Cassiel Dain was dead, but the fire she lit burned far beyond her grave.
Elise Voss stood in the wreckage of the villa, the scent of scorched stone and steel sharp in the air. The others had gone. Adrian and Valentina were in the wind. Matteo had vanished without a word. But Elise had stayed behind.
Not out of loyalty. Out of necessity.
She crouched by the charred remains of the underground vault, her gloved fingers brushing a warped panel of titanium. The blast had been powerful but not perfect. She pried open the twisted metal, and there it was: a fireproof lockbox, embedded deep in the floor.
Cassiel’s last secret.
Elise dragged it free and keyed in the code she had memorized years ago. The lid hissed open.
Inside were three things: a sealed envelope, a flash drive, and a gold coi
