Page 40 of Tower of Temptations

I watched her leave after breakfast, each step graceful despite her obvious uncertainty. Watched how every man in the room tracked her movement. Watched how she glanced back, just once, before disappearing down the hallway.

"Well." Vincenzo's voice drew me back to reality. "That was interesting."

Interesting. Like a bomb waiting to explode wasn't interesting. Like the way she was quietly dismantling everything I thought I knew about control wasn't interesting.

The others filed out. I could still hear her laugh, see that unguarded smile. Feel how everything had shifted in the space of one fucking breakfast.

And I was already in too deep to care.

20

ENZO

The quiet at Sotto Voce after closing always made me reflective.

Like the club itself was holding its breath, waiting for dawn. I traced the rim of my glass, the good whiskey untouched, ice melting while my mind wandered.

Footsteps in the back hallway. Nico first, looking worn around the edges like he'd been chasing down leads all day.

"You look like shit," I offered, pushing a glass his way.

"Feel worse." He sank into a chair, rubbing his shaved head. "Been a long day of following paper trails that shouldn't exist."

Angelo and Rocco showed up next. The twins looked different these days: Angelo all steel and sharp edges, Rocco like he was barely containing something explosive. They moved differently now, in a way that made me think we were all changing.

Vincenzo slipped in after them, quiet as always but carrying that tension in his shoulders I wasn't used to seeing. Even his usual precise movements seemed weighted tonight.

Luca sauntered in next, wound tight despite the hour. The way he immediately sprawled in his chair like he owned the place almost made me smile. Almost.

Giuliano arrived last, cutting through the quiet like a blade. One look at his face and I knew tonight wasn't just about business.

"Starting early?" Rocco headed straight for the good scotch, the one I kept for nights like this.

"Not early if you haven't slept."

"There is movement on the west side. Vittorio's pulling pieces together," Vincenzo said from his spot by the bar.

"Always the bearer of bad news," Luca drawled from his sprawled position. "Tell me something good for once."

"Like what's got Giuliano changing house rules?" Rocco's grin was all edge. "This morning was... interesting."

"Interesting isn't the word I'd use." Giuliano's voice cut through the conversation. "Report."

"Straight to business then." Nico moved forward, hands spreading over the papers he'd brought. "Your warehouse theory was right. Three times the volume moving through Divino's old routes, all under companies that don't exist."

"He's getting sloppy," Vincenzo noted. "Too many loose ends."

"Or confident," Angelo countered. "Think about it: he's pushing into old territory, not even trying to hide the paper trail..."

"Because he thinks he's untouchable," Rocco finished, a familiar darkness creeping into his voice. "Same as when he killed Dad."

"Different this time," I said quietly. "We've got something he wants."

The air shifted. None of us needed to say her name.

"She knows those operations," Nico said carefully. "Grew up watching them."

"No." Giuliano's response was immediate. "She's not getting involved."

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