Aria’s POV

The villa was quiet that night — too quiet. The kind of silence that wrapped around you like a hand over the mouth. I moved through the bedroom in slow, careful steps, every part of me aching with the pretense of calm.

Carl stood by the mirror, watching himself. Shirt unbuttoned, sleeves rolled halfway, a glass of expensive scotch in his hand. His reflection was enough to make dread coil low in my stomach.

He didn’t look at me when he spoke.

“You ...