aring to strike. Sophia watched him closely, her mind racing as he crosse

nd and cold, the silence of the mansion pressing in on her as they moved through it. Each room they passed

soft glow of candlelight flickered across the tablecloth, and

ft but commanding. He gestured for her to sit at o

appear calm, poised, but inside, her heart was racing. The weight of t

with the precision of a surgeon. He didn't speak immediat

smooth, his words calculated.

ting his gaze with cool detac

"I don't know. Perhaps someone who'd fight me more. Or someone w

eakness. "I'm not here to make friends," she replied coldly. "I'm here because I don't have a ch

gers tapping gently on the table. "You're right," he said quietly. "This is a transaction. But every tra

t his words. She was trapped, and every

n to thicken between them. He set down a bottle of win

but not touching the liquid inside. She didn't want to drink it. She did

ixed on her. "To new beginnings," he sa

solve hardening. "To survival,"

ound low and dark.

sted rich and heavy, but Sophia barely noticed. Her mind was too consumed with the

the room felt strangely suffocating. Enzo's presence was all-encompassing, his attentio

His family, his past, the full extent of his power. There were fragments, rum

ugh a series of corridors, his footsteps echoing in the stillness of the house. They

st bed draped in dark linens and soft, plush carpeting underfoot. The room was just as

the decadent furnishings and the subtle but unmistakable sense of ownership in every deta

'll have everything you need here. All I ask is that you r

nothing. There was nothing she coul

oor. "Get some rest. Tomorrow will be

in the center of the room. The door cli

r choices, alone with the weight

hat had begun to unfold settled around