Alessio’s POV
The first rule of power is simple
Control the narrative before it controls you
By the time the sun rises over the city I have already rewritten three versions of the same story
The warehouse attack was minor
The council meeting was routine
Seraphina’s absence was strategic
That is what the public circle sees
What they do not see is the shift underneath
The hesitation in Marco’s voice
The way two council members avoided eye contact
The sudden silence from one of our shipping partners
Small fractures
Fractures become collapses if ignored
I stand in the operations room, screens glowing across the wall, feeds from docks, warehouses, private roads
Everything appears calm
Calm is deceptive
Marco steps in behind me
“We increased patrol on the north side,” he says
