{Elena’s POV}
I should have trusted my instincts.
There’d been something off all day.
The guards seemed… distracted. There were too many glances exchanged between the men stationed in the east hallway, and Matteo hadn’t cracked a single joke since breakfast. Even Alessandro had left in a rush after whispering something to Nico that I couldn’t catch.
I tried to ignore the knot forming in my stomach. I told myself I was being paranoid.
But I’d learned long ago that paranoia is just another word for survival.
By nightfall, the silence in the house had turned into something unnatural. Even the creaking floors sounded louder, and the distant hum of the power generators buzzed like a warning I couldn’t interpret.
I didn’t sleep.
Again.
Instead, I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at t
