LOGINIreneThe silence of the West Wing was different from the rest of the penthouse.The kind of silence that felt engineered instead of natural. Like the inside of an expensive watch, intricate gears spinning beneath polished steel, every movement precise enough to make my own heartbeat feel clumsy and intrusive.Even the air felt pressurized here.But this room smelled like him.Dark wood. Cool rain. Clean linen.And beneath it all, that sharp trace of antiseptic that clung to Romeo like a second skin.It hit me so suddenly my chest tightened.Because somewhere along the line, I had started associating that scent with safety. Which was probably the most psychologically concerning thing about me.Romeo wasn’t by the windows. Wasn’t at the balcony. Wasn’t anywhere.And yet somehow, the entire room still felt occupied by him. Like his presence had soaked permanently into the walls.I moved farther inside carefully. Then my eyes landed on the desk.And for the first time since meeting Romeo
RomeoThe Porsche’s cabin was a masterpiece of engineered silence.No vibration. No engine growl. No city noise bleeding through the reinforced glass. Just the low ambient hum of a machine so expensive it could imitate peace.I stared at the illuminated screen of my phone for a long, motionless moment after the message sent.Sleep well, Irene.The dashboard glow reflected faintly against the window beside me, catching the sharp edge of my own expression. By every logical metric, I should have been reviewing surgical charts inside Saint Romano Hospital or enduring another insufferable gala with the hospital board.Instead, I was parked illegally in a narrow alleyway behind the media district, functioning as a highly lethal security system for an overworked administrative assistant with chronic insomnia and terrible taste in instant coffee.I locked the phone.The screen went black.I slipped it carefully into the inner pocket of my suit jacket.My pulse remained perfectly steady. Sixty
RomeoMarcello physically jolted in his chair. The leather squealed violently as he spun around. “Who the hell are—”The words died instantly in his throat. Recognition hit him all at once.His face drained from flushed red to corpse gray in less than a heartbeat.“Dr. Galante.” He stammered, scrambling awkwardly to his feet. A stack of folders crashed onto the floor beside him. “I… I didn’t realize we had an appointment.”“We don’t.”I walked toward the desk slowly. My attention remained fixed on the photograph displayed across his monitor.“It’s a very clear image.” I murmured. “Though I fundamentally oppose your publication’s complete lack of journalistic ethics, I must admit your freelancer possesses excellent compositional instincts.”Marcello lifted both hands carefully in a placating gesture.“Dr. Galante, listen, the press has a legal right to document public figures. You parked a supercar in a loading zone in broad daylight. It’s public property. We haven’t even identified th
RomeoThe Porsche’s cabin was a masterpiece of engineered silence.No vibration. No engine growl. No city noise bleeding through the reinforced glass. Just the low ambient hum of a machine so expensive it could imitate peace.I stared at the illuminated screen of my phone for a long, motionless moment after the message sent.Sleep well, Irene.The dashboard glow reflected faintly against the window beside me, catching the sharp edge of my own expression. By every logical metric, I should have been reviewing surgical charts inside Saint Romano Hospital or enduring another insufferable gala with the hospital board.Instead, I was parked illegally in a narrow alleyway behind the media district, functioning as a highly lethal security system for an overworked administrative assistant with chronic insomnia and terrible taste in instant coffee.I locked the phone.The screen went black.I slipped it carefully into the inner pocket of my suit jacket.My pulse remained perfectly steady. Sixty
IreneI leaned back against the pillows, forcing myself into complete nonchalance.“The Metro was down this morning,” I explained. “Barnaby dragged an entire garbage bag across the staircase again, I was late for work, and Romeo happened to be leaving the building.”“You are telling me Romeo Galante gave you a ride to work.”I scoffed. “When you say it like that, it sounds weird.”“Because it is weird.” Alessia replied.I ignored that entirely. “Then later he happened to be nearby when Adrian decided to corner me in the lobby and demand emotional closure.”“And Romeo intervened.”“Yes.”Alessia stared at me with increasing suspicion.I forged ahead before she could interrupt. “You know how he is. Annoying. Always Inferring. Also… Deeply allergic to public incompetence.”She nodded. “That is unfortunately accurate.”“Exactly.” I said quickly. “He saw Adrian shouting in poorly tailored khakis and reacted like an apex predator protecting the ecosystem.”Alessia looked unconvinced.“So Ro
Irene“I counted them, Les. There are exactly fourteen pillows on this bed.”I sat cross-legged in the center of the enormous mattress, tossing one of the absurdly expensive silk throw pillows into the air before catching it again. The bed was so soft it barely felt real, more like sinking into a cloud engineered specifically for wealthy people with stress disorders.Across from me, Alessia lounged against the mountain of cushions with her bare feet tucked beneath her silk dress, a bowl of half-eaten truffle risotto balanced precariously on the nightstand beside her.The second we shut the heavy oak doors to the East Suite behind us, the suffocating tension from the rest of the penthouse had finally loosened. Out there, every hallway felt cold and polished and watched. But in here, with the lights dimmed and our shoes abandoned somewhere near the door, Alessia looked less like the guarded queen of a criminal empire and more like my best friend again.Granted, she was still wrapped in
Isabella’s POVI was about to respond to Irene when Romeo walked into the kitchen, carrying a bag of fresh pastries."Buongiorno (Good evening), raggio di sole (sunshine)." Romeo paused to ruffle Elara’s hair as she walked past him toward the dining room.He stopped at the counter and looked betwee
Dante Galante’s POVThe water in the sink turned pink as it went down the drain.I stared at it, holding the sink with my good hand. My other hand burnt under the running water. Small pieces of glass were still stuck in my palm. Wine covered my skin, looking too much like blood.The glass was flawe
Isabella’s POVDante hadn’t spoken to me since the dinner. He hadn't sent a text, hadn't checked on my plans, hadn't even hovered in the hallway when I went to tuck Elara in. He had stayed in his study, ignoring everyone.The "Machine" had reset. And it had excluded me from the system. I didn’t eve
Mateo’s POVThe alcohol in my glass was the only thing that felt warm. The rest of the house that I had built with Isabella by my side felt cold, suffocating.Five days.It had been five days since Valentina gave birth.Five days of crying. Five days of nurses running up and down the halls. Five da







