Chapter 67. What Binds Me Now

Ezio leaned back in his chair, the faint hum of the laptop filling the quiet study. He rubbed his temples—too many thoughts he didn’t want to entertain.

Margherita’s smile when she held that necklace wouldn’t leave his head.

It shouldn’t have mattered that much. But it did.

The phone buzzed on the desk. Nero’s name flashed on the screen.

He answered. “Nero.”

“Morning, boss,” Nero’s voice crackled through, chipper as ever. “Didn’t think you’d still be up. You ever sleep?”

Ezio ignored that. “What do you have?”

“About the files? I went through everything again. They’re real. Cross-checked half with public records and some old court filings. The rest connects to shell companies. Adriano Benedetti’s either really turning or really stupid.”

Ezio’s fingers drummed against the desk. “And Maurizio?”

“Neck-deep in everything. Money laundering, political donations under fake names—even a few accounts that point back to Sicily. It’s messy,