“Scythe,” I say. “That’s Santo, right?”
A faint flicker of a smile touches his lips.
“Something like that,” he says. “For Santo… it’s a bit more in-depth. Long story.”
I nod. Vasilisa was evasive about Scythe too.
The silence stretches, heavy with things neither of us says.
I glance once more at the room, the bloodstains that refuse to lift, the tools that aren’t for show.
This isn’t just his mother’s house.
It’s a battlefield. A confessional.
And he let me see it.
“Why show me this?”
“No lies,” he says, clear, his eyes locked on mine.
I look around the room. “So this is where I should expect to find you if you’reworking?”I say with a smirk. “In basements, either this one or Opulent?”
He chuckles.
He’s about to speak when my phone rings in my back pocket.
I pull it out and glance at the screen.
Luciano.
I press decline without thinking, sliding it back into my pocket.
When I look up, Angelo’s watching me.
His gaze doesn’t waver.
There’s no anger, just that quiet observation that feels heavier than a shout.
“It was just my brother,” I say, too quickly.
I don’t know why I say it.
He didn’t ask.
He didn’t even move.
And yet here I am, explaining myself like it matters.
Like it’s any of his business.
I glance away.
Then—
His phone rings.
Chapter 37