The storm outside mirrored the storm within.
Lightning cracked across the skies above the Costa estate, illuminating the silhouettes of guards flanking the high balcony. Inside, the war table was no longer just a symbol of strategy. It had become the battlefield itself.
Valentina De Luca stood at its head, flanked by Zora and Mateo, her posture regal and impenetrable. The woman who once treaded carefully through a world shaped by men now commanded it. And beside her, no longer her captor but her equal, Adrian Costa watched the pieces move.
"The Corvelli faction has gone silent since Cassiel's announcement," Mateo reported, unfurling the latest intelligence report.
"Because they're waiting," Zora snapped. "Cassiel being alive wasn’t a resurrection. It was a declaration. She's staking he
