Serafina’s POV
The building slept uneasily.
It was the kind of place that pretended to be neutral polished floors, quiet elevators, security cameras that blinked like they were bored. Money moved through these walls without raising its voice. Deals were made without blood, but the consequences always found it later.
I felt it in my bones the moment Vittorio asked Elena to speak with him alone.
Not demanded.
Not threatened.
Asked.
“Five minutes,” he said, his voice mild enough to pass for courtesy. “Just us.”
Elena didn’t hesitate.
That was the first crack.
She set her tablet down carefully, rose from the chair, and smoothed the sleeve of her blazer like this was a boardroom, not a borrowed office in a city actively hunting us. Her calm was immaculate. Too immaculate.
“I’ll be ri
