The wind carried the scent of rain and iron between them. Alessia kept the blade steady, her knuckles white around the handle. Dante didn't move, didn't flinch—just watched her with those gold-flecked eyes that saw too much.
"You're going to tell me," she said, voice low, "who you were talking to. Now."
Dante's lips curved, but there was no humor in it. "Or what? You'll stab me in my own home?"
"Don't tempt me."
He exhaled, slow, then reached into his pocket. Alessia tensed, but all he pulled out was a cigarette. He lit it, the flare of the match illuminating the sharp planes of his face. "Sit down."
"I'd rather stand."
"Suit yourself." He took a drag, exhaled smoke between them like a curtain. "Your father didn't just broker a peace with my family. He stole something. Something worth more than blood."
Alessia's grip on the knife faltered, just for a second. "What?"
"A ledger." His gaze never left hers. "Names. Deals. Every secret the Duvalls and Valtieris have buried for the last twenty years."
Her pulse jumped. If that was true—if her father had taken it—then this marriage wasn't just a ceasefire. It was a trap.
"You're lying," she said, but the words lacked conviction.
Dante's smile was razor-thin. "Then why hasn't your father used it? Why marry you off instead of burning us all to the ground?"
The question settled like a blade between her ribs.
Because if the ledger existed, and her father didn't have it…
Someone else did.
Alessia lowered the knife, just slightly. "You think I know where it is."
"I think," Dante said, stepping closer, "you're the only one who can find it."
The cigarette burned between them, the ember glowing like a warning.
Somewhere in the penthouse, a clock struck four.
Alessia exhaled. "And if I help you?"
Dante reached out, brushed a thumb over the bruise on her wrist—the one from Lucian's grip. "Then maybe we both survive this."
She searched his face for lies, found only shadows.
Outside, the first light of dawn crept over the city, staining the sky the color of old blood.
The ledger was out there.
And so was the truth.