The slam of a glass tumbler echoed like thunder against the walls of Papa Terzo’s office.

Papers scattered. Candles trembled. So did the group of Siblings of Sin standing in front of his desk, wide-eyed and frozen as Terzo rose to his full height behind the desk — black cassock clinging to his frame, eyes dark with rage behind the smeared paint.

“I said,” he growled, voice sharp like a snapped guitar string, “get out.”

No one moved at first.

Terzo’s hands slammed against the desktop, and he shouted again, louder this time — the sharp, guttural snap of an angry Italian hiss spilling through his teeth. “Out! Fuori da questo ufficio! You think this is a fucking lounge?!”

They began to shuffle out at last, chastened and quiet, robes swishing in hurried retreat. Terzo’s eyes scanned them coldly — until he caught sight of her.

She was moving toward the door with the rest, head low, as if trying not to be seen. Not out of guilt, but habit. Always so quiet, always so good. She hadn’t said a word, hadn’t laughed, hadn’t touched a thing.

And yet she was leaving.

“No,” he said suddenly, voice cutting through the silence like a blade. “Not you.”

She stopped mid-step. Her head lifted slowly, eyes meeting his.

The others hesitated, confused, until Terzo gestured sharply toward the exit. “I said go.”

Terzo finally looked at her. Truly looked.

The tightness in his jaw eased slightly as his eyes swept over her — the soft edge of her expression, the flicker of concern behind her gaze.

The door clicked shut behind them, and for a moment, the only sound was the soft crackle of candlelight.

“You stay,” he muttered, dragging a hand down his face. “Please.”

No one else in the Ministry ever got that word from him. Not like that.

He turned away, pacing once before collapsing back into the chair with a heavy sigh, one hand pressed to his temple. “They treat this place like a stage. A fucking circus. But not you.”

He looked up at her again, eyes less wild now, a shadow of guilt behind the exhaustion.

“Sit. Just… sit with me. I won’t shout anymore.”