**This Chapter Contains Themes With Mention of Torture and Blood, Please Skip If You Are Not Comfortable**
The war room of the Virelli estate felt heavier than usual, thick with the scent of strong coffee, cigarette smoke, and lingering gun oil. Sunlight barely filtered through the reinforced blinds as Luca stood at the head of the long mahogany table, sleeves rolled up, his posture straight and commanding. The broken, sobbing man from the armored van the night before had been buried deep. In his place was the don—cold, focused, and radiating a quiet, terrifying resolve. Love for Sophia had not softened him; it had sharpened him into a weapon.
“We don’t rush blind,” Luca said, his voice low and steady as he addressed the gathered men: Victor, Matteo, Dante, and his father Romano. “They w
