Page 125 of Coerced Queen

I look up, catching Nicole’s confused and panicked gaze.Livy pads over, her sneakers quiet on the carpet.As always, she’s the level-headed one.She’s calm and self-assured as she motions for me to speak.

“What do you want, Raphael?”

“Now that you’re alone, we can talk.”

“I’m not alone.”

He laughs.“Your husband left forty minutes ago.”

“You’re having the house watched,” I say with unconcealed hatred.

“Just as you’re having mine watched.Call us even.”

Not by a long shot.

“What do you want?”I ask again, trembling inside.

My brain connected the dots, but I don’t want my suspicion to be true.

“It’s not a question of whatIwant,” he says.“I think you’re the one who wants something rather badly.”

It takes a moment before his words sink in even though the truth already hit me when he said hello.My heart swings like a pendulum between my ribs, every beat physically hurting.“You took Claire.”

Nicole’s lips part on a silent gasp.What grounds me is Livy’s lack of panic.I hold on to her emotionless expression, deriving strength from her serenity.

“Technically, your mother took her,” he says.“But I’m the one who has her now.”

My mouth is so dry it’s difficult to swallow.“What do you want?”

“I want the video Elena gave to your husband, and I want to know where he’s hiding my pregnant wife.”

“It was me.”It’s vital that he believes me.“Elena gave that video to me, and I’m the one who helped her get away.Saverio had nothing to do with it.”

“If you’re lying, you and your daughter are dead.”

“I’m telling the truth.I know what’s at stake.”My voice doesn’t betray how close I feel to fainting.“I want proof that you have Claire.”

“I anticipated that.”

A photo drops in my messages.I click on the notification with a shaky finger.The image that stares back at me will haunt my nightmares forever.Raphael Morelli sits in a chair, rocking Claire in his lap.I can’t make out the background except for a bare concrete wall and a sealed window.It’s mostly dark.

It takes everything I have to stop my voice from breaking.I want to ask how she is, if she’s crying for me.If he fed her.If her diaper is dry.But all I manage to get out is, “Is she all right?”

“For now,” he says, his tone smug.

“Tell me where to meet you.I’ll bring what you want.”

“Come alone or prepare to say goodbye to your girl.”

“I can’t come alone,” I say, thinking on my proverbial feet.“You’ll hand Claire over to a caretaker in exchange for the video, and when they’ve left safely, I’ll tell you where Elena is.”

Nicole shakes her head so vehemently her updo comes down.Livy only purses her lips.

A moment of silence follows.If Raphael plans on letting Claire go, he’ll accept the offer.He can do with me whatever he wants once he has me in his power.He can use me to lure out Saverio, or he can torture me until I give up Elena’s location.If, however, he has no intention of letting Claire live, he’ll have a problem with my terms.In that case, he won’t let her leave with a caretaker.But I’m bargaining on the fact that he wants to know where Elena is more than he wants anything else.The humiliation she caused him was too great.And he knows I’ll never tell him if he doesn’t let my daughter go.Claire is his biggest bargaining chip.

After another beat, he says, “Fine.Bring that old granny.What’s her name again?Libby.”

“Livy,” I say, blood gushing in my ears.“Livy is frail.It’s not a good idea.I’ll bring a guard.”

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