Chapter 239

• The morning after I saw Alessia, I woke with a heaviness in my chest that no amount of coffee could lift. I sat at the kitchen table with my cup untouched, staring at the soft steam rising from it. Julian had already left for a meeting, and the silence of the house left me alone with the echoes of yesterday.
• I knew I could not keep this only to myself. Claudia and Simone had carried pieces of this war as much as I had. They had seen Alessia’s cruelty up close, had held me through the storms, and had given pieces of themselves to help me survive.
• I picked up my phone and typed a short message to each of them. Can we meet today? Just the three of us. There’s something I need to share. The replies came quickly, both of them saying yes without asking for details.