Chapter 75

• The evening was unusually still, the kind of quiet that allowed every creak of the floorboards and murmur of voices to echo through the house. Jane had stayed late at Rafael and Maya's home to help organize some family photos for a project Maya had mentioned earlier that day. She was about to head to the kitchen for a glass of water when faint voices drifted down the hall.
• Pausing mid-step, Jane tilted her head. It wasn’t unusual for Rafael to have late-night conversations in his study, but the tone of these voices piqued her curiosity. She crept closer, her heart racing as she recognized one of the voices—it was Luca. The other was deeper, rougher—Angelo.
• The door to Rafael’s study was ajar, and Jane could see the faint outline of Luca pacing back and forth while Angelo leaned against the desk, arms crossed. Their words were muffled at first, but as Jane moved closer, she began to piece together fragments of their conversation.