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Feretti Syndicate 

Chapter 01

Damiano

The hot water cascades down my back, washing away the tension from another long day. Steam fills the marble shower, fogging up the glass walls. These quiet moments at my countryside villa usually bring peace, but tonight something feels... off.

I step out, wrapping a towel around my waist. Water drips from my hair onto the heated floor tiles.

"Bianca?" My voice echoes through the master bathroom. No response.

I call out again, louder this time. "Bianca, dove sei?" The silence that follows makes my skin prickle.
Something's wrong. Bianca always answers. Always.

I move to the bedroom, scanning for any sign of disturbance. Everything looks normal - too normal. The bed is still made, her book rests on the nightstand exactly where she left it this morning.

My heartbeat quickens as I grab my Beretta from the bedside drawer. The metal feels cold against my palm, a familiar weight that grounds me while my mind races through possibilities.
"Bianca!" I shout one more time, moving toward the bedroom door. The house remains silent except for water still dripping from my body onto the hardwood floor.

I check the safety on my gun, muscle memory taking over as my fingers move across the metal. The villa suddenly feels too large, too quiet, with too many places where things could go wrong.

Keeping my back to the wall, I edge into the hallway. The setting sun casts long shadows through the windows, turning familiar corners into potential threats. Every creak of the old villa makes my grip tighten on the Beretta.

My bare feet move silently across the floor as I clear each room, my training kicking in despite being dressed in nothing but a towel. But the growing knot in my stomach tells me what I already know - something is very wrong here.

My heart stops as I hear it - a muffled sob coming from downstairs. Bianca.