CHAPTER 16

SHADOWS OF THE PAST

RORY’S POV

I stared at her.

Renzo buried them here.

The words settled in my chest like stones, heavy and unmoving. The study was silent, but suddenly, it didn’t feel quiet anymore. It felt… haunted.

Ayla’s fingers traced the armrest of her chair, her face unreadable. “Surprised?”

I wasn’t sure what I felt. “I didn’t know.”

“Of course, you didn’t.” She exhaled softly, her eyes dark with something I couldn’t quite place. “No one does.”

A pause.

Then, quietly, she added, “Except him.”

Renzo.

I swallowed. “Why would he bury them here?”

Ayla leaned back, her expression unreadable. “Because he loved them. And because...