The contract is thicker than a Bible. Its pages are crisp, unblemished, each one a small death wrapped in legal jargon. Alessia's father doesn't look at her when he signs it. Ink scratches paper, sealing her future with the same indifference he's shown her since childhood.

Across the room, Matteo DeLuca finally lifts his gaze from the document. He has been studying it with the patience of a man who reads threat assessments for pleasure. But now, for the first time, he looks at her.

Alessia feels it before she understands it—a weight, a claim, something heavy settling over her skin. She raises her eyes slowly.

And for the first time in her life, someone looks at her like she belongs to them.