The suffocating tension inside the villa didn't vanish over the next week; it simply curdled into a cold, transactional silence.
For seven days, the estate had been under a strict internal lockdown. The storm that had raged during the bloody aftermath of the docks had long since cleared, replaced by an oppressive, humid heat wave that made the air in the high-ceilinged rooms feel heavy and thick. Outside, the sprawling grounds were bathed in a dry, brilliant moonlight that cast long, skeletal shadows across the courtyard.
