u didn't trus

kdown, the once-bustling halls now he

ng room, Dominic stood at the head of a long

y close to his private office - sa

to his rule. The

breached h

anted him

g feeling he already kne

the tense silence. "I want everything. Name, background, connections. I want to know w

he atmosphere electric wi

ts later, black suits dissolvin

him like heat. He closed the door with a soft click

ngelo asked quietly. "T

ned, a muscle feathe

idents," he said, his v

y. "Maybe... it's noth

ped, slicing through his cousin's doubt

who moves like a whisper

that had kept him alive all th

lings. Hard evidence. A name

uld keep his cards clo

the mistake of un

ag

-

rrace, her hands folded neatly around a delicat

ainting long, lazy shadows across the sprawling est

ant, disarming - the color of innocence and

facade, her heart beat with the c

heir empire on centurie

d tear i

crumbli

cenes, slipping poison into conversations, bending weaker

d soon be questioning orde

dn't ta

er coffee, savori

onto the terrace like a thunderclo

, a stark contrast to the viol

e space - a silent clash of wi

etting her lips curve into

ren

tightly controlled act of violen

aid, voice low and dangerous, like a p

ow, the picture of amused ind

lied, studying her the way a wolf studi

aped her lips. "I find that

yes - surprise, or maybe recognition. Then it was gon

ward, the space between them shrin

ainst the stone railing, relaxed yet ready. E

playin

n't know th

s voice stripped of all the polite

his stare u

she said, her voice soft but carryin

ched between them, thi

hairs rise on the

about the way she sa

rom

clar

Angelo's voice cut through th

we nee

n duty and the gnawing instinct that the rea

id at last, voice clipped

er smile slow and almost pitying. "Of co

moment snapping like a

expression serene as the seeds she h

ight have ruled

know the gam

n he thought dead had c

r forg

d returned

alty, not even old memories - w