CHAPTER 220
KATYA POV
"Is there a problem here?" The words landed like a blade slipping between my ribs.
I turned.
Black suit. Earpiece. Neutral stance, feet planted just far enough apart to look casual while being anything but.
His eyes scanned—me, Nonna, Michael—too sharp, too practiced.
My body froze. Not again.
My mind screamed before my mouth could form a sound. The mall vanished. The lights dulled.
All I could see was the suit, the shape of authority, the quiet certainty of someone who didn't ask questions unless he already knew the answers.
My breath stalled in my chest. Nonna inhaled sharply beside me. "I knew it," she said, scoffing, her voice dry, edged with something like vindication.
"That boy would never let someone step out of the house without security." Her gaze stayed locked on the man, assessing, unimpressed, as if he were an inconvenience rather than a threat.
