The world tilted on its axis. Two months. Two months until the true 'Faceless' returned, until the flimsy identity Lina had painstakingly constructed crumbled around her, leaving her exposed, ruined. The cold knot in her stomach tightened, a dread far more profound than any fear of Caterina Rinaldi. This wasn't just about revenge anymore; it was about survival. Dante watched her, a concerned furrow between his dark brows. “Lina?” he prompted, his voice softer now. “We need a plan.” A plan. Right. Her throat felt parched. She pushed away from the counter, the half-eaten pasta forgotten. Falco, sensing her distress, nudged her ankle with his soft muzzle. She scooped him up, burying her face in his warm fur, drawing a shallow breath that still felt too thin. “The Rinaldis,” she murmured, the name a bitter taste. “Dante, destroying them won’t be enough. If I’m exposed, if I go to prison, they still win. I need more than revenge. I need… a foundation. Something legitimate. Something that can stand on its own, even if ‘The Faceless’ vanishes.” Dante’s eyes narrowed, a new understanding dawning. “You want to build your own empire. Before his return. Before he can crush you.” She nodded, the movement jerky. “Yes. And the Rinaldis are the first step. The ‘Star of the Valley’ stone. Our contact said it’s their anchor. If we acquire it, if we dissolve their assets, we don’t just hurt them. We take their capital. We redirect it. We use it to build something new, something *mine*.” He leaned back, studying her, a hint of admiration mixed with the worry in his gaze. “Ambitious. Reckless. I like it. So, how do we get our hands on a legendary jewel that Caterina Rinaldi would never willingly part with?” “We force her hand,” Lina said, her voice gaining a surprising steadiness. “She’s starved for liquidity. We make her an offer she can’t refuse, through ‘The Faceless’. But we do it publicly. We use her own pride against her.” Two days later, the air in the private showroom of Rinaldi Jewel House carried aged champagne and polished floor wax. Chandeliers dripped with cut crystal, casting a dazzling, almost blinding light on the display cases. Lina, cloaked in the anonymity of a borrowed, ill-fitting black uniform, moved among the elite guests, a silver tray of flutes balanced precariously in her hands. She was a ghost, an overlooked shadow, exactly what she needed to be. Her eyes scanned the room, landing on Caterina, resplendent in a gown the color of an emerald, her smile as sharp as a newly polished facet. Bianca, already flushed and slurring, clung to the arm of a minor industrialist, her laughter echoing a little too loudly. The ‘Star of the Valley’, a magnificent oval corundum cradled in a cascade of diamonds, rested on a velvet pedestal under focused quartz halogen lights. Lina’s burner phone vibrated in her pocket. A pre-arranged signal. It was time. She slipped into a shadowed alcove, her fingers flying across the keypad, sending a curt, coded message to Dante. *Initiate phase two. Target acquired.* As she emerged, heading back towards the kitchen, a stumbling figure blocked her path. Bianca. Her eyes, glazed with drink, narrowed as they focused on Lina’s face. “You!” she hissed, pointing a manicured finger. “I know you. You’re that clumsy girl from the Lucenti gala. The one who ruined my mother’s display. What are you doing here? Trying to steal more designs, little mouse?” Lina froze, her grip tightening on the tray. She kept her face blank, her gaze fixed just above Bianca’s head. “My apologies, ma’am. I believe you have me mistaken for someone else. I’m an event assistant.” “Don’t lie to me!” Bianca shrieked, her voice rising, drawing curious glances. “I remember your wretched face. Always lurking, always trying to worm your way in. Get out! Mother! This girl needs to be fired! She’s a menace!” A ripple of murmurs spread through the crowd. Lina felt a flush creep up her neck, a familiar humiliation threatening to swallow her whole. Her instinct was to flee, to disappear, to become truly invisible. But she couldn’t. Not now. Not ever again. Just as Bianca reached out to grab her arm, a hand clamped down on Bianca’s wrist. “Bianca, that’s quite enough,” Dante’s voice, low and laced with steel, cut through the tension. He stepped forward, placing himself between Lina and Bianca, a silent wall of tailored fabric and simmering anger. His eyes, usually so composed, held a dangerous spark as they raked over Bianca’s face. “Leave the staff alone.” “Dante! What are you doing?” Bianca whined, trying to yank her hand free. “This woman is a thief, a fraud! She shouldn’t be here!” “She’s here because she’s doing her job,” Dante retorted, his grip firm. He spared a quick, almost imperceptible glance at Lina, a silent command in his eyes: *stay calm*. “Perhaps you should consider doing yours, Bianca, and try to maintain some semblance of decorum.” He released her, but not before giving her a pointed, warning look. “Now, if you’ll excuse us.” He then gently guided Lina away, towards a less crowded corner, his proximity a surprising comfort. Lina kept her chin lowered, pulse thudding against her collarbone while guests tracked their movement. Dante’s hand brushed her lower back, a fleeting, almost imperceptible touch, but it sent a strange warmth through her. He was protecting her. *Him*, protecting *her*. Suddenly, Dante’s phone rang. He pulled it out, glancing at the screen, his expression shifting from annoyance to an instant, focused professionalism. “Gallo,” he answered, stepping slightly away from Lina, though still keeping her in his peripheral vision. He listened, his pupils fixing on the opposite wall before his jaw set. “Understood.” He snapped the phone shut, his gaze sweeping the room until it landed on Caterina. Without a word, he strode purposefully towards her, his presence commanding immediate attention. Caterina’s elegant smile faltered as he approached. “Madame Rinaldi,” Dante said, his voice carrying just enough to cut through the polite chatter. “I’ve just received an interesting proposition. From my associate, ‘The Faceless’.” Caterina’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of suspicion igniting behind their polished facade. “Oh? And what does this… elusive associate desire?” “They desire the ‘Star of the Valley’,” Dante announced, gesturing subtly towards the centerpiece. A collective gasp rippled through the guests. “They are prepared to make an offer that would inject immediate, substantial capital into the Rinaldi Jewel House. An offer that, I daresay, would alleviate certain… pressures.” His gaze was unwavering, hinting at private debts Caterina strove to conceal. Caterina’s face remained impassive, but Lina, watching from the shadows, saw a muscle twitch in her jaw. The veiled threat, the thinly disguised reference to her financial woes, had found its mark. The elegant businesswoman calculated furiously, her eyes darting between Dante, the sapphire, and the murmuring crowd. Her pride warred with insolvency. Finally, with a chillingly composed smile that didn’t reach her eyes, Caterina inclined her head. “Very well, Mr. Gallo. The ‘Star of the Valley’ will be made available for private sale.” Relief loosened Lina’s shoulders, instantly supplanted by a sharp prickle of unease. This was too easy. “However,” Caterina continued, her voice dropping to a low, silken tone that carried a potent venom, “there is one condition. The buyer must meet me. Face to face.”

The Star of Bressia