Page 33 of The Assassin's Captive
“I don’t lie,Kukolka. I have proof if you need it.” I stand stoically, waiting for her natural reaction to surface, but she swallows it with eyes flicking around.
"How many people know?" she asks, switching to her calculating, controlled tone.
"Too many. The hospital staff who ran the DNA test. The lab technicians who processed it. Costa himself, obviously. His inner circle. It's only a matter of time before the information spreads."
She buries her face in her hands, and for the first time since I brought her here, she looks genuinely defeated. The sight should satisfy me. Should confirm that I have finally broken through her defenses. Instead, it sits uneasily in my chest.
"What does he want from me?" she asks, her voice muffled.
"I don't know yet."
She lifts her head, searching my face. "You don't know, or you won't tell me?"
"I don't know. I'm waiting for orders."
The admission tastes bitter on my tongue. I have spent twenty years following Emilio's commands without question. Without hesitation. But this situation feels different. Unstable. And I find myself reluctant to act without understanding the full scope of his intentions.
"So you're keeping me here until someone tells you what to do next."
"Yes."
She stares at me for a long moment, reading truths I haven't spoken aloud. "This isn't protection."
"No."
"This is containment."
I meet her gaze steadily. "Yes."
The honesty seems to surprise her. She expected lies, deflection, pretty words to soften the reality of her situation. But I respect her intelligence too much for platitudes. She deserves to understand exactly where she stands.
My phone buzzes from the nightstand. Costa's name appears on the screen, and I feel Serena tense beside me. I answer on the second ring.
"Emilio."
"We have a problem." His voice carries the edge it gets when someone has overstepped. "There's a journalist sniffing around the girl's disappearance. Irene Bellandi. She's asking questions about the Costa connection."
I close my eyes, processing what this new development means. "How much does she know?"
"Enough to be dangerous. She's been calling the prosecutor's office, the hospital, anyone who might have information. If she publishes before the trial concludes, it could derail everything."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Handle it. Quietly. Make her understand that some stories aren't worth telling."
The line goes dead. I set the phone aside, already running through options. Bellandi has a reputation for tenacity. She will not be easily discouraged. But everyone has pressure points. Everyone has vulnerabilities that can be exploited.
"Bad news?" Serena asks.
I turn to find her watching me intently. "A journalist is investigating your disappearance. Someone you used to trust."
Color drains from her face again. "Irene."
"You know her."
"She's done stories on some of my cases. She's good at what she does. Thorough." Panic creeps into her voice. "If she connects me to Costa?—"
"She won't." I stand, reaching for my jacket. "I'm going to make sure of that."
