The Labyrinth of Deceit and Desire

Previously

…But for now, I held my father’s words, and they were enough. Luca’s voice was soft. “What now?” I tucked the letter into my coat. “Now we read. Every letter. Until we know the truth.” I turned to him, and for a moment, the tension between us dissolved. He was not the manipulative dealer, not the rival. He was a man who had chosen to follow me into the dark. “Thank you,” I said. He smiled, a small, genuine thing. “I’m not sure I had a choice.” We stood in the silent crypt, surrounded by the echoes of the dead, and the first rays of sunlight crept through a crack in the ceiling, illuminating the dust motes that danced like ghosts. And in that light, I began to read.