“Well…” Giulia exhaled slowly, the breath leaving her lips as if it weren't air. It carried the weight of everything she had just heard.“I guess I’ll have to leave now so you all can go on with your discussion.”There was no sharpness in her tone, no visible irritation or even a trace of the storm they had all braced themselves for. It was just that calm, unsettling composure. Without sparing them another glance, Giulia turned on her heel and walked away.As soon as she left, everything seemed to pause. For a moment, no one moved.They stood there, stiff and stunned, their eyes following the empty doorway as if expecting her to reappear and unleash the reaction they believed she would display. But a few minutes passed, and there was no sign of Giulia.“Did this just happen?" one of them finally whispered, her voice barely steady.“No way she’s letting this slide,” another said quickly, almost instinctively, as though saying it out loud might prepare them for what was coming.A man,

Giulia was sprawled across her bed, her back resting against the headboard, one leg stretched out while the other bent lazily at the knee.The room was quiet, too quiet, and the faint hum of the air conditioner only seemed to amplify the stillness.Her phone screen glowed against her face as she scrolled absentmindedly through the internet, barely paying attention to anything she came across.Her mind had been restless for days now. Nothing seemed to hold her attention for long.Then her thumb froze mid-scroll.A headline caught her eye. It was impossible to ignore.“Suspected Italian terrorist leader found hiding in Miami, Florida, USA.”Her brows drew together instantly, and her eyelids lifted in surprise, the boredom in her expression evaporating in a split second.“An Italian terrorist leader? Hiding in Miami?” she murmured, her voice low, almost disbelieving, as she reread the headline slowly. The words didn’t sit right with her. Something about it felt off.A faint unease stirred

Somewhere deep in the worn-out quarters of Venice’s ghetto, where the buildings leaned like tired old men and the air carried a mix of damp stone and cigarette smoke, Dante sat hunched over a wooden table.The table's edges were chipped, its surface scratched from years of use, but it still held steady beneath the weight of the draughtboard laid out between Dante and a few local men.The game had been going on for a while with no one winning yet. The men around Dante and the other player were fully invested, their eyes sharp. Sometimes their fingers would hover over the air as if they were the ones playing.Dante had blended in easily with the ghetto lifestyle. He does not look like someone who once commanded respect in rooms filled with power and wealth.There was no trace of that life in the way he dressed now. From simple clothes and slightly worn-out footwear. Apparently, nothing about him draws attention.Even his posture had changed over time, less rigid and less authoritative.

After Lorenzo had told Dante what was being said about his name, he hadn’t taken it lightly.At first, he tried handling it the proper way. Quietly and professionally. He reached out to the media outlet that had published the story, expecting at least a response, even if it was a defensive one. But there was nothing.He had just checked his email, which he used to send the message, but they hadn't responded. It was almost one week now.There was no acknowledgment. No apology. Not even a token attempt to revise or pull down the article.It was as though his complaint had vanished into thin air.That silence irritated Dante more than the publication itself. It wasn’t just about the damage to his name; it was the audacity of it. The boldness of people who believed they could say anything, write anything, and walk away untouched.They didn't know who they were dealing with.Either way, Dante wasn’t going to let it slide.So today, he had decided to take a different approach.The kind that

The moment Giulia saw the name flashing across her phone screen, a wave of disappointment washed over her so suddenly that it almost made her chest ache.She had thought it would be Dante returning her call, but instead, staring back at the screen was a name she had grown to resent.Matteo Romano.Her grip on the steering wheel tightened instantly, her fingers curling as irritation sparked through her veins. Of all people, it had to be him.A bitter scoff slipped from her lips.Even when Giulia had still been married to Dante, when there should be boundaries, he hadn’t let her be. Sometimes he would even call her at odd hours and send inappropriate messages.Giulia had blocked his number multiple times, but he would always find a way to contact her through a different number. At a point, Giulia got tired of blocking.So now that she was no longer tied to Dante, now that things had fallen apart, Giulia wasn't surprised that Matteo would grow even bolder.The phone continued to ring, th