Chapter 71

• Chapter 70: The Sound of War in the Walls
• Elena did not sleep. Not after Ferrero’s velvet threat, not after Alessio’s whisper at her throat, not after the biker’s engine faded into night like a promise she couldn’t let herself believe. She sat at the edge of her bed with her hands knotted in the sheets, the leather band against her scar humming faintly like a live wire. Every beat of her pulse reminded her of cages—Ferrero’s crown, Alessio’s claim, Gabriel’s fire.
• When dawn broke, the mansion already thrummed with preparation. She could hear it through the walls: crates moved, orders barked, boots pounding. War never slept, and she was its newest soldier whether she wanted to be or not.