She Hid in the Mafia Boss’s Closet. At Dawn, He Learned She Had Been There Before.

said.

The answer came too quickly.

And from somewhere deep inside the mansion, as if the house itself had been waiting years for this very lie, an old board creaked.

## Part Two: Bruises Remember

Dante did not sleep.

Neither did Maria.

By two in the morning, Dr. Marianne Keating had come and gone, leaving behind a cleaned wound, two butterfly bandages, and continue reading …