Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 181 - Chapitre 190

GIULIA’S POV I locked up the studio late, later than I’d planned and later than made sense for someone who hadn’t slept properly in two days, but the work had kept me there, and the work was better than the alternative, which was going back to the hotel and lying in the dark, thinking about everything I was trying not to think about. I came out through the side entrance into the small parking area behind the building, the night air hitting me immediately, cool and sharp against my skin. The city was quieter at this hour back here, away from the main street, leaving only the parking area, the building wall, and a few other cars scattered beside mine. I was digging through my bag for my keys when I heard footsteps. “You’re here late.” I looked up. Matteo. He was leaning against the wall near the entrance, jacket on, hands tucked into his pockets, looking as though he’d been there for a while and was perfectly comfortable with waiting. “What are you doing here?” I asked.

NICO’S POVThe apartment was quiet after Giulia stopped talking.She’d been speaking earlier, not much. Small sentences, about Dimitri and Matteo I've never liked, around the parking area.I’d listened without pushing. She needed someone to hear her without demanding answers she wasn’t ready to give.Eventually, she fell silent.I looked over and found her asleep.Not the restless sleep she’d managed for the past three days. Real sleep. Deep and still, her mouth slightly open, one hand tucked beneath her cheek.I got up and pulled the blanket over her.For a moment, I stood beside the couch.She looked younger asleep. Like the Giulia I’d grown up with. The girl who used to fall asleep on the couch during summer dinners in Sicily while the adults talked late into the night.I lowered the lamp and took the chair by the window.Enzo was still on the phone.He stood in the corner with his back half-turned, speaking too quietly for me to make out the conversation. I didn’t bother trying.W

NICO’S POV “You still haven’t answered my question, Gabby.” She looked at me, her lips parting as though she was finally going to say something, but before she could, my phone started ringing. I glanced at the screen and saw Enzo’s name, then looked back at her and held up one finger. “Enzo?” “I need you to help me with something.” His voice was tight and focused, the kind of tone he used when things were already in motion. “Come meet me now.” “Where are you?” “I’m sending you my location.” The call ended, and a second later the address came through. I looked at it, then at Gabby. She was still sitting on the edge of the bed, one hand pressed against her side beneath the jacket, her face pale enough to make me hesitate. I didn’t want to leave her, but Enzo didn’t call unless he needed something handled, and whatever was happening had alre

GABBY’s POV I ducked, caught his wrist and drove my elbow into his throat. He stumbled, cursed, and reached for the gun tucked beneath his jacket. I kicked his knee before he could pull it free, heard the crack, then drove him into the wall hard enough to knock the air out of him. The second man was already behind me. I felt the blade, a sharp burst of heat tore through my side. I looked down. Blood. “Shit.” He came at me again. I moved. The next few minutes blurred into movement, pain and instinct. By the time I made it outside, my hand was pressed against my side and my breathing had turned shallow. I ran anyway. One street. Then another. My vision started swimming before I found the doorway. I shoved myself into the darkness and pulled out my phone. Anton. The call rang. And rang. Voicemail. I called again. Nothing. My fingers were slick against the screen. “Come on.” Third call. Still nothing. Anton had answered every call I’d made,

“Look closer,” I said, keeping the gun aimed and not lowering it. “Her neck.” I’d noticed it the moment she stepped into the light. The tattoo. Half hidden by her hair but unmistakably there. A snake wrapped around a dagger. The same image that was on the tablet Bruno had prepared. The same image that adorned every member of the network we’d just spent the last ten minutes dismantling. Nico wasn’t moving. He wasn’t speaking. Which was answer enough. “You know her,” I said. He remained silent. “You know this woman.” “Enzo—" “So you do know this bitch,” I said, already on the move. My gun still aimed at her, while my other hand found Volkov. I gripped his collar, spun him around, and placed my arm across his throat from behind. The gun pressed to his temple. Volkov went completely still. I turned my gaze to the woman across the warehouse. She looked back at me. Her gun hadn’t moved… still raised and steady. Her eyes darted between me, Volkov, and Nico, calculating he