Nico
“Is there anything else you need from me, sir?” Alessio asked from the front seat.
The engine of my car idled quietly as we sat at the edge of my father’s estate, parked beside the grotesque fountain he’d commissioned years ago. White marble. Gold inlays. A statue so excessive it bordered on parody. To my father, wealth was only real if it was loud. If it wasn’t displayed, it didn’t exist. And if it wasn’t envied, it was wasted.
“No,” I said at first.
Then I exhaled slowly.
“Actually—yes.”
I met Alessio’s gaze through the rearview mirror. He was attentive, sharp, always watching. One of the few men I trusted without reservation.
“I want you to upgrade the security cameras at Raven’s Hollow Bookstore. Replace everything. Hardwire it into our private system. Live monitoring. Aler
