The mayor's office door closed softly behind them.
Mayor Bellini stood from his desk, adjusting his suit jacket with calm precision. He looked nothing like a man connected to buried secrets.
"Elena Moretti," he said smoothly. "And… Daniel Carter."
He didn't ask Daniel's name.
He already knew it.
Daniel didn't sit. "You knew my grandmother."
A faint smile touched the mayor's lips. "Everyone knew Isabella."
"That's not what I meant," Daniel replied.
The mayor's eyes shifted — just slightly — toward Elena.
"Old stories resurface when people grow restless," he said. "But Seravalle has survived because we choose peace over scandal."
Elena felt the message underneath his words.
Stop.
"Lucia Bellini," she said carefully. "Your sister."
For the first time, the mayor's expression hardened.
"My sister was foolish," he replied. "She trusted the wrong people."
Daniel stepped forward. "She died in that cellar."
Silence.
Heavy. Sharp.
The mayor did not react the way an innocent man would.
He walked slowly around his desk instead, stopping in front of them.
"You're young," he said quietly. "And young people believe truth fixes everything."
His voice lowered.
"It doesn't."
Elena's heart was racing now. "The cellar burned down last night."
The mayor tilted his head slightly. "Tragic accident."
"There was no wiring," Daniel said coldly.
The mayor's gaze locked onto his.
"You've inherited more than just your grandmother's eyes," he said softly. "You've inherited her stubbornness."
Daniel's hands clenched.
"Careful," the mayor added, voice smooth again. "Digging into the past can collapse foundations."
It wasn't advice.
It was a warning.
When they stepped back into the square, the evening felt colder.
Elena exhaled shakily. "He knows we have something."
Daniel nodded.
"And now," he said quietly, "he knows we won't stop."
Above them, the church bell rang once.
Seravalle still looked peaceful.
But beneath it—
Power was shifting.
And the mayor was watching.