Three days later, the Moretti estate was bathed in the blood-red glow of the setting Sicilian sun.
Tonight was the Grand Assembly. Every Capo, every lieutenant, and every high-ranking associate of our syndicate had gathered in the Grand Atrium. The air inside the cavernous hall was thick with cigar smoke, expensive liquor, and the distinct, restless tension of a predatory empire on the verge of a power shift.
I sat at my vanity, the thick medical gauze still wrapped tightly over my eyes. I reached up and carefully tucked a tiny, flesh-colored earpiece into my right ear, concealing it beneath the heavy cascade of my dark curls.
"Comms check," a deep, raspy voice crackled to life in my ear.
"I hear you, Kael," I murmured softly, adjusting the simple, understated black mourning dress I ha
