Next day, the afternoon sun hung low, casting long shadows across the marble floors of Rafael's mansion. The air was unusually still as if the walls themselves were waiting for something to happen.
Aria stood near the grand staircase, flipping through a book she hadn't actually read in the last ten minutes. Her mind wandered, restless, unsettled… though she didn't know why.
Then the sound of heels like sharp, Confident and Echoing.
Aria's head lifted slowly. The main doors swung open without warning.
And somebody walked in.
Tall, elegant, dressed in a fitted ivory dress that screamed wealth and entitlement. Her hair fell in perfect waves, her lips curved in a knowing smile as if she already owned everything in the mansion, including him.
"Well," the woman's voice rang out, smooth and deliberate, "this place hasn't changed at all."
Aria frowned slightly, closing the book. "Who are you?"
The woman's gaze slid toward her—slow, assessing, almost amused.
