**Gaia’s POV**

The room spun slightly at first, the wine’s haze clouding my thoughts like a thin veil. My head rested against the pillow, body limp as if the alcohol had truly taken hold. Vincenzo hovered near the bed, his breath quickening under the aphrodisiac’s influence, his blue eyes dark with that familiar, obsessive hunger. The door was locked from the outside—I could hear the faint click echoing in my memory. Evelyn’s doing. My so-called sister had led me here under ...