**Stefano's POV**

I stood in Gianna's chamber, my eyes fixed on her empty bed, rage curling through me, fierce and unforgiving, mingling with the biting edge of guilt. How could I have let this happen? I’d been so blinded by the goal within reach that I’d failed to protect what I already had.

"You should have locked her up sooner," Ornella sneered, gliding into the room, each step deliberate. "You should have had her cuffed and chained in a dungeon somewhere. If I were you, ...