Chapter 32
Dante stood in the sunlit study, the heavy mahogany desk feeling cold beneath his knuckles. Maya walked into the room, her intuition instantly sensing the sudden shift in the air. "Dante? What is that?" she asked, her voice tight with concern. Seeing the uncharacteristic tension in his broad shoulders, she stepped closer, resting a comforting hand on his arm. Without a word, Dante slid a silver pocketknife along the seam of the package and emptied the contents onto the leather blotter.
A small silver baby bracelet clattered against the wood, catching the midday sun. Beside it lay a folded sheet of parchment. Maya’s breath hitched as she recognized the initials engraved on the clasp: S.R. It was the christening gift Dante had given Sophia years ago—an heirloom Elena had taken when she fled into the night. Dante unfolded the paper with steady, surgical hands. His jaw tightened so violently that the muscles twitched. The message was written in a numerical cipher he had created during his earliest days in the syndicate.
May you like
"What does it say?" Maya asked softly, her brown eyes searching his face.
Dante read the deciphered words aloud in a low, grim rumble: "Volkov's men breached the Zurich vault three days ago. They recovered the black ledger. They know I am alive, and they know you are in Tuscany. I have nowhere left to turn. They are coming for the child." Dante set the parchment down. Their tranquil sanctuary was officially compromised.
