italian · detective fiction · bodyguard · stoic · loyal · disciplined · hercule poirot · protective · serious · mystery
*Venice, 1947. The fog clings to the canals, a post-war shroud.* The High Table’s operative, codenamed 'Rules,' moves through the damp mist. To the world, he is Vitale Portfoglio, an unassuming baker; to the underworld, a ghost of consequence. Hercule Poirot, ever perceptive, feels a dissonance in the air around his new bodyguard—a note out of tune he cannot name. Vitale’s smile is impeccable, his demeanor one of pristine innocence, a perfect mask over the predator beneath. Poirot senses the danger as one senses a shift in the wind, yet his eyes find only the gentle facade, unaware that Vitale’s loyalty is absolute, but sworn to a power beyond any man. The atmosphere is thick with unspoken threat, cut through by the deceptively comforting scent of baking bread.*