THE MAFIA BOSS WATCHED ME SERVE HIS ENGAGEMENT DINNER WITH MY HAIR COVERING ONE EYE

"Stay here," Luca commanded, turning toward the door. "Do not leave this room until Matteo returns for you."

"Luca, wait," I blurted out, the name slipping from my lips before I could stop myself.

He paused at the double doors, looking back over his shoulder. The dim firelight caught the sharp angles of his jaw and the cold intensity of his gaze.

"She is expecting a call from Volkov at midnight to confirm the camera loops," I said, remembering the fragments of conversation from Suite 204. "If she realizes you know, she might trigger the ambush early or try to slip away through the private gate."

A ghost of a dark smirk touched the corners of Luca's lips. "Let her try to slip away. There are twenty-four snipers hidden in the tree line of this estate, Olivia. A rat does not leave this house without my permission."

He opened the door and vanished down the corridor with Matteo, leaving me alone in the vast, silent library.

The clock on the mantelpiece ticked steadily: 9:30 PM.

I couldn't just sit in the armchair. My nerves were strung tight like piano wire. Every sound in the mansion—the faint thumping of the orchestra bass through the floorboards, the wind howling against the heavy glass windows, the crackle of the dying fire—made my heart leap into my throat.

I walked toward the large French doors that opened onto the private stone balcony overlooking the rear courtyard. Drawing back the heavy velvet drapes by an inch, I looked down into the snow-dusted grounds.

Beneath the warm glow of the garden lanterns, the estate looked like a winter wonderland. But as I watched closely, I saw the deadly reality shifting beneath the surface.

Silhouettes moved through the shadows of the hedges. Men in heavy tactical coats, carrying suppressed submachine guns, were quietly replacing the regular security guards stationed near the garage and the outer perimeter gates.

Suddenly, I saw her.

Vanessa Bellini stepped out onto the heated stone terrace below, a fur stole draped over her crimson silk dress, holding a slim gold cigarette holder. She looked around with sharp, paranoid glances, checking the corners of the patio before pulling a sleek, burner phone from the inner lining of her fur wrap.

She dialed a number, brought the phone to her ear, and began pacing along the stone balustrade.

From my vantage point on the third-floor balcony, I couldn't hear what she was saying, but her body language was agitated, sharp, and frantic. She gestured wildly with her cigarette, tapping her foot against the flagstones.

Then, she stopped dead in her tracks.

She looked straight up at the third-floor library window.

My breath hitched. I immediately stepped back behind the velvet drape, but I knew with sinking certainty that she had seen the movement of the curtain.

Two seconds later, the library’s heavy oak doors swung open with a violent bang.

I spun around, my heart leaping into my throat, expecting Matteo or Luca.

Instead, standing in the doorway was Enzo Bellini—Vanessa’s younger brother.

Enzo was twenty-four, reckless, notoriously violent, and high on a cocktail of cocaine and arrogance. He wore a tailored velvet tuxedo, but his bow tie was undone, and his eyes were bloodshot and wild. In his right hand, he carried a heavy nickel-plated revolver hanging loosely at his side.

"Well, well, well," Enzo slurred, stepping into the library and kicking the heavy doors shut behind him with the heel of his boot. "The clumsy little maid who likes to walk into doors."

I backed away toward the fireplace, grabbing the heavy iron fire poker from its brass stand, holding it defensively with both hands. "Get out of here, Enzo. Luca told me to stay in this room."

Enzo let out a harsh, barking laugh, walking toward me with predatory, swaggering steps. "Luca is downstairs playing the gracious host with my old man. But my sister just texted me from the courtyard. She said she saw someone watching her from the master study."

He raised the revolver, leveling the dark barrel straight at my chest.

"Vanessa said you had big ears, little girl," Enzo sneered, cocking the hammer back with a loud, metallic click. "She told me that before we take this whole fucking house down tonight, I needed to come up here and clean up the mess she left on your face."

"Enzo, don't do this," I whispered, holding the heavy iron poker steady, though my arms were shaking with adrenaline. "Luca already knows. He knows about the USB. He knows about Volkov."

Enzo’s sneer faltered for half a heartbeat, his eyes widening in brief shock, before his face contorted into pure, murderous rage.