**sit, Valentina**

My stomach twisted as the man stepped inside. Recognition hit like a freight train—it was Matteo, the same bodyguard who had handed me lilies earlier that afternoon. His eyes swept across the room, scanning it with precision before they landed on me.

Alecia, now steady, hurried over to Marco, whispering frantically, “Who the hell is this?”

Matteo didn’t even acknowledge them. He strode toward me in a few powerful steps, shrugged off his long overcoat, and draped ...