เข้าสู่ระบบLenny's POV
I woke up to the sound of Shadow's tail thumping hard against the floor beside the bed. Vincenzo was still asleep next to me, his breathing even and steady for the first time in days straight. I lay there a second just listening to it, grateful for how calm it sounded compared to every other morning before this one. I slipped out from under the blanket slowly, careful not to jostle him or wake him up too early after everything his bLenny's POVI helped Vincenzo celebrate small milestones in recovery that morning. He walked unaided across the room for the first time without holding onto anything. I stood by the door and watched him take every single step slow and steady. "You did it," I said and clapped my hands. "Look at you going all the way across the room without any help at all."He smiled big when he reached me and touched my arm. "It feels good," he said. "I am getting there faster than I thought I would."The group gathered in the living room to analyze the message. Luca and Francesca sat down, and we all looked at the words on the phone. I read it again and spotted patterns others missed from my outsider view. "Look at the words here," I said and pointed at the screen. "They use the same phrasing as the tampered file notes. It is the same person or the same group sending these messages."Luca leaned in closer to see. "You a
Vincenzo's POVI authorized a quiet operation to deal with the Dante-loyal captain. I called Luca and Francesca into the room while I stayed resting in bed. "Take him out clean," I said. "No noise and no traces back to us. Make it look like an accident if you can, so no one asks questions."Luca nodded and wrote down the address on a piece of paper. "We can do it tonight," he said. "I have two men ready who are good at this kind of work, and they know how to stay invisible."Francesca looked at me and crossed her arms. "I will make sure the body disappears completely," she said. "You focus on healing and let us handle the dirty part of this."I gave them all the details I had and told them exactly how to do it step by step so nothing would go wrong. In my head, I thought about the balance between mercy and ruthlessness for the family’s future. Some people deserved a second chance, but this captain was to
Lenny's POVI felt the weight of the private pre-meeting request right away. It sat heavy on me all morning and would not leave my mind. I walked into the bedroom and looked at Vincenzo, who was sitting up in the bed. "It could be a setup," I said. "You are still healing, and this feels too risky right now for you to go alone."Vincenzo sat up straighter and shook his head. "I have to go if it secures more allies," he said. "We need every vote we can get on the Commission, or they might turn against us."I crossed my arms and kept arguing with him. "But what if they use it against you?" I asked. "You are not at full strength yet, and one wrong move could end everything we have worked for."He reached for my hand and held it. "This is how the game works, Lenny," he said. "I cannot say no without looking weak in front of them. You are my sounding board now, so tell me what you really think we should do."I sat down on
Vincenzo's POVI gritted my teeth through the sharp pain after I overexerted myself walking too much. Blood seeped through the fresh bandages, and I felt it warm on my skin right away. Lenny rushed to help me back to the bed, and she put her arm under me to support my weight. "Easy," she said. "Lie down slow.""The doctor is coming now," she told me. "Stay still until he gets here so it does not get worse."The doctor arrived soon after and checked the wound carefully. He changed the bandages and looked at me seriously. "You are lucky it is minor," the doctor warned. "But another stunt like this and you will not make the sit-down. Your body needs the full two weeks to heal right, or the damage could be permanent."I nodded at him, but inside I felt mad at myself for pushing so hard. After the doctor left the room, I stayed in bed and my frustration boiled over in private. I slammed a fist against the mat
Lenny's POVThe new arrival raised immediate suspicion in me right away. He stood in the doorway with Bressi and looked nervous, like he did not want to be there at all. I felt the paranoia affecting everyone in the safe house now. Every new person made me wonder if they were the mole working against us. I watched him closely while he talked to Giovanni on the phone and reported in about the Commission plans.Francesca came early the next morning like always. "We are doing knife work today," she said. "You need to learn quick escapes too in case things go bad at the meeting or after."I trained harder with her in the back room of the safe house. She handed me the knife and showed me how to hold it right in my hand. "Slice up, not down," she said. "And always go for the weak spots on the body."I practiced the moves over and over again. "Like this," I asked and did the motion she showed me with the knife.
Vincenzo's POVI felt the walls closing in more every day. The Commission meeting was getting closer, and I knew I had to be ready no matter what. Giovanni came to the safe house in person that afternoon. He walked into the room and sat down in the chair by the bed. Bressi stayed outside the door and kept watch."Some commissioners are pushing for additional loyalty tests," Giovanni said right away. "Your bloodline is still an issue for the purists on the commission. They want to make sure you are not hiding anything from them at all."I sat up straighter in the bed and looked at him straight. "I will do whatever tests they want," I said. "I have nothing to hide from them. Dante is dead, and I took him out because he betrayed the family and tried to take everything down with him."Giovanni nodded, but his face stayed serious the whole time. "Good. Now rehearse your testimony with me. Start from the beginning and show no weaknes
Lenny’s POVGradually, the darkness that had swallowed me finally began to spit me out, taking off its tendrils as I heard sounds muddled in my ear. Soon, the fluorescent lights above me flooded my vision. After taking a minute to adjust, I swept my head from one side to another."You're alive," a
Vincenzo’s POV"I swear I'll get you the money! I wasn't running... I wouldn't dare...!"Behind the pathetic pleading filling my ears, my 8 o’clock class loomed in my mind...I have an essay I've been putting aside. The professor was a pain, but he had a backbone unlike the others in my department,
Lenny's POV"Explain?!" I spat out, throwing my plastic bag at him. "How the heck are you going to explain this?"He dodged—he always had surprisingly fast reflexes—and groaned, pulling up his pants and buckling swiftly."Sofia is a friend,""I'm sure she is," I seethed as he approached me. He had
Lenny's pov"I’d better not see you around here again," the warden scoffed, handing me a plastic bag containing my mortal belongings. "Won't you miss me?" I teased lightlyWrinkles lined her face, "I mean it, Willow. Keep your head down and stay away from the reason you got sent to this hole in the







