The Ultimatum

Vittoria

The mansion was too quiet.

It had been like that since I returned yesterday, the kind of silence that vibrates beneath the skin, pressing at the edges of thought until it takes on a life of its own. My men walked on eggshells around me, sensing the tension even when I said nothing. Every sound, the clink of a cup, the muted hum of the espresso machine, was magnified, as if the house itsel