Page 74 of Captured Heart

“You’re not going to die.”

Her laugh is bitter, devoid of humor. “Victor’s going to kill me. He’s going to torture me first...and then he’s going to light me on fire.”

The way she says it, so flat and emotionless, makes my chest tighten because it doesn’t sound like her at all. “That’s not going to happen.”

Her lips curve into the faintest, most joyless smile. “You can’t promise that.”

“I can,” I say, my voice hardening. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you. And your dad is gonna come through on time. He’ll hand over the files, and Vic will let you go.”

She snorts, her eyes darting back to the ceiling. “My father doesn’t have the files.”

I sit up straighter, narrowing my eyes. “What?”

“He doesn’t have them. I do.”

The words are so quiet I almost think I imagined them. “Where? At your house? Can’t be. I checked. Smith went back to check. There was nothing there.”

Her gaze remains fixated on the ceiling. “That’s because I have them...here with me. He told me that.”

I stare at her, unsure if she’s still living in a delusion. “Katie, you’re not thinking straight. Your father didn’t say that.”

“Yes, he did.” Her voice is eerily calm. “He told me he knows I’ll find a way to escape.”

I think back on the conversation, and that’s not what he said. “He said you’ll find a way to escape thetrauma.”

“That’s how the game works. I had to piece it together.”

I don’t know if it’s her or the confusion that’s frustrating me more. “What game?” Moving to the bed, I kneel beside it and tug her arm until she’s sitting up. “What are you talking about?”

“I just figured it out.” Tired and slurred, the words stumble out of her. “I have the power to overcome evil.”

I run my hand down my face, willing myself to keep my aggravation in check. Cupping her face, I force her to look at me. “Katie, you’re not making any sense.”

“Don’t you see? He said he loves me with his wholeheart. It’s right here.”

“Where?”

She slowly lifts her hand, her fingers grazing the heart-shaped locket resting against her collarbone.

It slams into me with the force of a falling boulder.

I stare at the small piece of jewelry I’d dismissed a hundred times, and my stomach knots. “The locket?”

I slowly reach around her neck to undo the clasp. I hold it in my palm, turning it over carefully. It feels heavier now, weighted with a significance I didn’t notice before. As I inspect it, I notice the faint lines and grooves etched into the metal, too intricate for a simple piece of jewelry.

“This isn’t just a locket?” I murmur, more to myself than to her.

“I don’t think so. When he gave it to me, he told me to never take it off because as long as I had it, I’d always have the power to overcome any evil in this world. That sounds a lot like Victor, doesn’t it?”

I don’t answer, my focus locked on the locket. “You said he refashioned it.”

I study it more closely. The intricate mechanisms are familiar, similar to the safes I’ve broken into a hundred times before but miniaturized. My fingers work carefully, twisting the tiny clasp on the side. With a soft, precise click, the photo inside shifts and pops free.

Beneath the picture of her family lies a microSD card, no bigger than my thumbnail. Its matte black surface gleams faintly under the dim light, the metallic gold contacts catching my eye. I pluck it out with my thumb and forefinger, turning it over in my hand.

“Why did my father give it to me instead of just going straight to the police?”

“Maybe he doesn’t have enough just yet,” I offer. “I don’t know. All I know is that Victor made him think some big drug deal was gonna go down with another gang, and your father was waiting for that before he went to the cops. He wanted to bust them both, but the deal wasn’t even real.”

---