Valerio’s leather shoes clicked against the polished marble floor with a rhythmic, lethal cadence that silenced the surrounding whispers. His dark eyes, usually cold and unreadable, flared with a tempest of controlled fury as he observed the scene before him.

Dr. Cole slammed the clipboard onto the counter, his expression grim as he reviewed the blood panels. Valerio stood by the glass window, looking down at Alessia, who was fast asleep under the influence of heavy sedatives.

"Explain it to me again, Cole," Valerio’s voice was dangerously low. "And choose your words carefully."

"It wasn't just the fall, Valerio," Dr. Cole sighed, rubbing his exhausted eyes. "A fall from that height can cause spinal shock, yes, but it wouldn't cause instantaneous, total neurological blockage down to the peripheral nerves of her right limb without a massive structural fracture. Her X-rays are clean. No broken bones."

Valerio turned slowly. "Then why can't she feel her leg?"

"Because someone injected her with Neurotoxin-X7," Cole revealed, his voice dropping to a whisper. "It’s a military-grade nerve agent developed in Eastern Europe. It causes rapid, localized paralysis by blocking acetylcholinesterase at the neuromuscular junction. The impact of the fall merely accelerated the distribution of the drug through her bloodstream."

Valerio’s fist slammed into the reinforced glass window, creating a web of fine cracks. "Who?"

"The toxin has a window of thirty minutes before symptoms manifest," Cole continued. "She was dosed while she was still getting ready in the bridal suite."

Just then, the double doors swished open, and Lucian stepped in, his face drawn. He carried a tablet displaying a series of encrypted logs.

"I ran the security logs for the bridal suite," Lucian said quietly. "Only three people entered that room before the ceremony: her makeup artist, the maid of honor... and your mother, Eleanor."

Valerio went rigid. "My mother?"

"She brought Alessia a glass of water before she walked down the aisle," Lucian confirmed, pulling up a timestamped video loop. "Look closely at frame 402. Eleanor drops a small tablet into the glass while Alessia is looking at the veil."

Valerio took the tablet, his knuckles turning white as he replayed the video five times. The woman who had raised him, the matriarch of the DeLuca syndicate, had deliberately poisoned the woman he loved.

"Where is she?" Valerio asked, his tone devoid of all human emotion.

"In the main lounge, drinking tea with the council elders," Lucian replied. "She thinks Veronica is taking the fall for everything. She has no idea Dr. Cole identified the chemical compound."

Valerio walked over to Alessia’s bed. He gently took her cold, limp hand in his, brushing his thumb over her knuckles. Her breathing was shallow, her face serene in her drug-induced sleep.

"Keep her monitored," Valerio told Dr. Cole. "If her condition deteriorates by even a fraction, wake me immediately."

He turned toward the door, his hand resting on the heavy silver pommel of the handgun concealed inside his jacket.

"Valerio, wait," Lucian warned, grabbing his brother's shoulder. "You can't just execute the matriarch in front of the commission. The other families will view it as a coup. They will turn on us."

"Let them turn," Valerio sneered, shoving Lucian's hand away. "They will learn what happens when they touch what is mine."

He strode down the long corridor, his boots echoing like a death knell. But as he reached the grand double doors leading to the family lounge, the estate’s power suddenly cut out, plunging the entire mansion into pitch-black darkness.