The villa had descended into a profound stillness since the courier’s shocking death, but for Mara, the silence felt like a thick fog pressing down upon her, amplifying her unease. Each shadow seemed to whisper threats that Damon, ever stoic, refused to articulate.

It had been days since she last exchanged words with him, the memory of that fateful night in the courtyard replaying in her mind like a haunting melody. The image of the lifeless body sprawled on the stone tiles clung to her ...