Chapter 40

• The night air was thick with tension, velvet skies stretched over a city that never truly slept. In the distance, the glimmer of streetlights painted golden reflections across the inky water of the canal. Elio Moretti stood at the grand balcony of the villa, the weight of a thousand choices pressing down on his shoulders.
• Somewhere inside, Luca De Rossi was waiting for him.
• The mere thought of Luca the man who had once been his enemy, the man who had clawed his way into Elio’s guarded heart set his nerves alight with a cocktail of longing and fear. Every step forward with Luca had been like walking a razor’s edge. They had both spilt blood. They had both broken vows. And yet, tonight… tonight something was different.