*VINCENZO*
The chair creaked softly beneath us, the rhythmic sound almost obscured by Adeline's muted sobs. I felt her weight pressing against me, a fragile beam of warmth in an otherwise cold and chaotic world. Wrapped in her melancholy, I couldn't shake the anger coiling within my chest—an anger directed at the lowlife named Orlando. How could he possibly stoop so low as to kidnap innocent people to bait me? The thought ignited a fire within me, and as I held Adeline close, my mind raced through the unraveling threads of this twisted game.
"Vincenzo, why would someone do this?" Her voice trembled, laced with innocence and confusion, each word tugging at the remnants of my resolve. A question I had dreaded asking myself just days ago, now tumbled out of her mouth like a broken bottle sp
