Nikolai POV
The office fell silent. The photograph sat between us.
Neither of us moved or looked away.
I watched Valentina’s eyes scan the image with the same precise focus I’d seen in Belladonna’s conference room. She wasn’t looking at herself; she was analyzing everything around her: the angle, the reflections, the shadows, the people, the distance. Every detail.
She showed no emotion. She was dissecting it. That was exactly what I expected.
“What are you thinking?” I asked.
She didn’t answer right away.
She picked up the photograph by its corners, careful not to smudge it.
The image showed her crossing the street toward Belladonna coffee, one hand holding the coffee, the other the phone, completely unaware of being watched. Or so it seemed.
She studied it for a few seconds bef
