Cracks in the Fortress

The office was quiet, the hum of the city below barely audible through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Massimo leaned against the edge of his desk, his eyes locked on Dario, who stood near the window, arms crossed, staring out without acknowledging him.

“You know,” Massimo began, his voice calm but edged with something almost dangerous, “I was thinking about the old house, that summer when we were k