(Luca)
Silence after an attack is never peace.
It is preparation.
I stood in the center of the corridor, gun lowered but ready, listening to the mansion breathe. The alarms had stopped. The gunfire had ceased. That only meant one thing—anyone still inside my walls was either hiding… or waiting.
Neither option ended well for them.
“Lock the inner wing,” I ordered calmly into my comm. “No one leaves without my word.”
“Yes, Don.”
I turned slightly, just enough to see Aria behind me. She stood exactly where I had placed her—back straight, chin lifted, eyes alert. Not panicked. Not frozen. Watching. That alone told me she understood more than she ever let on.
Good. Fear clouds judgment. I didn’t allow fear near her.
“You stay here,” I said, already knowing she would listen. “Two guards
