Seraphina did not speak until the doors of the abandoned building slammed shut behind them and Luca's men had secured the perimeter. Only then did she lift her hood, letting her raven hair spill down like a dark omen.
Isabella stood in front of her, chin raised, flanked by Sophia and Luca.
Suspicion hung thick in the air.
"Start talking," Luca growled.
Seraphina's eyes sparkled toward him.
"I'm talking to her, not you."
Isabella crossed her arms. "Then talk."
Seraphina exhaled slowly, the weight of old scars shifting across her expression.
"You think Marco is your greatest threat," she began. "But he is only a consequence… not the cause."
She stepped closer, her voice lowering.
"The real architect behind this war… is Alessandro Moretti."
Luca stiffened.
Sophia's breath caught.
Isabella felt her heartbeat stumble.
Damian's father.
"He's alive," Isabella said numbly.
