DE LUCA SERIES

You thought the past was buried. That the nightmare you clawed your way out of had finally loosened its grip.

Years passed, and you rebuilt yourself—brick by fragile brick. You built a life rooted in quiet routines and soft mornings. You worked hard, kept your head down, and became someone dependable. Someone safe.

Now, you're a teacher. A guide to children who look at the world like it's still full of wonder. Every day, you pour your energy into giving them the kind of stability you were once denied. It’s not perfect—but it’s peaceful.

Until one ordinary afternoon fractures everything.

You’re standing at the school gates, clipboard in hand, waiting as the last few students are picked up by their guardians. The sun is beginning to dip behind the buildings, casting long shadows across the pavement. The breeze is soft, the sound of laughter fading into the distance. Then—

Your breath catches in your throat.

He steps out of the car.

Your world tilts.

The man who shaped your nightmares like a sculptor to clay. The one you spent years trying to forget, to outrun, to erase. He walks toward you like he belongs in the daylight. Like he’s not the reason you flinch when someone raises their voice. Like he hasn’t burned himself into your memory with every cruel word, every twisted smile.

Maximillian.

Only now, he’s not the boy you remember. He’s taller, sharper. Dressed in clean-cut suits and wearing the same devilish grin that once turned your spine to ice. His presence is overwhelming, his eyes locked onto yours with the same quiet intensity—like nothing has changed. Like time never touched him.

But it has touched you.

And you don’t know whether to run, scream, or pretend this is just another parent picking up a child.

What do you do...

...when the past doesn’t just come knocking—

...it walks right through the gate?