lights glowed warm, but Rose felt cold as the engines whined down. When the door opened, the a

t attention, their faces impassive. Among them, a woman s

spoke, it was the first words sh

e told the wom

follow. Without a word, Rose was guided down the stairs, her dress dragging across the steps a

nt of his suit, rising with slow precision. But befor

s. "Why spare Blake? Why marry his daughter? Yo

gaze falling on him. "Non ti devo sp

ttle Dante is letting a woman soften him. Getting caught up in... f

e. For a moment, no one spoke. Then he stepped close

thal. "If you ever question me again, i

face, the amusement draining

once more and descended the

hrough the window, Naples spread out below, its lights scattered across the cit

g with the rush of her pulse. Every turn of the road took he

ane in the headlights as the gates opened soundlessly. Men stood on either side, dressed in

y clicked

t him in law school-his tech companies, his luxury hotels. He

But then there were the guns. The underground dealings. I

th that, he was also a mafia boss. She's int

he high stone walls, then the long drive lined with cypress trees.

reached into the night, the front lit by a soft gold glow. Rows of arched windows refl

she stared up at the double doors, taller than any she'd ever

andle. A servant bowed slightly, his tone quiet,

he atrium opened wide, black stone floors streaked with veins of gold. A chandelier hung overhead, throwin

ward, each sound echoing too loud in the vast

ts-men in dark suits, their faces stern, the same storm-grey eyes appearing again and again. The More

hed her elbow lightly

inst the stone. Her eyes burned, but she kept her

y doors shut with a

s tapped against the marble in a slow, steady rhythm as he walked to the double doors at the end. Two g

r his thin frame. His skin was pale and drawn tight, his breath rough from years of cig

a respectful dist

rio rasped, voice low, steady d

s loosely behind his b

old. And more. Word travels, figlio. Faster than birds,

othing. Sile

ntito che hai preso un animale dom

lled women women. They were distractions. Commodities.

said simply,

hief before continuing. "Marriage, I heard. A contract signed under God and the state. All for the life of a we

at his side, nails bit

ttorio studied him as tho

l deal with what waits here. The Russians press on Trieste.

dle it," Da

tapped once on the armrest. "Ricorda, figlio. La Corona Nera

ned his hea

with a hollow echo. Only when the silence of the corridor swallow

s as he walked, eyes painted in the same storm-grey as

, he stopped at a door

said, step

, her smile was faint but warm, hers was the one