The Mediterranean Sea that night looked like a vast sheet of calm black velvet. Yet on the deck of The Sovereign, the atmosphere was the very definition of absolute decadence. The one hundred and fifty meter yacht glittered beneath cascades of crystal lights, slicing through the waves with the arrogance of a floating kingdom. The scent of expensive Cuban cigars mixed with artisan perfume and salty sea mist, creating an atmosphere reserved for only a handful of people at the very top of the world’s pyramid.Dante Moretti stood on the main deck balcony, holding a crystal glass filled with fifty year old whiskey. A custom tailored tuxedo from Milan’s finest tailor fit perfectly against his solid frame. At thirty five, Dante was not merely an heir, he was the architect behind the global expansion of the Moretti family.“You look like a god gazing down at his ants, Dante,” a deep voice greeted him from behind.Dante did not need to turn to recognize the sarcasm. “The world is small if you

The roar of the black SUV’s diesel engine sounded like a monster’s growl in Dante’s ears. Since his sight had been stolen, sound was no longer mere background noise. It was an indicator of speed, vehicle load, and road surface. The smooth vibration of tires on asphalt shifted into harsh jolts as the car climbed a rocky, sloping path.“Tuscany, Mr. Moretti. Welcome to the most beautiful dumping ground in Italy,” said Enzo, a stocky man whose breath always reeked of cheap tobacco and stale coffee.“You talk too much for a courier, Enzo,” Dante replied flatly. His eyes were hidden behind pitch-black sunglasses, but the burn scars around his temples gave his face a chilling look.Enzo chuckled, his raspy laugh echoing inside the cramped cabin. “A courier? Maybe. But this courier has eyes, and you? You do not even know we just passed through a rusted gate.”“I know the gate was rusted from the scream of its hinges in the wind two hundred meters ago,” Dante answered calmly. “And I know Rico

The night in the Tuscan countryside should have been quiet, filled only with the symphony of crickets and the whisper of olive leaves in the wind. But for Dante Moretti, that silence was a canvas stained with sound. As he sat in the dark corner of the room, his ears never stopped processing information. He heard the irregular rhythm of Elena’s heartbeat on the bed, a sharp cadence of unease. He heard Enzo’s heavy breathing as the man slept downstairs, punctuated by the faint murmur of a television broadcast.Then he heard something that should not have existed.The soft scrape of synthetic fabric against the rough exterior wall of the villa. About thirty meters away on the northern side. Extremely faint, almost impossible for ordinary humans to hear, yet to Dante it was like fingernails dragged across a chalkboard.“Elena, don’t move,” Dante whispered suddenly.Elena, who had been staring at the ceiling with her thoughts in turmoil, flinched. “What now, Dante? Do you want me to scream

Dawn in Tuscany brought no color to Dante Moretti, only a change in temperature and a subtle shift in the frequency of the air. He stood in the center of the villa’s vast main hall, bare-chested, letting his skin absorb the cold creeping up from the marble floor. In his ear, a small earpiece hissed softly, an encrypted channel provided by Marcus.“Elena is on her way to Milan, sir,” Marcus’s voice came through the frequency. “She is carrying the forged documents. Lorenzo has taken the bait. He agreed to meet her at headquarters tonight.”“Good,” Dante replied. He did not move his head, yet his ears caught the sound of heavy footsteps in the upper corridor. “What about The Ghost?”“He moves like a shadow, sir. My intelligence says he is already in the Tuscany area. He is the type who observes his target for forty-eight hours before executing. He is dissecting your routine.”Dante smiled faintly. “Let him dissect. He will discover that the routine of a blind man is a lethal labyrinth. M