The Boat
The morning after Caterina’s revelation, Sofia woke before sunrise and found the villa strangely quiet. Lake Como stretched beyond the windows like dark glass, hiding the mountains beneath a thin veil of mist. She could not stop thinking about Mateo’s handwriting and the woman he had trusted enough to place between himself and Henri. When Lucien appeared at the terrace door, he did not ask whether she had slept because the answer was already visible in her face.
Lucien carried two coffees and offered one without moving closer. Sofia accepted it, then asked why Elena had disappeared from every official Vantari record if she had once owned shares in the company. Lucien said he had spent years asking that question and had been given different answers by different relatives. He admi
