The next morning, the Ricci Estate was already awake.Long before sunrise, the war room had transformed into a command center.
Maps covered the walls.Old Moretti routes were marked in black.Ricci territories in red.
Black Serpent territory in gray.
And at the center of everything stood Aria.
She wore a dark coat, her mother's notebook tucked beneath her arm. Her expression was calm, but there was something different in her eyes now.
She wasn't the frightened girl who had first entered the Ricci Estate.
She was beginning to look like an heir.Noah placed a tablet on the table.
"The southern route is already moving."
Aria looked at him.
"How do you know?"
"The transmitter."
He smiled.
"They're reacting exactly as we expected."
Rafael folded his arms.
"So they believe we're heading south."
"Yes."
Marco studied the map.
"Then our real journey begins tonight."
Aria nodded.
"North."
Noah zoomed in on the map.
