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Short filmTranscript
00:00I paid a fortune to wipe my memory clean.
00:03I forgot the fiancé who forged me from a street kid into a blade.
00:07I forgot the girl I once saved off a trafficking line,
00:09who then stole everything I had.
00:11I only remembered life before 18.
00:14Rainy nights, the orphanage,
00:16the bitter taste of cheap coffee,
00:18and one old poetry book, swollen from water.
00:22Three years later, I ran a used bookshop in Palermo.
00:25That dusk, the shop was empty.
00:27The bell over the door suddenly rang.
00:30Three men in black suits stepped out of the shadows.
00:34The lead one peeled off his leather gloves.
00:36His voice was low.
00:37Nightshade, why did you never answer the Don's recall?
00:41I stopped sliding a book back onto the shelf.
00:45Sorry, you have the wrong person.
00:49He took a step closer.
00:53Luca Moretti drowned the whole commission in blood for you.
00:58And you don't even give one explanation?
01:02The shop went so quiet I could hear a motorbike pass the corner.
01:06I looked at him.
01:07My chest ached for no reason.
01:10I had a memory override once.
01:12I kept my voice polite.
01:14Who is this Luca Moretti you're talking about?
01:16All three men froze at once.
01:20I followed their eyes to the other side of the street.
01:24A man stood in the dusk.
01:26Black coat.
01:27Tall.
01:28Lean.
01:30I didn't know him.
01:32But he looked at me like I had once killed him with my own hands.
01:37Later I learned his name was Luca Moretti.
01:42He was once my fiancé.
01:45He was also the man who drove me onto that operating table.
01:49It all began at dawn, on the day of our wedding.
01:52That night the terrace of Villa Moretti was still lit.
01:56White roses filled the small chapel.
01:58Everyone was waiting for me to become Mrs. Moretti.
02:01But I couldn't find Luca.
02:03I went around the long hall and pushed open the terrace door.
02:06And I saw him holding Mia Belliani in his arms.
02:09She rose on her toes and kissed his lips.
02:13I didn't cry.
02:14I didn't scream.
02:15I was Nightshade.
02:17Red Lily's sharpest cleaner.
02:21Before my emotions broke, my body moved first.
02:24I struck for Luca's throat.
02:25My fingertips stopped on his artery.
02:28Mia screamed and threw herself at me.
02:30Valolina, don't hurt him!
02:32The next second, she shoved me into the pool.
02:36My head hit the wall.
02:38Cold water flooded my mouth.
02:40I opened my eyes underwater and almost laughed.
02:43Five years ago, I pulled Mia off a trafficking line.
02:46She was 15 then, thin as a sheet of paper.
02:50I taught her to read codes.
02:51I taught her to clean ledgers.
02:53She would make hot soup for the men after a job.
02:56She would say thank you in a trembling voice.
02:59Those blood-soaked men did no time.
03:02They said Red Lily finally had a real woman in it.
03:05When they said that, I was in the corner stitching a knife wound on my arm.
03:11Back then, Luca would frown, walk over, and take the needle from me.
03:16You're always harder on yourself than on the enemy.
03:19He tied the knot.
03:20I laughed at his shaking hands.
03:23Clumsy for a man who could strip a gun in three seconds.
03:26I believed that line.
03:28For ten years, we dodged hunters in the jungle.
03:33We emptied our magazines back-to-back in warehouses.
03:37We dragged each other out of blood at the docks.
03:40The first time I took the fall for him, I was locked for three days in the black site.
03:44He knelt outside the cell, eyes red enough to kill everyone.
03:47He said that for the rest of his life, he would never betray me.
03:50But a vow doesn't break in a single moment.
03:53It rots slowly from the first time someone starts playing favorites.
03:57I woke in the medical wing.
03:59I thought he would at least ask if it hurt.
04:02But when he spoke, his voice held only a tired warning.
04:07Miel was just scared.
04:09Don't use your night sheep methods on her.
04:12I looked at the old scar below his collarbone.
04:15Ten years ago, that bullet should have gone through my heart.
04:19You're afraid I'll deal with her in private?
04:25Red Lily forbids infighting.
04:27The wedding moves to next week.
04:29This ends here.
04:30The encrypt device by the bed bugged.
04:32Mia's name flashed on the screen.
04:34Luca glanced at it once.
04:36His brow tightened.
04:37She's having a panic attack.
04:38I'll go check on her.
04:39Luca.
04:40He stopped at the door.
04:42I asked him calmly.
04:44If it were her in the water tonight, would you also tell me it ends here?
04:48He didn't turn around.
04:50You're stronger than her.
04:51Don't waste my time on this.
04:53The door closed softly, but it was a nail pinning ten years of love to the bedside.
04:58My private terminal lit up with a black market ad.
05:03Phynex protocol.
05:05Rebuild your identity.
05:08Seal your trauma.
05:09I stared at that line for a long time.
05:11A tainted blade can be reforged, but a tainted love is not worth polishing.
05:17I booked my first neural overwrite.
05:19After the first overroad, my mind felt rinsed in ice water.
05:23Many memories remained, but they were locked behind an invisible door.
05:27I knew I had been hurt, but I couldn't grasp the shape of the pain.
05:30The doctor told me that once the final overhaul was done, I would lose every emotional tie
05:34to red lily that had formed after I came of age.
05:39I signed the consent form.
05:42What if I regret it?
05:44The doctor didn't look up.
05:46Once you enter the final overround, the regret gets overwrought too.
05:50I smiled.
05:54Good.
05:56When I got back to the safe house, a celebration was underway.
06:00Mia sat in the center, holding a diamond set tactical watch.
06:04Lana Creechie saw me and rushed over.
06:06Nightshade.
06:07Mia gave us key intel on the Balkan contract.
06:11The Don praised her himself.
06:13She pushed the gift box into my hands.
06:15You brought her into the family.
06:16It's only right that you give it to her.
06:18I walked to Mia and held out the box.
06:20She reached for it.
06:21The instant our fingers touched, the box dropped.
06:24The sapphire face shattered like a crushed eye.
06:27Mia's tears fell at once.
06:29Valentina, I know you hate me, but this is from everyone.
06:35Someone whispered.
06:36She went too far.
06:37A maid woman fighting a young girl over a man.
06:40A maid woman fighting a young girl over a man.
06:40Luca rose from the fireplace.
06:42He came over, picked up the broken watch, and pressed it back into my palm.
06:50Apologize.
06:52I looked at him.
06:54You saw me drop it.
06:55You saw me drop it?
07:23I saw her cry.
07:23I saw her.
07:24I saw her cry.
07:25I hit the corner of the table.
07:26I saw her cry.
07:49that's my business you're just jealous cool off for a few days the wedding goes on
07:54that night i went to don salvatore's study the old man sat in shadow a cigar between his fingers
08:00your contract debt was cleared long ago he pushed an encrypted key to the edge of the desk this is
08:06enough to start over anywhere but those who leave omara have no family behind them i took the key
08:12there was never anyone behind me to begin with he looked at me for a long while are you certain
08:17you
08:17want to give up the night sheep seat i looked down at my hands these hands had cleared 27 targets
08:21for
08:22red lily they had taken three fatal hits meant for luca they had carried mia out of a shipping
08:26container but now they only felt dirty i'm not giving up a seat i pushed the resignation ship
08:32onto the desk i'm giving up on them on the way back to the safe house luca called i answered
08:39by
08:39accident your folding blade is with me it was the knife we had taken from a target's vault after
08:43our first job together luca had carved lm and vr into the handle he said if he ever betrayed me
08:48i could use it to stab through his heart i went quiet for a moment no need to send it
08:54nightshade
08:55we made it through 10 years why blow up over a small thing with mia a small thing i repeated
09:01those
09:01three words the last bit of warmth in my body drained away late that night luca came anyway
09:07he set the knife on my nightstand like he was handing me a step towards peace when i woke at
09:12dawn
09:12i read the carving on the handle lm and mb that was not my knife i opened the hidden drawer
09:21my blade
09:22still lay there untouched so even our token of life and death he had copied a second one for mia
09:28i felt no anger i just revoked the safe house permits i took one bag and moved into a cash
09:34only motel downtown the noise of ordinary people came through the thin walls for the first time
09:41a stranger's world felt safer than home however the next morn luca issued an urgent order requiring
09:48me to go to the medical wing the moment i stepped into the hall luca burst out of a side
09:53door
09:53he slammed me hard against the metal wall his forearm pressed into my throat what did you do
09:59to mia last night i was at the motel last night who else but you could have bypassed every camera
10:05gotten into her room and cut her alarm line lana and a few maid men stood behind him no one
10:11moved
10:11in the warn mia hugged her knees in the corner of the bed as soon as she saw me she
10:17let out a tearing
10:17scream don't let her near me she said she'd send me back to those men luca let go of me
10:25his voice went cold mia was diagnosed with severe ptsd the doctor says her finger tendons are damaged
10:30she'll never hold a gun steady again so you'll face a disciplined hearing i looked past his shoulder
10:36through the gap in the door mia was peeping me her face was wet with tears but her eyes were
10:42utterly
10:42fearless that was the look of a hunter who had just confirmed the trap had worked
10:47i suddenly walked into the ward and stood in front of mia
10:51was that person last night really me mia's pupils shrunk the next second she grabbed the metal cup
10:57from the bedside table and threw it at me the rim grazed my brow blood slid down the corner of
11:01my eye
11:02she shrunk behind luca crying so hard she could barely breathe don't touch me sister i'll give luca
11:07back to you just let me go lana spoke first night show enough she's terrified and you're still pushing
11:14her i wiped the blood from my eye lana the year you tripped the alarm i dragged you out of
11:20a pile
11:20of corpses you owe me a life and now you're spending it testifying for her she looked away
11:26one thing has nothing to do with another i finally laughed out loud wonderful it seems what red
11:33levily taught you best was ingratitude i looked at luca you want to judge me i'm protecting the
11:39rules of the family no luca i wiped the blood from my lip my voice was very soft you're protecting
11:48her
11:51hours later i woke in the black site interrogation room restraints held my wrists and ankles
11:58a thin sensor was taped beside my temple luca stood at the door like a judge with no feeling valentina
12:06rinaldi you are charged with private violence against a family member in breach of omagia where's the
12:13evidence mia's testimony the medical records the camera blind spot snap your skill i laughed so skill can
12:22be evidence now luca's fingers paused on the discipline order for one instant i thought he would
12:28look at me but he didn't the pen came down the signature was sharp begin two masked figures stepped
12:36closer one drove a probe into the back of my neck the torture leaned close to my ear and smiled
12:42don't worry someone gave special orders there will be no scar on you the moment the device started
12:48pain exploded from my spine into my brain as if someone were threading a red hot wire through
12:54every nerve i had i bit through my lip blood filled my mouth but i made no sound faint footsteps
13:00came from
13:00outside the wall i knew luca hadn't gone far i also knew he would not come back i don't know
13:07how long
13:07it lasted the restraints loosened i slid off the chair not even feeling my nails tear and break the next
13:14day the door opened luca stood in the backlight exhaustion in his eyes and a late tangled something
13:21so many eyes were watching last night i had to give everyone an answer i braced on the wall stood
13:27and
13:28walked around him done giving answers mia's cry came from the end of the hall luca i'm so scared his
13:38hand
13:38stopped in mid-air then withdrew go back to your room don't cause more trouble i watched him run
13:44towards that voice my terminal buzzed the final transfer had cleared i flagged down a taxi and gave
13:52the address of phoenix clinic the doctor attached the sensors to me and confirmed the final procedure
13:57after the over route you'll forget red lily forget nightshake and forget luca moretti
14:04will the body memory go too no so i might still flinch from gunfire and i might still grip a
14:13knife
14:13that isn't there in my sleep the doctor glanced at me yes but you won't know why that's enough
14:20i nodded he handed me one last document that was a refusal of restoration clause once signed no one
14:28could wake my memory in the name of lover family or guardian i signed it fast as the pen came
14:34down
14:35the back of my hand still trembled from the nerve pain after to the torture the doctor asked if i
14:39wanted to leave a message i thought for a long time then recorded these words if luca moretti finds this
14:46place please don't let him see me i don't hate him hate still means remembering him but i don't want
14:54to
14:54remember anymore i closed my eyes begin my consciousness was pulled away piece by piece
15:05gunshots vows the jungle the carving on the knife luca's back once shielding me all curling and
15:12blacking like old photographs the last thing burned away was the part of me that loved him before the deep
15:18sleep took me i had already arranged my own death i bought an unidentified female body a death
15:24certificate scorched by fire a clean route to sicily i made every clue point to the eastern border while
15:31the real me would be loaded onto a freighter bound for palesmo after the final overrode when the doctor
15:36counted to three i said one last line to night shale in my heart you did well you can die
15:41now
15:42after i disappeared luca had really come looking for me it was the third day after my overhoad he
15:48went to the safe house first he wanted to swap back the knife with the wrong name and to end
15:52the
15:52cold war with a new ring but the fingerprint scanner flashed red it let out a harsh rejection tone he
15:58tried again still red the permission had been permanently revoked he called in the family's
16:04cleanup staff the man pulled up the back ward and his face dartened boss her file status is permanent
16:12separation signed off by the don himself three days ago luca stared at that line and didn't move for a
16:18long time where did she go there's no destination in the system what did she take one bag one encrypted
16:27fund the man paused and all her operation records she wiped and cleaned herself luca rushed into my
16:37room the closet empty the drawers empty even the pen i used was gone only the knife he'd sent lay
16:44on
16:44the nightstand lm and mb he finally read the names on the handle in that moment he felt uneasy for
16:50the
16:50first time but he still didn't think of the worst he thought i was only hiding for a few days
16:54he thought
16:55i would come back on my own like every other fight before but he didn't know i had deleted the
16:59option
16:59of coming back with my own hands mia moved into luca's room soon after because she said she had
17:04nightmares living alone she said she only felt safe close to him she made soup changed bandages stayed up
17:13until dawn when he drank she would press a wet cloth to his forehead over and over when he ran
17:19a fever she
17:20would show every passing maid man a smile restrained and brave hence a new saying spread through the
17:25family they said mia was a good girl they said nightshade was too cruel unworthy of the boss's
17:31tenderness only one person never echoed any of it that was luca he didn't turn the page just because
17:38he married mia the way everyone assumed he started drinking villa morelli's liquor cabinet emptied by half in
17:44a week the living room reeked of whiskey and tobacco all year round he took every cleanup contract no one
17:50else dared touch like he was sending himself into the muzzle on purpose on the balkan job he cleared an
17:55entire warehouse alone he came back with two new bullet holes in his left shoulder he didn't even wipe the
18:01blood before taking the next job it was on the docks of chicago south side it was meant to be
18:07the simplest
18:07recycling job but he blanked out right before pulling the trigger the dying target lashed back and a blade
18:14sank into his stomach blood ran down his black suit but he felt nothing and pushed the man's head under
18:20the river back on shore he leaned on the railer and laughed there was no life in that laugh that
18:26was the
18:27first time red lily pulled luca off the active roster don salvatore ordered him to rest with no end date
18:35he sat in the empty room polishing the real knife carved with lm and vr once and again the blade
18:42shone
18:43bright enough to reflect his sunken eyes he didn't know i had seen the copy before i left
18:49he didn't know the knife was never what cut me it was that he assumed i would always stand in
18:54place
18:55waiting for him when he was drunk to the point of losing his mind he repeated only one name valentina
19:02come back valentina i was wrong but in the empty room no one answered him mia couldn't wait to sit
19:11still she had waited three months but luca never touched her once
19:17she finally understood as long as i was alive luca would never be hers so she spread word that someone
19:26had seen night shape's body at the eastern border three days later a wallet warped by fire was
19:33delivered to villa moretti inside were my old cards and a photo burnt to half that was a clue i
19:40had left
19:40on purpose i needed everyone to believe night shape had died in the east but i never expected mia to
19:47be
19:47the first to use the false death news when luca got the wallet he looked like a man with his
19:52bones pulled
19:53out he shut himself in his room for a full week no food no drink he saw no one the
20:01aid stood outside
20:02for seven days hearing only glass shatter now and then mia decided the time had come that deep night
20:12she carried in a bowl of hangover soup in it was enough drug to black out a grown man for
20:17an entire
20:17night luca have a little it'll help he lifted the bowl to his lips he leaned on the headboard
20:23eyes hollow without even the strength to push it away he drank it down from her hand with no defense
20:31the drug rose fast his mind blurred bit by bit the last thing he saw was mia's face leaning close
20:39and the flash of triumph in her eyes the next dawn luca woke to a splitting headache mia lay beside
20:46him
20:46wrapped in the blanket one shoulder bare the sheets a mess she had silenced the terminal on the table
20:52but the screen still blicked a red life sign alert the aide's urgent voice came through the door
20:58boss are you in there your life signal went dark for three hours last night the electronic lock was
21:04opened by emergency override a few made men burst in then froze in place don saboteur stood at the door
21:11too the old man's eyes swept the messy bed and landed on luca's pale face the whole room went terribly
21:17quiet red lily does not interfere in private affairs the dodd's voice was low but everyone bowed their
21:24heads but you touched a woman under your protection so you'll give her a title luca opened his mouth
21:31he wanted to explain but he remembered nothing he knew he had been set up but in red lily the
21:39scandal
21:39itself was evidence omada doesn't care about truth it cares about the family's reputation
21:48he had no proof he'd been drugged he couldn't even explain what had happened the night before
21:54the wedding was rushed and absurd villa moretti's small chapel was dressed in new white roses almost
22:01identical to the ones prepared for me luca stood before the priest in a black suit like a man marched
22:06to the gallows luca moretti will you protect belaluri until the end of your life the priest asked luca
22:12looked at mia but his mind was full of my shadow my back the night i took the fall for
22:18him the way i
22:20laughed at his shaking hands cold laugh i gave him when i opened my eyes underwater his stomach turned
22:26under the wide skirt mia secretly pinched his hand everyone is watching you don't want to disappoint the
22:32dawn right she lowered her voice luca closed his eyes i do he said those words like swallowing broken
22:39glass after the banquet he walked back to the new bedroom alone rounding the corner of the hall
22:45he heard laughter inside it was mia and lana this time i owe it all to you mia's voice was
22:52sweet to the
22:52point of clogging if you hadn't helped me edit the cameras and shift the timeline how would luca never
22:58believe valentina broke in at midnight to scare me lana laughed softly nightshade has skill sure
23:04but she's too proud so she pulled me out of a pile of corpses so what every time she looked
23:12at me
23:12it was like she was pitying a trash mia scoffed however good she is she's just a dead woman now
23:17a dead woman her own man sent to the operating plate outside the door luca's hand slid slowly off
23:24the wall fake all of it fake mia's ptsd was fake the night raid was fake my death was fake
23:31too but
23:32one thing was real it was he who signed that discipline order it was he who had pushed me
23:36step by step into the phoenix protocol in that moment luca finally understood he hadn't lost a
23:41fiance who threw a tantrum he had killed with his own hands the only person in this world who ever
23:47truly
23:47loved him luca pushed the door open the laughter in the room cut off at once mia's face turned white
23:52in
23:52an instant the jewelry box in lana's hands hit the floor with a clack gems scattered everywhere luca
23:58walked towards mia step by step his pace was slow but each step landed like it was crushing the
24:03heartbeats of two women say it again mia backed away her lower back hit the vanity luca you misheard
24:12we were just talking about the wedding he gripped her throat and pinned her to the wall
24:18the ptsd was fake mia's toes nearly left the floor she clawed at his wrist her voice breaking just
24:26because i loved you too much i've loved you since i was 15 why does valentine get everything and i
24:32get
24:32nothing valentina's death news you did that too do you she's done with you mia burst into tears i'm the
24:42one
24:42who stayed i'm the one who changes your bandages every day i'm the one who's really good to you
24:51luca's hand tightened further and the cameras he turned to look at lana cowering in the corner
24:55lana's knees gave out she dropped straight to the floor i edited them but i only helped mia once luca
25:02i
25:02really didn't mean to get her killed i thought she'd only be locked up for a few days luca let
25:07go of mia
25:08she collapsed on the ground coughing hard he wiped his hand with a handkerchief like he'd touched
25:13something filthy then he threw the handkerchief onto mia's face he keyed his terminal his voice
25:18held no rise or fall discipline crew come to the bedroom hearing those words mia crawled to him like
25:23she'd gone mad she wrapped around luca's leg kill me if you want just don't cut me out of your
25:28life
25:28for the three years i stayed with you i'm begging you luca looked down at her only cold disgust in
25:33his
25:33eyes killing you would be too easy several men in black arrived quickly they hauled mia up and
25:38dragged her toward the door mia went from begging to cursing her voice was as sharp as a knife
25:43scraping glass luca moretti you'll regret this valentina is never coming back she's dead you send her
25:49to die with your own hands you'll never see her again in this life luca stood in place he didn't
25:55turn
25:55around he gave the aid his orders mia bellini framed a maid family member fake to death broke
26:03omarda take her to the palerno black site sis ball for how long luca's voice held no warmth until she
26:11forgets she ever saw the light the palermo black site sensor that was red lily's oldest place of
26:16punishment an underground water vault left from the family's smuggling years the stone walls wept year
26:22round a chain nailed into the wall on one end and locked to the prisoner's neck on the other there
26:28was no light no day or night there was only the sound of water dripping into water one drop then
26:33another the first night mia was taken down her crying carried through the vents for a long time
26:38she screamed luca's name over and over and cursed me over and over the aid asked if they should gag
26:44her
26:45no need luca stood beside the well watching the cold lamp reflected on the water
26:53let her hear how ugly she sounds he turned to leave halfway out he stopped he pulled a brand new
27:01wedding ring from his pocket the one he'd been forced to slide onto mia's finger he casually tossed
27:06it into the black water below the ring sank without even an echo that girl who had once played so
27:14pitifully
27:15that girl who used one bowl of soup one act one fake death to ruin ten years of my life
27:20was finally locked
27:21in a lightless citizen they say three months later when the guards brought food she no longer screamed luca's name
27:29she just hugged her knees and laughed at the water stains on the wall over and over
27:37but none of this had anything to do with anymore i didn't even know such a girl had ever existed
27:44lana was taken to the commission hearing to light of her own crime she handed over all the evidence
27:49the camera edit logs the ledger for the faked body mia's dark web orders for the drugs item by item
27:55it
27:56all matched luca took the evidence to don salvator for the first time he knelt in that study his back
28:02bent like it had been broken tell me where valentia went the old don looked down at him she took
28:07what she
28:08was owed before she left as for where she went i have no right to ask no luca raised his
28:13head eyes
28:14red i'm begging you tell me the old don was silent for a long time he slowly ground out his
28:19cigar in
28:20the tray i only know one thing what she begged for was not to escape red lily what she begged
28:25for was
28:26to forget you that line cut deeper than any bullet luca knelt there unable to say another word from that
28:31day on luca was a blade with no sheath he began the reckoning everyone who had ever mocked me everyone
28:35who handed mia a knife who spoke ill of me one by one they were dragged to the commission were
28:39sent to the
28:40most dangerous border front none came back the ones who jeered for me to apologize were stripped of
28:46every contract cut lana ricci was stripped of her maid woman status and sent to a border counting house
28:52never to set foot in villa moretti again the torturer who used the neural device on me in
28:56that room was dragged into the very same metal chair by luca luca strapped him with the same restraints
29:05and taped on the same sensors they said when that man came out he couldn't speak one full sentence
29:14someone advised luca to stop the whole family had been purged into fear but he only said one word
29:24what she went through every one of them should feel once in the end his reckoning even traced the black
29:31market clinics transfer records but the trail ended at an anonymous lock he could never open
29:36he sat in the study for an entire night the next day he ordered every mirror in the family removed
29:42the 80s didn't understand only he knew he couldn't stand the face in the glass it was the face of
29:47a man
29:48who sent the one he loved into hell with his own hands but late punishment meant nothing he washed all
29:53of red lily in blood he killed everyone who ever wronged me but he still could not find the me
29:57he lost with
29:58his own hand a blood deed can be collected one by one but the person you lost not one can
30:05be traded back
30:06and i at that time was in palermo at dawn watering a pot of red spider lisses knowing nothing of
30:15all this
30:17and feeling nothing of it either
30:20three years later my life in palermo was quiet like an old book my name now was valentina belani
30:30every morning at seven the smell of bread from the bakery downstairs reached my room before my alarm
30:38i would brew a weak cup of coffee and sit by the window writing the day's stock list
30:46then i would go downstairs and open the old wooden door of the shop
30:51and carry the pot of red spider lilies out into the sun
30:57on quiet afternoons i would recommend poetry to whoever wandered in in the evening marco would come
31:05on his electric scooter to pick me up he would take me to the little restaurant on the corner
31:10i lived on the second floor of the shop the room was small but from the window
31:16i could see a sliver of the sea no encrypted channels no mission countdowns
31:23no one in my ear ordering me to clean a target a life this ordinary feels almost like luxury
31:29marco always says i'm like someone who just learned to be a person
31:34i say that's not so bad being a person is better than being a blade i don't know i once
31:41held a gun
31:43i don't know why my body tense a beat early at the sound of clashing metal
31:50once the kitchen behind the restaurant dropped a whole stack of knives
31:56i pulled mari behind me almost on instinct even i froze marco looked at me for a long time
32:04you must have been hurt really badly somewhere in your past i believed him
32:12after all i did have one faint old scar on the back of my neck i didn't know where it
32:16came from
32:17but it didn't hurt that was enough these three years i had run the shop well i remembered every
32:26regular's taste the baker downstairs saved me the first corzone out of the ivan every day
32:32the old woman at the corner flower stalk gave me her leftover daisies
32:37marco taught me to ride that old scooter my first time out i knocked over three trash casses
32:44he laughed at me for a whole week at night i would sit by the second floor window and watch
32:51that sliver
32:52of sea no bodies on the water no deals no targets to clean only moonlight and the lamps of distant
33:00fishing boats i started to believe a person really could start over no need for a code name
33:05no need for a gun all you need is a creaking wooden door and a sun that rises on time
33:11every day
33:11until that dusk balondi books had no customers i was pushing a row of old books back onto the shelf
33:19the bell over the door suddenly rang
33:26three men in black suits stepped out of the dusk their shoes were polished their eyes were cold
33:34they carried an air that didn't belong on this quiet old street the lead man peeled off his leather gloves
33:43nightshade why did you never answer the dawn's recall
33:49i stopped what i was doing
33:52i'm sorry you have the wrong person my name is valentina balendi he took a step forward
34:01luca morendi drowned the whole commission in blood for you and you don't even give one explanation the
34:09shop went so quiet i could hear a motorbike past the corner i looked at him and my chest ached
34:15for no
34:16reason the ache was faint like something deep in my body had bumped a door lightly i tried to keep
34:22my
34:22voice polite i had a memory override once who is this luca morecci you're talking about all three
34:30men froze at once i followed their eyes to the other side of the street a man stood deep in
34:35the
34:35dusk black coat tall and lean like a shadow stepping out of an old nightmare i didn't know
34:42him but the way he looked at me was like i had once killed him with my own hands the
34:46man slowly
34:47walked into the shop the bell rang again i looked up at him and thought he was strange he wore
34:52an
34:52expensive coat he looked like a man who could decide many peoples in death yet in front of me
34:57his face went white you don't know me his voice was badly horsed he hadn't spoken days if we knew
35:04each other before i'm thought about it my memory stops at 18. the doctor said everything after that
35:09was cleared not a single thing there was a tremble in his voice i couldn't read you really don't
35:15remember me at all no i don't remember i shook my head i saw his hands shaking violently and suddenly
35:26i couldn't bear it you don't look well would you like to sit down for a moment it was as
35:32if those
35:32words had struck him hard his whole body swayed i took a book from under the counter and handed it
35:38to
35:38him it was an old poetry collection about making peace with the past you carry a lot of violence
35:43with you maybe this book will help quiet you a little he took the book his fingertips trembled
35:49some so much he could barely hold it the next second a tear fell onto the cover of the book
35:56i froze i didn't know why this stranger was crying and i never knew that long long ago i had
36:03seen him
36:03take a bullet seen him kill seen him grin in a pool of blood but i'd never once seen him
36:09cry like this
36:10the bell over the door rang a third time marco pushed the door open he carried our packed dinner
36:15in his hand val the restaurant said the seafood soup was almost sold out but i got the last two
36:20servings i smiled at once that smile had grown on my face over these three years light unburdened
36:25then let's close early i turned to the crying man and apologized softly
36:30sir we're closing now he stood by the door watching me turn off the lights watching me
36:36lock the door watching me naturally climb onto the back of marco's scooter
36:42my arms wrapped around another man's waist before marco started the scooter he looked back and asked me
36:49who was that man
36:52i looked back for a glance under the street lamp the man in black stood very straight
36:59yet it looked like the whole night had bent his back i don't know probably someone who got the wrong
37:05person the scooter rolled through the narrow old street i couldn't help but look back one last time
37:12the man was still standing there holding the book i had given him the rain hadn't fallen yet but his
37:18shoulders looked already soaked through my chest felt tight for a moment the feeling was unfamiliar
37:26like a door deep inside me had been blown open a crack then quickly shut again i lowered my head
37:32and
37:32pressed my chest are you feeling unwell no i looked up at the glowing restaurant sign ahead that warm
37:41yellow sign was the color of my life now it's just that some people seem to live very hard lives
37:46marco
37:47smiled then stay away from people who live hard lives i smiled too okay what i didn't know was that
37:54after that night luca went to the phoenix clinic that black market clinic was hidden under an old pharmacy by
38:01the port no sign at the door only one green lamp about to burn out on off the doctor saw
38:09the red lily
38:10crest under at luca's coat his face went white at once mr morady the phoenix protocol contract is
38:18protected by anonymity i cannot disclose client information luca set a gun on the table
38:26the muzzle pointed at himself i'm not asking where she is the doctor's atoms joman moved then what do you
38:37want to ask whether it can be restored the doctor was silence for a long time finally he pulled up
38:45an
38:46encrypted file mr morady you have to understand the final over route is not hypnosis nor is it ordinary
38:53trauma ceiling what she asked to delete was the entire identity chain of her adult years the
38:58emotional chain and every trigger for danger responses we kept her basic language life skills
39:03and bodily instincts but everything related to red lily has been severed luca's knuckles tightened bit by
39:08bit i asked if it can be restored the doctor lowered his head in theory those fragments could be forcibly
39:14stimulated but she would suffer a mental breakdown more importantly the doctor paused before the procedure
39:21she signed a refusal of restoration clause the doctor took a recording device from the drawer and
39:26pushed it across to luca this is the message she left she said if you ever came looking i should
39:30play
39:31it for you he pressed play in the recording it was my voice at that time i had just come
39:37off the
39:37neural torture so weak i could barely speak one full sentence but the clarity in that voice was sharper
39:43than ever if luca moretti finds this place please don't let him see me there was a long pause in
39:51the
39:51recording i don't hate him hate would still mean remembering him but i don't want to remember
39:56another patch of static knight's shea was red lily's blade she loved luca
40:09and she was broken by luca with his own hands
40:15when the procedure ends the person who survives owes him nothing owes the family nothing owes no vow
40:22anything please let her be free the recording ended luca listened and said nothing for a long
40:30time the whole clinic was quiet except for the hum of that green lamp the doctor took out one more
40:36thing a paper document it was an ordinary pre-op consent form a small patch of dark brown blood on
40:44the corner from the day i signed it when the back of my hand trembled from nerve pain below the
40:49signature
40:50i had written one extra line the handwriting was slightly distorted from trembling nightshade died
40:55in the final over road please don't not revive her luca stared at that line for a very very long
41:00time
41:01long enough that the doctor thought he would never speak again in the end he took from the inner pocket
41:07of his coat the folding blade carved with lm and vr that was the real one ten years ago he
41:13had carved
41:14both their names into it himself he said if he ever betrayed me i could use it to stab through
41:19his heart
41:20he set the knife down beside the consent form seal it into the file the doctor froze mr moretti this
41:31is
41:31yours no his voice was empty like it had been blown through by sea wind it belongs to the one
41:39who's
41:40already dead with that he turned and left without looking back that knife which had witnessed
41:4910 years of life and death was finally sealed along with that form that reads please do not revive her
41:57into a file no one will ever open again back at villa moretti luca called a commission meeting
42:04he pushed through three new rules first nightshep's file is permanently sealed status changed to deceased
42:10second belandi books and the three streets around it marked as a permanent red lion no entry zone
42:16third no member may approach valentina belani not in the name of protection pursuit recall or revenge
42:23an older capo spoke up hesitantly boss she knows too much of the family's old business after all
42:31even with the memory loss she's a risk
42:36maybe we should cut the luca lifted his eyes and looked at him that one look frozen the whole room
42:42i am the risk he said it one word at a time whoever touches her i will handle them personally
42:49no one
42:50dared say another word after the meeting the aide handed him a black envelope boss that bridal suite in
42:57villa morelli is still kept as it was inside are your old things and nightshades and the dried white
43:06roses prepared for the wedding how would you like them handled luca didn't take the envelope burn them
43:14he only said two words the aide hesitated all of it all of it that room burned the whole night
43:21through
43:21the wedding dress i never got to wear the velvet box that held the ring the old photos from missions
43:28we ran together and the knife carved with the wrong name all of it devoured by the fire into the
43:36fire he
43:37also threw one more thing a photo of the two of us ten years ago in the photo i leaned
43:44on his shoulder
43:45both of us smiling softly it was the only photo where neither of us held a gun
43:52he watched that face get licked black by the fire curl turned to ash luca stood in the courtyard
44:00watching the firelight re-read in the windows of villa moretti bit by bit the aide beside him wanted to
44:06say something but in the end didn't dare they say he didn't shed a single tear that night
44:12because the time when he could really cry he had already used it up in that tiny bookshop in palamo
44:19that night a fine rain fell over palamo i was in the shop with marco sorting newly arrived old books
44:28i looked up at the rain outside the window and suddenly thought of the pot of pot of red spider
44:33lallies at the door so i went over and carried it inside marco laughed at me val those flowers look
44:41a
44:41little unlucky they say they bloom on the road to the underworld i lightly brushed the blood red
44:47petals with my fingertip is that so i think they're more like a reminder the roads you shouldn't go back
44:55on don't go back in a car at the corner of the street someone watched me one last time through
45:02the
45:02rain i didn't notice and that was good from that night on the name valentina rinaldi was gone from
45:10red limes ledgers only a code name sealed away forever and i never saw the man called luca moretti
45:19again the days after that remained ordinary i opened the shop every morning carried the red spider
45:26lillians out into the sun in the afternoon recommended stories that quiet the heart to strangers in the
45:33evening locked the shop door and climbed onto marco's scooter sometimes late at night i would touch that
45:39faint old scar on the back of my neck i still didn't know where it came from i only knew
45:44this
45:44every time the bell rings i would on instinct look up toward the door and then confirm there is no
45:50darkness there only the light of ordinary people later marco asked me why i loved the red spider
45:55really is so much i said i didn't know maybe because they bloom so quietly they need no leaves beside
46:01them
46:02they need no one to look back at them when their season comes they wake from the soil all on
46:07their
46:07own just like me i don't remember night shape i don't remember the man called luca moretti
46:14i don't know that someone washed a whole city in blood for me i don't know that someone burned all
46:20our past facing a fire none of it has anything to do with the me of now but i know
46:26this the me of now
46:27opens the door at dawn locks the shop at dusk greets every ordinary tomorrow to the sound of a bell
46:33this is not a new life granted to me by anyone nor is it redemption bought with the city's blood
46:37this is freedom freedom i took from the hands of my old self freedom i claimed for myself
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