The Devil In White
Instead of the hollow sound of wood, I hear a soft click.
A compartment opens. Inside lies a black notebook. Untitled, unmarked, just the initials V.M. etched in fading ink.
Vittorio Moretti.
I open it slowly.
No dates. No numbers. Just a list of names, some crossed out, some circled. And beside one name, scrawled in darker ink, two words that make my stomach tighten:
Blood Pact.
I stare at it, my pulse steady but my hands clenched.
Blood Pact. The term my father used for alliances sealed by death, promises that only ended when one party was buried.