Midnight had come and gone, taking any pretense of calm with it.
Matteo sat at the desk in his room, the laptop screen casting blue light across his face.
His phone lay beside the keyboard, volume turned up as high as it would go. Waiting.
He'd tried lying down.
Lasted maybe five minutes before the stillness became unbearable, every creak of the old house making him think *Felix, coming home, it's over*. But it never was.
Just the manor settling, the wind outside, the quiet breathing of a place that had seen generations come and go.
His coffee had gone cold an hour ago. He drank it anyway.
The phone buzzed.
Matteo grabbed it before the first ring finished. "Luca?"
"Yeah, boss. I've got something." Luca's voice was rough, exhausted. "Sending it to you now. Check your email."
Matteo's fingers were already moving, pulling up his inbox, clicking the new message. A video file. He hit play.
