The drive back to Reggio Calabria was the kind of silence that tasted like smoke, thick, heavy, clinging to the lungs even though the danger had passed hours ago. The coastline blurred by the car windows, moonlight slicing through the glass in thin silver lines.

Talana sat stiffly beside Massimo, arms folded, gaze locked on the darkness beyond her reflection. They had escaped Vibo Valentia.

They had survived, but survival didn’t feel like victory, it felt like a warning.

Every so often, ...