Chapter 31: Two Roads
The penthouse was very quiet after the call ended.
Élise stood at the window with the phone still pressed against her ear even though the line was dead — as if maintaining the posture of the conversation could somehow slow down what it had just set in motion. The city below was fully awake now, Milan moving through its Tuesday morning with the magnificent indifference it brought to everything. Trams. Café awnings. The particular gold of early light on old stone.
She lowered the phone.
Adriano was watching her from across the room. He hadn't moved since she answered — hadn't spoken, hadn't reached for his own phone, hadn't done any of the things she had learned he did when he was processing something difficult. He had simply stood there and watched her face with the focused, careful attention of a man who had learned that her expressions were the most reliable intelligence in his world.
