She took a long step to the left, blocking the bottom of the grand staircase with her body.

“Where do you think you are going, Luca?” she asked.

Her voice was cold, carrying the weight of the Romano name.

Luca paused on the bottom step, his hand gripping the polished mahogany banister.

His knuckles turned white under the dim light of the chandelier.

“Alexander is hurt,” Luca said, his voice tight. “We need to get him secured.”

“Dr. Voss is with him,” Sofia replied.

“A doctor cannot stop an intruder,” Luca said, his eyes darting toward the dark hallway.

He looked back at the study door, his chest rising and falling in rapid, shallow breaths.

“We need the papers from the safe, Sofia,” he said, stepping down. “Before the police or anyone else gets here.”

“The safe is none of your business,” she said.

“It is my business if the family falls apart tonight,” he hissed.

I pressed myself deeper into the shadows of the corridor, my fingers clutching the fabric of my apron.

Beneath the heavy cotton, the hard edges of Alexander’s leather-bound ledger pressed against my ribs.