137

Robert Langdon dreams of Vittoria Vetra laughing on the steps of the Roman Coliseum, then wakes in darkness in an unfamiliar, luxurious room. Gradually, Langdon remembers Vittoria leading his exhausted body away from St. Peter’s Square, helping him shower, bringing him to the Hotel Bernini, and watching over him while he slept.

A knock at the door brings Lieutenant Chartrand of the Vatican Swiss Guard to the suite. Chartrand explains that he followed Langdon and Vittoria the previous night and delivers a handwritten note from the newly elected Pope, Saverio Mortati, asking only that Langdon and Vittoria follow their consciences regarding the truth of the past day.

Chartrand also gives Langdon a package from the Papal Vault: the Illuminati Diamond, placed on indefinite loan to Langdon with the request that it be returned after his death. When Chartrand asks what happened in the helicopter, Langdon chooses the silence he and Vittoria had already decided on, claiming his memory is blurred. The decision preserves the public sense of wonder and spiritual awakening created by the events.

Langdon returns to the bedroom and finds Vittoria on the balcony in a white robe, framed by moonlight above Bernini’s Triton Fountain. Langdon sets aside Mortati’s letter and the Illuminati Diamond, intending to explain later, and joins Vittoria as their shared ordeal gives way to attraction and relief.

Vittoria teases Langdon about his expected reward, then reveals she has ordered an extravagant room-service meal. They dine by moonlight, drink wine, and talk late into the night. Vittoria’s flirtation becomes increasingly clear, but Langdon playfully pretends to be absorbed in the Illuminati Diamond and in her scientific work.

The teasing escalates until Vittoria tackles Langdon onto the bed, laughing. Their banter turns from science and faith to intimacy, ending the chapter with Vittoria inviting Langdon into what she jokingly frames as the religious experience he has never had.