Two days later...
The dining hall was even more crowded than before. The air was thick with the smell of roasted meats, expensive wine, and the heavy, suffocating scent of cigar smoke. Uncle Jeff, Cousin Luca, and the other Rossi men were already loud with drink, their laughter booming against the high stone ceilings.
The Ladies' Council sat like beautiful, frozen statues, their eyes tracking our every move. I could feel the weight of Leonardo’s gaze from the head of the table, cold and expectant, while Vincent’s eyes burned with a restless, hungry fire from across the room.
Sophia and I stood in the center of the floor. She looked fragile, her eyes darting toward Matteo, who sat near the end of the table with a grim expression. We began to move, the slow, rhythmic dance we had been c
