Alessia Volkov The morning after Francesco De Luca’s visit, I sat in my father’s office no, my office now letting the silence wrap around me like a second skin. The chair in front of the desk remained empty, a quiet monument to the man who had once ruled from it like a king. The air still held the scent of him: wood smoke, leather, aged whiskey, and the cold steel of iron discipline. I hated how much of him still lingered. How much of me still bowed, even now, to his ghost. Sleep had evaded me, refusing to settle in the corners of my mind. I had spent most of the night pacing these halls, weighing the choice in front of me like a blade across my throat. There was no option that didn’t draw blood only a question of whose it would be. I finally found Luca in the conservatory. Morning light streamed in through the high windows, casting dappled patterns on the cracked stone floor. The garden just beyond the glass had gone wild vines tangled over railings, weeds creeping through gravel
Last Updated : 2025-07-05 Read more