BETWEEN TWO WORLDS

New York, 1:46 p.m. – SoHo

— I’m not letting you go back to work without at least trying on this dress.

Hope rolled her eyes, amused. Lorenzo, her best friend, was holding up a hanger as if it were a sacred offering. A long black dress with a high slit, satin fabric, and a backless plunge that bordered on scandalous.

— I don’t have a gala planned, Lory.

— No, but you’ve got a body, a future party, and sooner or later a man to seduce.

She stopped, frowned.

— What man?

— Exactly. You’ve been giving off weird vibes for two days now. Like… demon possession. Spill.

Hope looked away. She’d come here to breathe, laugh, forget. But Alessandro’s dark face returned the moment she closed her eyes.

Her voice dropped.

— I met a man.

— Finally!

— Nothing happened. He’s… complicated.

— Complicated sexy or complicated dangerous?

She hesitated.

— Both.

Lorenzo’s eyes widened, then he snapped his fingers.

— Tell me everything.

She didn’t answer. Her heart was beating a little too fast. The memory of his eyes, his voice, that almost electric tension between them…

She’d seen violence in him. Power. But also a bottomless depth. And the worst part?

She hadn’t been afraid.

She grabbed the dress, as if to distract herself, and slipped into the fitting room.

While she was changing, her phone buzzed.

A text from an unknown number:

“Black suits you perfectly, Doctor.”

Hope froze.

Her eyes locked on the mirror. A suspended second.

Someone was watching her.

— Lory…

— Hm?

— Do you see anyone outside?

He glanced out the window. Shook his head.

— No. Why?

She stayed still for a moment.

Then exhaled, somewhere between fascination and fear:

— He’s here.