phin

om was a relic of

ies found in the rest of the estate, and s

ve been a prison. To me, it

ack. I moved through the room with a handheld frequen

s, the underside of the mahogany d

a's security favorites-I didn't remove them. I simply disab

wning's slide when a soft, hesitant knock int

he door, my weapon held

it?" I

it's Ca

animal, her eyes darting toward the shadows of the hallway as if

do you

ssed, her voice trembling wit

omposure finally breaking now that she

you can shoot a gun? You have n

e other families, to climb the ladder of the Sy

ing the door and locking it. The sound of the

me for the fact that you

rned on me, her face contorted with

.. the people who 'raised' you... they are monsters, Se

nst the door,

water and the rattle of chains. "How do you know what

her face, leaving her looking skel

he Russo archives-said I died in a hospital fire during a routin

' You didn't think I was dead. You knew I wa

away until she hit the edge of the dusty

ou owe a debt, Caterina? Was I the currency used to pay off Giovanni's early failures? Or did you ju

her eyes-only the sheer, unadulterated terror of a woman whose darkes

put me in the dark," I whispered, leaning in until sh

ho cried for you in the middle of the night. I am your reckoning. If I fi

ing against the stone floor, leaving beh

ke a heavy shroud. I wasn't just in New York to infiltrate.