The soft melody that had been flowing from the piano came to an abrupt halt when a faint sound echoed from the hallway. Mio froze mid-note, her fingers hovering above the keys, her body instantly alert. The villa was quiet that afternoon—too quiet—and Claude wasn't supposed to be home yet.
Her instincts sharpened.
The sound came again—a careful shuffle, deliberate but almost silent. Someone was sneaking around.
She rose from the piano bench soundlessly, her mind racing. A thief? No one in their right mind would dare break into the Lockheart Villa, but the world wasn't exactly full of rational people.
Mio's lips pressed into a determined line. Her fingers curled as she adjusted her stance, ready to attack.
Claude had once teased her martial arts training as "unnecessary for a singer," but he'd long since learned not to underestimate her reflexes.
Then, the faint creak of the door—
A shadow moved by the corridor.
