What Remains When the Lights Go Out

The blackout lasted less than sixty seconds.

That was all Antonio needed.

By the time emergency lights flooded the Milan ballroom in a harsh, clinical glow, the damage had already been done—not in bodies, but in belief. Fear rippled through the guests faster than fire ever could. Women clutched handbags like shields. Men barked orders into phones that no longer connected to anything solid.

Vera felt it immediately.

This was not chaos.

This was ...