of me.
20:59I don't need perfect Ava.
21:00I need real.
21:01And you're the only real thing I've had in years.
21:04His hand grazes mine.
21:06Not a grab,
21:07not possession,
21:08just contact.
21:09Simple.
21:10Human.
21:12Before I can speak,
21:13a phone buzzes on the desk.
21:15He answers.
21:16Then his face changes.
21:18What?
21:19He snaps.
21:20Where?
21:20He hangs up,
21:21eyes flicking toward the window.
21:23Get Gucci.
21:24Now.
21:24What's happening?
21:25Mateo's men just hit my warehouse.
21:27It's a message.
21:28And we're next?
21:30He doesn't answer,
21:31which is worse than yes.
21:33Minutes later,
21:33we're in the car.
21:35Sunlight flashes over the hood
21:36as the convoy speeds through the desert highway.
21:39Three black SUVs,
21:41heat shimmering off the asphalt.
21:43Vincent's voice is low,
21:45clipped.
21:45He's not going for product.
21:48He's going for leverage,
21:49which means...
21:50You.
21:51I grip the seatbelt tighter.
21:53I swear,
21:54if I ever survive this,
21:55I'm charging you emotional damages.
21:57He almost smiles.
21:59You'll survive it.
22:01I promise.
22:02But he says it like a man ready to break that promise
22:04if it keeps me breathing.
22:06When we reach the warehouse,
22:08smoke is already rising.
22:10Not flames,
22:11but chemical.
22:12Acrid.
22:12The place is empty
22:14except for the echo of chaos.
22:16Vincent's men spread out,
22:18barking orders.
22:19I stay in the SUV
22:20because apparently
22:21that's what the civilian does.
22:23Then I see it.
22:24Scrawled in red paint
22:25across the side of the building.
22:27Take care of your pets.
22:29Moretti.
22:30My blood runs cold.
22:32Gucci.
22:33I whip around.
22:34The backseat carrier is empty.
22:36The door ends slightly ajar.
22:37Oh, no.
22:38No, no, no.
22:39I bolt out of the car.
22:40Ava.
22:41Vincent's voice roars behind me.
22:43Get back here.
22:44But I'm already running,
22:45heart pounding,
22:46calling her name.
22:47Gucci.
22:48Gucci, come on, girl.
22:49The sound of a small meow
22:51echoes from behind a pile of crates.
22:53Relief floods me.
22:54I rush over and freeze.
22:56A man's hand grabs my wrist,
22:57hard.
22:58Don't move.
22:59Sweetheart,
23:00he's one of Mateo's.
23:02I open my mouth to scream.
23:04But Vincent's already there,
23:05out of nowhere,
23:06gun drawn,
23:07calm,
23:08and terrifying.
23:10The man lets me go instantly.
23:12Vincent doesn't shoot.
23:13He just steps forward
23:14until the guy drops the knife,
23:15trembling.
23:17Run,
23:18Vincent says quietly.
23:20The guy bolts.
23:21Then he turns to me,
23:22holstering the weapon.
23:24You okay?
23:25Define okay,
23:26I manage,
23:27clutching Gucci.
23:28He exhales,
23:30and for the first time,
23:31I see his composure crack.
23:33He grabs my face gently,
23:35forehead resting against mine.
23:36You don't run toward danger,
23:38Ava.
23:38You run away from it.
23:40You're one to talk.
23:42I'm trained for this.
23:43I've been trained by anxiety
23:44since childhood.
23:46We're even,
23:47he laughs.
23:48Actual laughter,
23:49rich and unguarded.
23:51It's sunlight breaking through
23:52everything dark.
23:54By the time we return home,
23:56the house feels different,
23:57quieter.
23:59He spends hours on the phone,
24:01tying up the fallout.
24:01I sit on the couch
24:03with Gucci in my lap,
24:05watching the afternoon light
24:06spill across the marble floors.
24:08When he finally joins me,
24:10he looks,
24:11lighter,
24:12determined.
24:13It's done,
24:13he says simply.
24:15Mateo's gone,
24:15arrested,
24:16my eyes widen.
24:17You called the cops?
24:19I didn't have to.
24:20He called them on himself
24:21trying to frame me.
24:22Left a trail a mile long,
24:23so,
24:24you're free?
24:25He nods,
24:26for the first time in my life.
24:28The words hang there,
24:30fragile and hopeful.
24:32I smile,
24:33slow and genuine.
24:35Guess you don't need me anymore.
24:37He looks at me like
24:38I just said something insane.
24:40You think I kept you here
24:41because I needed you?
24:43You literally said that.
24:45I was wrong.
24:47He steps closer,
24:49sunlight hitting the edge
24:50of his jaw,
24:51his voice softer
24:52than I've ever heard it.
24:53I don't need you, Ava.
24:55I want you.
24:56My chest tightens.
24:57You don't even know
24:58what normal looks like anymore.
25:00He nods.
25:02Then teach me.
25:03Weeks pass.
25:05Phoenix feels different now.
25:06Brighter.
25:07Maybe because I stopped waiting
25:08for the next explosion.
25:10Vincent's legit businesses take off.
25:13I find myself actually helping.
25:15Managing a charity
25:15he started for ex-cons,
25:17of all things.
25:18The irony isn't lost
25:19on either of us.
25:20He lets me tease him
25:21endlessly about it.
25:23Vincent Moretti,
25:24philanthropist.
25:25Has a nice ring to it.
25:27Careful,
25:27he says one morning,
25:29sipping his espresso
25:30by the pool.
25:31You're starting to sound
25:32like someone who likes me.
25:34Don't push your luck.
25:36Gucci sprawls between us
25:37in the sun,
25:38queen of her little kingdom.
25:40I think she's the only one
25:41truly in charge here.
25:43But it's not until
25:44a few days later,
25:46at a fundraiser
25:46under the blinding Arizona sun,
25:48that I realize
25:49how far we've both come.
25:52Vincent's on stage,
25:54speaking to reporters,
25:55all smooth charisma and power.
25:57Then he glances at me.
25:58Just a flick of the eyes,
25:59but it's enough.
26:00I see it.
26:02The man who was feared now
26:03looks at me
26:04like I'm his anchor.
26:06When the event ends,
26:08he walks straight toward me,
26:10ignoring the cameras,
26:11ignoring the crowd.
26:13He stops inches away,
26:15voice low enough
26:16for only me.
26:18They keep asking me
26:19what I'm going to do next.
26:20And?
26:21I told them I already found
26:22what I was looking for.
26:24I laugh.
26:25That's cheesy.
26:26It's honest.
26:28And before I can throw
26:28another sarcastic comeback,
26:30he kisses me.
26:31Right there,
26:32in front of everyone,
26:34in the middle of daylight.
26:36The crowd gasps,
26:37flashes go off,
26:38and somewhere Gucci meows
26:40in protest from her stroller.
26:42But I don't care.
26:43Because for the first time,
26:44everything's clear,
26:46not dark,
26:46not shadowed by danger.
26:49Just sunlight,
26:50laughter,
26:51and the terrifying truth
26:52that I fell for a man
26:53who rebuilt his world
26:54from the ground up,
26:55and somehow made me part of it.
26:59Later,
27:00when we're home,
27:00he stands on the balcony
27:01with that rare,
27:03quiet smile,
27:04I walk up beside him.
27:05You really think you can do this?
27:07Live normal?
27:08He glances at me.
27:09Define normal.
27:11Coffee in the morning,
27:12cat hair on your clothes,
27:14no men with guns in the driveway.
27:15He chuckles.
27:18That last one might take work.
27:20I'll take progress over perfect.
27:22He reaches for my hand,
27:23fingers warm against mine.
27:25Then progress it is.
27:28Gucci jumps onto the railing between us,
27:30tail flicking like punctuation.
27:32Vincent strokes her fur,
27:34then looks at me with that half-smile
27:36that once terrified the world.
27:38She always liked you more.
27:39Maybe she knows I'm the one
27:42who kept her alive.
27:44Maybe she knows you did the same for me.
27:46I blink hard,
27:48fighting a smile
27:49that feels way too emotional
27:50for someone who swore
27:51she'd never get attached.
27:53Don't get poetic on me.
27:55M'Ready?
27:56Too late.
27:58He tilts his head,
27:59sunlight catching his eyes.
28:01You're home, Ava.
28:02Whether you admit it or not.
28:03I look out at the city,
28:07bright, loud, alive,
28:09and realize he's right.
28:11Not because he claimed me.
28:13Because somewhere between chaos and coffee,
28:15I chose to stay.
28:17And for the first time in a long time,
28:20home doesn't feel like a place.
28:22It feels like him.
28:23If you loved
28:27She Took Care of a Neighbor's Cat,
28:29the Mafia boss
28:30returned from prison
28:31calling her home,
28:33don't forget to subscribe,
28:34like, comment,
28:35and share this story.
28:37Tell us,
28:38when would you have stayed
28:39when he called you home?
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