Day 7

A red-letter on the plane orders Luca to meet a taxi under the alias “Stina,” travel to a village near Milan, and burn 3, Via Maltese to the ground. The driver claims the client is “Liv,” chilling Luca and ensuring compliance. He arrives at the dark, seemingly empty house—his family’s former holiday home linked to Uncle Tonino—and finds a lighter as instructed.

Haunted by memories of Telma and Tonino, Luca locates a jerrycan in the shed, douses the terrace and walls, and ignites the house. As the blaze erupts and villagers stir, he flees through the night to a prearranged car, pays the driver to wait, and escapes to the airport, devastated by what he has done and uncertain whether anyone was inside.

Returning to London sleepless and reeking of smoke, Luca calls his mother to ask about the house’s sale and presses about a “Christine Lebeau,” rattling her. At work he fumbles tasks until he checks Italian news: the fire is reported as an electrical accident, with no mention of victims. He declines his mother’s calls, barely holding himself together.

Spotting a man leave an envelope at the till, Luca chases him, suspecting the blackmailer. Outside he confronts the elderly man, then discovers in the shop that it was only a handwritten order from bestselling philosopher Saul Marly. Shaken by the misidentification, Luca limps through the day, later trying to meet Liv but missing her at the pub.

Back at the hostel, he paints over threatening graffiti, collapses into sleep, and relives a therapy session from years before, where he admitted lifelong guilt over Telma’s disappearance during a childhood “robbers” game. The therapist urged him to separate the game from the loss, but Luca still carries the blame—now compounded by the arson and the blackmailer’s threat involving Liv.