Prologue: A Ghost in Berlin
Three months later – Underground Auction, Berlin
The vault was lit with gold. Not real gold—just the shimmer of wealth, sin, and secrets. Men in suits. Women in diamonds. Guards with cold eyes and cold guns.
On display behind glass: smuggled art. Stolen relics. Guns with bloody histories. And near the end—what no one expected.
A folder marked "Velvet Sky Protocols".
Inside: every operation Isabella Moretti had touched since Ricci's fall.
The man who bought it didn't blink.
He walked out with a smirk and a whisper to his handler.
"Tell The Architect she's not invisible anymore."
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Chapter 1: Not Safe, Not Yet
Location: Rome – Moretti Compound
Isabella stood barefoot in the garden, watching the sunrise paint the olive trees blood-orange.
She hadn't slept.
Not since the call from Berlin.
Not since they learned the file had been sold.
Gianna entered, phone in hand. "We traced the buyer to Croatia. Private jet. Swiss routing."
"Professional," Isabella said.
"More than that," Gianna replied. "Strategic. They're not coming for money."
Nico joined them, his voice quiet. "They're coming for you."
Isabella didn't flinch. "Then let them."
He stepped forward. "We can still disappear."
She turned. "You can. I can't."
She looked past him to the horizon, where her empire stirred.
"I killed Ricci. I broke the families. If I run now, the wolves tear it all apart."
Costanzo arrived with a coded envelope—sealed in wax.
No insignia. Just a single line:
"The Architect sees you."
Nico cursed under his breath.
Isabella took the letter, heart steady.
"Then it's time we saw them back."