Cass closed her eyes for half a second.
It was not fear that crossed her face. It was grief.
That name belonged to another life. A life of false passports, midnight extractions, burned safe houses, and missions that never appeared in any record. A life where she had learned the cost of obedience when powerful men used loyalty as a leash.
She had buried that woman.
She had come to Rini’s because the restaurant was small, warm, and ordinary. Because the owner let her work quietly and never asked why she woke before dawn or always sat facing the door. Because ordinary life, to Cass, had become the rarest luxury in the world.
Victor laughed, though his voice was no longer confident.
“Belladonna or not, you’re one woman.”
Cass opened her eyes.
“That’s what they all said.”
Then the front doors opened again.
And this time, the men who entered were not Victor’s.