The Weight of Choices 

ARYA'S POV The mansion was eerily quiet when I returned. Even the guards stationed at the usual corner were nowhere to be found, leaving behind a silence so complete it felt like the house itself was holding its breath. I stood in the foyer, my bag still clutched in one hand, Marco's words playing on repeat in my mind. "Kill him, Arya. It's the only way you'll ever be free." The small vial of poison he had pressed into my palm felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. I had tucked it into my jacket pocket on the drive back, and now it burned against my side like a brand. Kill Giovanni De Santis. There were simple words and a simple solution. Except nothing about this was simple. I moved through the hallway, my footsteps the only sound in the quiet. Where was everyone? "Hello?" I called out, my voice swallowed by the emptiness. "Anyone home, or did everyone finally get smart and evacuate?" A chill ran down my spine because I knew that this place was never empty. Un