Chapter 225

• VALENTINA
• ~•~
• Night had fallen over the mansion. I stood in my suite with the door locked, the stolen letter and my notebook still hidden under the floorboard. Harlan’s voice from the café kept repeating in my head. “Three days. Maybe four.” The wait felt endless. Every shadow in the room looked like it held something I hadn’t found yet. I couldn’t sit still. Couldn’t sleep. The ball, the letter, Gustavo’s half-truths about Matteo—they all pressed down until I needed air.