It was a perfect morning—too perfect, perhaps—for the kind of storm that was about to enter it.

The Bellandi mansion stood tall under the golden brush of dawn, its marble walls reflecting light in soft ripples that danced through the grand foyer. Birds flitted past the open balconies, and the gentle hum of the fountain in the courtyard mingled with the faint scent of roses carried in by the breeze. Everything felt serene—almost too serene.

Inside, Samantha Bellandi sat in the sunroom, a ...