The roads winding out of Reggio Calabria were eerily empty that night, the city lights fading behind Talana as the engine hummed beneath her hands. The Morelli villa disappeared in the rearview mirror like a dream fading into smoke. Her heart pounded with purpose and dread, every mile pulling her closer to Vibo Valentia, and closer to the man she’d sworn to never fear again.

The abandoned factories loomed like skeletons against the horizon, the broken windows catching the moonlight like ...