Sofia stood there, holding a heavy metal flashlight, her face pale in the reflected glare.

She shone the light down at the floor by the bed.

Among the shards of clear glass, a thick, dark liquid was spreading across the wood.

But it wasn’t the medicine from the vial.

It was coming from a second, smaller bottle that had been hidden under the edge of the bed skirt.

Marcus stepped forward, taking the flashlight from Sofia’s hand and shining it directly onto the dark puddle.

The liquid was thick, smelling faintly of bitter almonds.

“That isn’t heart medicine,” Marcus said, his voice dropping to a whisper.

He tilted the beam of light upward, letting it slide across the floor until it illuminated the muddy print of a man’s boot right beside the bed.

The print was fresh, the water still glistening on the leather-patterned sole mark.

Everyone in the room looked down at the floor.

Then, slowly, Marcus turned the flashlight toward Luca’s feet.

The beam of light held steady on the dark leather of Luca’s boots.