LEX'S POV
The sight of her mother's bracelet in the guard's gloved hand felt like a punch to the gut. Lex's breath hitched. They hadn't just dug up her past. They had invaded the one safe, private space she had left. The box under her bed was hidden behind a loose floorboard. They had torn her apartment apart.
"Give that back," Lex whispered, her voice trembling with a fury so hot it burned away her fear.
The guard with the bracelet didn't react. "Come with us, and all your belongings will be returned. Intact."
"Or what? You'll break it?" Lex challenged, taking a step back into the doorway. "It's just metal. You think I care about a bracelet more than my own life?" She was bluffing. The bracelet was the last physical piece of her mother she had.
The second guard, the one who had spoken first, moved. Quick as a snake, his hand went inside his jacket. Lex braced for a gun.
But he pulled out a phone. He tapped the screen a few times, then turned it to face her.
It wasn't a gun, but it was worse.
It was a live video feed. The image was grainy and dark, but clear enough. It showed an alley Lex knew well. It was the shortcut between the bus stop and the apartment building where Sophia, her chef and only friend, lived. The time stamp in the corner glowed: 5:47 AM. Right about now.
In the video, a figure bundled in a familiar blue coat walked into the frame. Sophia. She was carrying two grocery bags, heading home after the early-morning market.
As Sophia walked, a dark van, its headlights off, rolled slowly into the alley behind her, keeping a steady distance.
Lex's blood turned to ice. "No."
"She makes this walk every Tuesday and Friday," the guard with the phone said, his voice still flat. "Very predictable."
"If you touch her," Lex's voice broke.
"We haven't," the guard interrupted. "Yet. Mr. Scardoni doesn't want to touch her. He wants to talk to you. This is just… insurance. To ensure you accept the invitation."
The invitation. The one she couldn't refuse.
Lex looked from the phone, where Sophia's tiny figure was almost at the end of the alley, to the plastic bag with the bracelet. They had thought of everything. They had attacked not what she loved, but who she loved. They knew she could be brave for herself, but she couldn't be brave with someone else's life.
On the phone screen, the van's side door slid open a crack.
"Make the call," Lex said, the words tasting like ash. "Tell them to back off. Right now."
The guard with the phone brought it to his ear. He never looked away from Lex. "Stand down. The package is accepting the invitation." He listened for a second, then hung up. On the screen, the van's door slid shut, and it made a turn, disappearing down a side street. Sophia, unaware, unlocked her building's door and went inside.
The relief was so sharp it made Lex dizzy. Sophia was safe. For now.
"The terms," Lex said, her voice hollow. "If I go with you, she stays safe. My things get returned. For how long?"
"For the duration of your cooperation," the guard said. He pocketed the phone and finally put the bagged bracelet away inside his jacket. "Get your coat. The car is warm."
Lex turned slowly. She looked back into the dark restaurant, at her father's office door, at Table Four. She was leaving it all behind. She wasn't coming back as the same person, if she came back at all.
She grabbed her heavy coat from a hook by the door and pulled it on, hiding the envelope with the clipping in its deep pocket. She walked out, pulling the door closed behind her. She didn't lock it. What was the point?
The black car was indeed warm. It smelled like leather and coffee. The two guards sat in the front. Lex sat alone in the back, feeling like she was in a glass coffin.
The car pulled away from the alley. Lex didn't look back at Romano's. She stared out the window as the city woke up. People hurried to work, clutching coffee cups, laughing. Their normal lives seemed like a movie playing on a screen she could no longer touch.
The car didn't head downtown, where she assumed Vito's office would be. It drove toward the wealthier, quieter part of the city, where old stone buildings looked down on the river.
They stopped in front of a tall, beautiful apartment building. A doorman in a long coat hurried to open the car door, not for the guards, but for Lex. He nodded politely, as if she were a regular guest.
"Penthouse A," one of the guards said, not getting out of the car. "He's waiting."
The doorman led her through a grand lobby with a sparkling fountain and straight to a private elevator. He used a key to activate it, then stepped back. "Top floor, ma'am."
The doors closed, leaving Lex alone again. The elevator was silent and fast. Her ears popped. A soft bell dinged.
The doors opened directly into a penthouse.
It wasn't what she expected. It wasn't all gold and shiny. It was huge, with windows showing the whole waking city, but it was… quiet. Empty feeling. The furniture was simple and modern. There were no photos, no personal things. It looked like a very expensive hotel suite.
And standing by the window, looking out, was Vittorio Scardoni.
He turned as the elevator doors closed behind her. He was dressed in a simple black sweater and pants, not a suit. He looked more like a tired businessman than a mafia king.
"Alessia," he said. "Thank you for coming."
"Did I have a choice?" Lex's voice echoed in the big, quiet room.
"There is always a choice," he said, walking toward her. He stopped a few feet away. "You chose to protect your friend. That was the right choice. A smart choice."
"Where are my things?" Lex demanded, ignoring his comment. "My mother's bracelet."
Vito gestured to a small table by the sofa. There, lying on a velvet cloth, was the bracelet. Next to it was a simple key.
"Your things are in the bedroom," he said. "The bracelet is there. The key is for you. This is your apartment now. For the next thirty days."
Lex stared, not understanding. "My… apartment?"
"The terms have changed," Vito said, his dark eyes serious. "The restaurant was not secure enough. Your apartment was not safe. You will live here. You will be my guest."
"Prisoner," Lex corrected him.
"Guest," he repeated firmly. "You may leave this room. You may use the gym, the pool, and the library on the second floor. But you will not leave the building. My men are at every exit. For your protection, and for the safety of our agreement."
He had moved her. He had taken her from her world and put her in his. The cage was just much, much nicer.
"And what do I do here?" Lex asked, the numbness starting to wear off, replaced by a simmering rage.
Vito finally smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "You wait. I have business to conclude. Then, you and I are going to have a very long talk about your brother, about a man named Marco… and about who you really are, 'Sphinx'."
The name hit her like a physical blow. He knew. He said it. Before she could react, Vito turned and walked toward the elevator. "Make yourself at home," he said, not looking back. The doors opened. "I'll be back for our talk tonight. I suggest you think about how you want it to go." The doors shut, leaving Lex utterly alone in the silent, golden prison, the name of her secret life hanging in the air between her and the empty city outside the window.