For a few seconds after the car disappeared into the darkness of the forest road, Vanessa remained exactly where she stood.
The night felt colder now.
Not because the temperature had changed, but because something fundamental about the situation had shifted. The conversation they had just had with the stranger had peeled back a layer of the war she thought she understood.
Behind them, the De Luca mansion groaned again under another violent impact from the siege ram. The sound echoed through the trees like thunder rolling across the hills.
Marco let out a tired breath.
"Well," he said, glancing back toward the burning windows of the estate, "I guess we should probably return to the house that is currently being destroyed."
Vanessa didn't respond immediately.
Her thoughts were still circling around the stranger's final words.
You become his weakness.
She had heard threats before.
Criminals had tried to intimidate her during interrogations.
Gang members had sworn revenge.
