ly lit room. The monitors flickered, displaying different parts of the mansion and its surroundi

ulse with power, and yet the answers she had been seeking eluded her. Every day she spe

t what did that really mean? And what

was here by chance. She was a pawn-no, a we

her back into the present. He gestured to a chair in front o

unspoken words, dangerous intentions, and a deep, underlying tension. Ariana didn't want to sit, didn't want to get any closer t

his gaze, her mind a w

o asked, his tone softer but sti

wed hard. "Un

part of the plan. The Bianchi family thinks they can break me, but they have no idea what they'

t her like a sledgehammer. Weapon. Key. Sh

oice trembling despite herself. "I'

comforting and unsettling at the same time. "Yes, you are. You don't know it ye

rying to push the rising panic away. This wasn't the life I

-

ianch

tate, her heart heavy with uncertainty. She had been summoned there by Leonardo, and desp

Ariana, on the other hand, had been filled with questions, doubts, and an uneas

ers casting a warm glow on the long table, but Ariana couldn't shake the feeling that

tti," a woman's voice c

ure was confident, and her gaze, sharp. She was dressed in a black evening gown that hugged her body in all

nardo acknowledg

rstand. There was something in the way the woman looked

, motioning toward her. "She'll

g slightly. "I see," she said, her voice cool. "I was

but she didn't know why. She wasn't part of their world, but it was becoming clear that Leonardo and his as

, his hand almost too gentle as he guided her toward t

ancesca's eyes followed her every movement. There was something

he wasn't going to let her

-

yal R

ke in low tones with Francesca, his words clipped and calculated. Ariana stayed quiet, l

name caught

r than expected," Francesca said, h

ow. They think they can take everything fr

hi family. She had heard whispers about them before-about their power, their

cesca continued, her voice dripping wit

a beat as the words san

his eyes hard. "Yes, they know.

ruth became clear. She wasn't just a pawn. She

ana asked, her voice b

"You're more important than you think,

ew crumbled. She wasn't just a hostage in a dangerous

didn't even know who s