Chapter 57. The Punishment

The door closed behind him with a quiet click, but the sound felt louder than a gunshot.

He stood in the hallway for a moment, motionless, staring at the grain of the wood as if it might give him an answer.

Her voice still echoed in his head—flat, distant, emptied of life.

“Or to punish me?”

He exhaled sharply through his nose and turned away.

The house felt too quiet. Even Rosa’s usual humming somewhere in the kitchen had gone still.

Ezio walked out onto the terrace, pushing open the glass door and stepping into the cool morning air.

He lit a cigarette. The first drag burned his throat, but it steadied his hands.

The sky was pale and clouded, the kind of light that made everything look washed-out—just like her.

He dragged a hand down his face and cursed under his breath.

He’d thought she was angry. Anger he could handle. Anger meant she still cared.

But this? This hollow silence? It was worse. It was like watc