"Lock the door."
Sofia didn't move.
Alessio stood just inside the room, jacket still on, sleeves unrolled for once, as if he'd come straight from a meeting and refused to shed the weight of it. The phone, her phone sat on the desk between them.
"Why?" Sofia asked.
"Because this conversation doesn't leave the room."
"That's never stopped you before."
His gaze flicked to the door again. "Lock it."
She held his stare for a beat longer, then turned and slid the bolt home. The click sounded louder than it should have.
Alessio stepped forward immediately. Not close enough to touch. Close enough to change the air.
"You didn't tell me everything," he said.
Sofia leaned back against the desk. "You didn't ask everything."
"I asked what he said."
"And I told you."
"You told me the part you wanted me to hear."
She smiled faintly. "So you do understand how this works."
Alessio stopped a foot away from her. "What else did Ricci say?"
"That you'd make a mistake."
"I already know that."
"That he's letting you keep me."
A flicker. There and gone.
"Why?" Alessio asked.
Sofia shrugged. "Because he thinks you'll get attached."
Silence dropped hard between them.
"That's not his style," Alessio said.
"No," Sofia agreed. "It's mine."
His eyes narrowed. "What did you say to him?"
"I didn't promise anything."
"That wasn't the question."
Sofia straightened, closing the last inch between them herself. She could feel his heat now. Steady. Controlled.
"I said nothing," she replied quietly. "I let him talk."
Alessio exhaled slowly. "That was a choice."
"Yes."
"And why did you make it?"
"Because he wanted a reaction," Sofia said. "And because I wanted to see if you'd come here angry."
"And?" Alessio asked.
"And you did."
"I came here careful."
"You came alone."
Another silence. Thicker. Charged.
"You shouldn't test me like this," Alessio said.
"You shouldn't give me reasons to," Sofia replied.
He reached past her and picked up the phone from the desk, his arm boxing her in without touching her. The movement was deliberate. Intimate without permission.
"When he calls again," Alessio said, voice low, "you tell me everything."
"Or?"
"Or I stop giving you space to decide what matters."
Sofia tilted her head. "Is that a threat?"
"No," he said. "It's an adjustment."
She laughed softly. "You don't like that he reached me."
"I don't like that he thinks he can."
"Can he?"
Alessio leaned in just enough that his words brushed her ear. "Only if you let him."
Her breath caught. Not because of fear because of the certainty in his tone.
"And what if I let you instead?" she asked.
He stilled.
"That," Alessio said after a beat, "would complicate things."
Sofia met his eyes. "You say that like you don't already enjoy complications."
For the first time, he didn't answer immediately.
A knock sounded at the door.
They didn't move.
Giulia's voice came through, controlled but urgent. "Alessio. We have a situation."
Alessio stepped back at last, reclaiming distance like a decision.
"This isn't finished," he said.
"No," Sofia agreed. "It's started."
He opened the door without looking at her again.
But when he left, he took the phone with him.
--------
"They're not supposed to be here."
Giulia's voice carried down the hall, tight and fast. "They arrived without notice."
Alessio didn't slow. "How many?"
"Three cars. Milan plates."
Sofia followed despite the unspoken order not to. No one stopped her. That alone told her this wasn't routine.
"Ricci?" she asked.
"No," Giulia said. "Worse."
They reached the antechamber off the main hall. Voices spilled through the open doors confident, amused.
Alessio lifted a hand, stopping everyone behind him. His eyes flicked to Sofia.
"Stay."
She didn't.
She stepped past him instead, just enough to be seen through the doorway.
Conversation inside faltered.
A man in a charcoal suit turned first, smile already forming — then sharpening when he saw her.
"Well," he said lightly, "you didn't mention she was still here."
Alessio's voice was even. "You didn't mention you were coming."
The man laughed. "We were in the neighborhood."
"That neighborhood ends at my gates."
"And yet," the man said, glancing at Sofia again, "here we are."
Sofia felt Alessio's presence behind her, close enough to feel but not touch.
"Who are they?" she murmured.
"People who test boundaries for sport," Alessio replied quietly. "And who shouldn't know you exist."
She turned her head slightly. "Too late."
The man stepped forward. "You must be Sofia."
Alessio's voice dropped. "You will address me."
The man ignored him. "You look calmer than I expected."
Sofia smiled politely. "I'm not the one who arrived uninvited."
A flicker of interest crossed the man's face.
"Careful," Alessio warned under his breath.
But Sofia had already made her decision.
"Do you want to sit?" she asked the man. "Or were you planning to stand there pretending this wasn't deliberate?"
The room went very still.
The man laughed again, slower this time. "I like her."
"I don't care," Alessio said. "You have five minutes."
"Then we'll be quick," the man replied. He gestured vaguely. "We heard Marco is no longer… available."
Alessio said nothing.
"And we heard," the man continued, "that Ricci isn't pleased."
Sofia felt Alessio's hand brush her wrist the barest contact. A warning.
She ignored it.
"You hear a lot," she said. "Do you ever verify?"
The man's gaze sharpened. "Sometimes. That's why we're here."
"To verify what?" Sofia asked.
"Whether Alessio still controls his assets," the man said. "Or whether he's grown sentimental."
Alessio stepped forward at last, placing himself half in front of her.
"She's not an asset," he said.
The man tilted his head. "That answer took too long."
Sofia inhaled slowly — then did exactly what Alessio didn't expect.
She stepped closer to him. Not touching. Close enough to imply.
"Then verify this," she said calmly. "If I were leverage, I wouldn't be standing here."
Silence hit like a held breath.
The man studied them both, then nodded once. "Interesting."
He turned back to his companions. "We'll take this back to Milan."
"And?" Alessio asked.
"And we'll watch," the man said. "Very carefully."
They left without another word.
The doors closed behind them.
No one spoke.
Alessio turned to Sofia slowly. "You disobeyed me."
"Yes."
"You escalated."
"Yes."
"You made yourself visible."
"Yes."
His jaw tightened. "Why?"
Sofia met his gaze, unflinching. "Because they were already measuring you."
"And you think stepping into it helps?"
"I think," she said softly, "that pretending I don't exist helps them more."
A long pause.
Then Alessio said quietly, "Next time, you warn me."
She lifted a brow. "Next time?"
His eyes held hers. "There will be one."
Giulia cleared her throat carefully. "We should debrief."
"Yes," Alessio said.
But he didn't look away from Sofia.
Not yet.