And the building fell back into silence.
I stood from my chair and crossed to the window, looking out over Tuscany.It was already midday and the streets were teeming with the usual swell of vibrant tourists and those who made Tuscany their home.
My phone buzzed on the desk.
It was Marcello, no doubt checking in because he knew Gianni wasn’t with me.
I ignored it.
Because my main concern right now wasn’t business.It wasn’t the docks.It wasn’t the men still scrambling to cover the tracks of yesterday’s mess.
It was Neve Trimboli.
The girl who should have died fifteen years ago, and somehow hadn’t.
I turned from the window, grabbed my keys, and left without another thought.
The drive outof the city wasn’t long, but it felt longer with my mind working the way it was.
I couldn’t get her out of my head.
She was a monster.
Or she was becoming one.
And the thought didn’t repel me.
It pulled.
I didn’t like questions with no answers.I didn’t like loose ends.I didn’t like anything I couldn’t control.
And Neve Trimboli was all three.
The moment she’d dragged that knife across the man’s throat, something inside me had gone still.
It was shock and recognition.But more than that, I had watched a future I hadn’t expected.
A future where she didn’t die quietly.
A future where she might one day decide the world owed her blood.
Including mine.
My grip tightened on the steering wheel.
I told myself I was going to her house to observe her.
But the truth was uglier.
I wanted to see her again.
I wanted to watch her move in daylight.Watch her breathe.Watch her try to pretend she was normal, after what she’d done.
And I wanted to catch her off guard.
Not because I enjoyed the idea of frightening her.
Because I needed to know if she could be surprised at all.