University Library

The university library smelled of old paper, dust, and the faint chemical tang of preservation treatments. Tall shelves of restricted historical volumes rose on either side of the narrow aisle where Vittoria stood, a soft pencil in one hand and a stack of requested texts on the small cart beside her. The afternoon light that filtered through the high windows was muted and scholarly. For a few precious minutes the outside world had fallen away.

Enzo remained near the entrance to the restricted section, one hand resting loosely inside his open trench coat, eyes moving constantly over every person who entered the aisle. He had not spoken much since they left the estate. His presence was simply a solid, silent fact.

Vittoria pulled another volume from the shelf and opened it carefully on the reading stand. The Florentine maritime logs were exactly as incomplete in the digital scans as she had feared. Marginal notes in faded ink filled the gaps. She began copying the most critical passages onto her legal pad, working with focused speed.

The soft sound of footsteps approached from the main corridor.

Hannah turned the corner and stopped dead.

For a second neither of them moved. Then Hannah’s face shifted from shock to something sharper and more hurt.

“Vittoria?”

Vittoria’s stomach dropped. She set the pencil down. “Hannah.”

Enzo’s posture changed instantly. He took one quiet step closer but did not intervene yet.

Hannah crossed the remaining distance in three quick strides. “What the hell? You vanish for weeks, send me half-answers, and now you’re just… here? In the library like nothing happened?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Everything is complicated according to you.” Hannah’s voice stayed low out of respect for the space, but the emotion in it was raw. “I went to your house. Your mom’s car was gone. Neighbors talked about black SUVs. You told me you moved for medical reasons and then you basically disappeared. I’ve been losing my mind.”

Vittoria glanced once at Enzo. His expression remained neutral, but his eyes were fixed on the exchange. She turned back to Hannah.

“I’m staying somewhere secure right now. For reasons I can’t fully explain. My mom is safe. I’m safe. That’s the important part.”

“Safe from what?” Hannah’s arms were crossed tight. “And who’s the guy in the coat who looks like he’s ready to tackle someone?”

“He’s… security. It’s temporary.”

Hannah stared at her. “You’re married. You told me that much. To the man from the club. The one who owns half the city. And now you have bodyguards in the university library. Vittoria, this is not normal.”

“I know it’s not.” Vittoria’s throat felt tight. “I hate that I can’t tell you everything. I hate that you’re worried. But if I give you the full picture it puts you in a position I will not put you in.”

Hannah’s eyes shone with frustrated tears she was clearly fighting. “So I’m just supposed to accept the lies and the distance and pretend this is fine?”

“I’m asking you to trust that I’m doing the best I can with what I have.”

Enzo’s voice cut in, quiet but firm. “Mrs. Marchetti. Time.”

Hannah’s head snapped toward him. “Mrs. Marchetti. Right.”

Vittoria reached out and briefly squeezed Hannah’s arm. “I will call you. Soon. When I can speak more freely. Please don’t go to the police or start asking around campus. It will only make things harder.”

Hannah looked like she wanted to argue further. Instead she let out a shaky breath and nodded once. “I don’t like this. At all. But I’m glad you’re standing here in one piece.”

“Me too.”

Hannah gave Enzo a long, suspicious look, then turned and walked back toward the main reading room without another word.

Vittoria stood still for several seconds after she was gone. The weight of the severed ordinary life settled heavily across her shoulders. Enzo waited until Hannah was fully out of sight before he spoke again.

“We should finish and leave. The longer we stay the more variables appear.”

Vittoria closed the volume she had been copying from and added it to the small stack she was allowed to check out under special academic clearance. Her hands felt unsteady.

“She deserved better than that conversation,” she said quietly.

“She is safer with incomplete information.” Enzo’s tone carried no judgment, only practical assessment. “You handled it as well as the situation allowed.”

They walked the cart back to the restricted desk, completed the brief paperwork, and headed for the exit. The ordinary campus sounds of students talking and pages turning felt distant and slightly unreal. Vittoria kept her eyes forward, the legal pad of copied notes tucked under her arm, and tried not to think about how permanently the gap between her old life and this one had just widened.