Page 73

The officer on duty straightened, eyes narrowing. “Ma’am, stay where you are. We’re sending a team immediately.”

Within minutes, sirens pierced the early morning calm, racing toward the villa where tragedy had just struck.

The police arrived swiftly, the once-quiet villa now buzzing with flashing lights and urgent voices. Inside Vittoria’s bedroom, the scene was grim. She lay motionless on the bed, her lifeless eyes staring upward, a telephone cord twisted tightly around her neck. The deep red marks left no doubt—she had been strangled with brutal force.

But that wasn’t all.

A jagged wound marred her abdomen, dried blood staining her nightdress and the floor beneath her. Though the stab had bled heavily, the medical examiner on site quickly determined that it wasn’t the fatal blow. The primary cause of death was clear: strangulation.

The officers exchanged tense looks. This was no accident—it was a violent, deliberate killing.

— ✦ —

Meanwhile, across the sea in London, England, Detective James Taylor sat in his cluttered office, nursing a lukewarm cup of tea. His assistant, Alice Whitmore, was sorting through paperwork when the telephone rang.

“Taylor & Associates, how can I help you?” Alice answered crisply.