Dark love

ilent on the polished marble floor. A striking figure in a tailored navy dress, she looked as though she had stepped

liers. It was a private showing in Brera-an exclusive event, by invitation only-and Elena moved through it with the fluen

erred it

y in Milan's art world, approached with her signature bold lipstick and velvet wrap.

nt with a soft smile. "It's

st. Come-there's a collector from Paris who insists he won't buy

was a cipher for desire, a curator of dreams sold for seven figures. People trusted her

ti sold befo

. Silence was a luxury she allowed herself only in stolen moments. Beneath the polish and charm was a woman who

ed. A message fr

confirmed. 9 p.m. at Palazz

the glass. She wasn't impulsive. She didn't do gala

toni

ch in the routine. A reminder that she

-

ing beneath golden uplighting. Inside, shadows danced between masked figures, lau

shimmered like liquid ink, her mask a delicate gold f

pectations. Tha

w-tall, composed, eyes sharp behind his own mask. They

onversation laced with wit

who she was. S

low and accented with something

ld have

arble stairs, into a room lit only by

-

raped curtains. Elena blinked awake in silk shee

o number.

el ashamed. S

back into her world of measured steps an

had changed

s, it would rewrite her