Chapter 165

• Vanessa's POV
• I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling as early sunlight crept through the gaps in the curtains. Paris was never truly quiet, but there was a stillness in the air this morning that I found… satisfying. I hadn’t slept much. Not that I needed to. My mind had been far too active—turning over names, timelines, memories, and the next set of moves I had already begun executing.
• The sheets tangled around my legs were silk, but I felt like I was wrapped in fire. Not rage this time, but anticipation. Today would matter. I knew it in my bones.