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Alessio blinks once. The line doesn’t compute. He tries to make it a joke. “Void?” he repeats, uncertain. “What do you mean, void?”

“You won’t be getting anything,” I say, voice flat.

Lana keeps eating. She doesn’t move.

Alessio’s hand tightens around his glass. “Why?”

Rio doesn’t shift. “Your uncle, Valentino Sorrentino, kidnapped us when we were kids. Did you know any of that?”

Alessio’s face changes. The charm drains out, leaving fear and calculation.

“No,” he says fast. “No, I swear.”

He reaches for his cell. His fingers shake once, then steady, driven by panic.

“Let me call Waddington,” Alessio says. “Let me check. Let me–”

“Not right now,” I cut in.

Alessio looks at me. His gaze hardens. “I’ll call him.”

“He doesn’t want to hear from you,” I say.

Alessio inhales. His eyes dart to Rio, then to Lana, then to the door. He feels it now. The trap. The way the room closes in once the truth arrives.

“No,” he says, standing abruptly. Chair legs scrape. “I need to call him.”

Rio doesn’t move. He stays seated, hands near his plate, calm as a judge.

Alessio takes one step back. “Stay away.”

I remain in my seat. “Sit down.”

Alessio’s eyes flick to Lana. “Lana, tell them–”

Lana sets her fork down slowly. She looks up at him. “Don’t fight it, Alessio.”

His face tightens. “What?”

I keep my voice quiet. “It’ll be easy.”

Alessio shakes his head, backing away from the table. “No. No...”

Rio stands. Smooth. Controlled. No rush. His chair barely makes a sound. He reaches inside his jacket and pulls his gun free in one clean motion.

Alessio freezes. The air shifts from dinner to execution in a heartbeat.

Rio raises the gun and aims at Alessio’s forehead, his arm steady, gaze colder than the city outside.

Alessio’s mouth opens. No sound comes out at first. Then it breaks loose. “Why do this? I was good to you!”

Rio’s voice remains even. “This is our kingdom. Pass that message to Valentino for us!”

Alessio’s eyes flash wet. His pride collapses into pleading fast. “I-I came for dinner. I came–”

Rio’s gaze cuts to Lana. “Lana.”

A single word. A request. Or a command. Probably a warning. He waits for her to leave.