EPISODE 4: THE INTERSECTIONS ## CHAPTER 1: WHISPERS OF FAMILY The dust of the Nebbiolo block catches in the late afternoon sun, turning every leaf into a shard of gold that illuminates the deep crimson stain of the soil beneath her worn boots. Elena kneels beside the freshly turned earth, running the edge of an aged pruning knife along a root exposed by the recent excavation. The scent is metallic and rich—the smell of disturbed life, of effort. She is deep in the work, allowing the physical ache of the task to settle over her like a shield against the charged air of the Marchetti estate. Her movements are methodical, careful; she knows that any carelessness here risks disrupting what little stability they have built around this block, around their arrangement. The sound of approaching footsteps echoes off the palazzo walls and grows steadily louder until it reaches the edge of the work area. Elena does not look up immediately, focusing instead on tracing a pattern in the gnarled root system. She hears the measured cadence of high leather soles, the sort that belongs to men accustomed to authority. Emilio Conti stops at the line demarcating her current work zone. He wears a tailored linen suit, dusted slightly with the same reddish soil she tracks across her boots. His...