Page 28 of The Assassin's Captive
"Valuable how?"
I move away from the window and settle into the leather chair that gives me clear sight lines to all entrances to the room. Old habits from years of living with constant threats to my safety.
"Every rival family in Rome would want to get their hands on you if they knew about your connection to Emilio Costa. You represent leverage that could be used against him in ways that no amount of money or territory could match."
Her expression doesn't change, but I see her processing the implications of what I've told her. She's smart enough to understand that being valuable as leverage also makes her dangerous as a target.
"So you're keeping me as insurance."
"I'm keeping you alive while Costa decides what to do with information that changes everything."
"What information?"
Her question makes me shift in my seat and I choose my words carefully. Telling her about the DNA results without Emilio's permission would violate direct orders, but she deserves to understand why her life has been turned upside down.
"Information that makes you more important to him than you could imagine."
Serena studies my face with the analytical intensity she probably brings to courtroom cross-examinations, searching for tells that might reveal what I'm not saying directly. "That's not an answer."
"It's the only answer I can give you right now."
Her hands clench into fists at her sides, and I see the moment when her control finally snaps. She walks to the bar cart near the fireplace and picks up a crystal tumbler, hefting its weight in her palm.
"I'm tired of cryptic responses and half-truths."
She hurls the glass against the stone fireplace, where it explodes into countless fragments that scatter across the Persian rug. The sound echoes through the house with violent force.
I don't flinch, don't move from my chair or react to the display of frustration that has been building since she woke up in my bedroom two days ago.
Instead, I wait for the echoes to fade before speaking again.
"Are you finished?"
Her chest rises and falls with rapid breathing, but she doesn't answer. The broken glass glitters in the afternoon light filtering through the windows. "Get used to this place," I tell her, my voice remaining level despite the tension crackling in the air between us. "Because until Emilio gives me different orders, you're not going anywhere."
"I won't tell you anything about my legal work. I won't betray the cases I've built or the evidence I've gathered."
Her defiance would be admirable if it weren't so misguided. She still thinks this is about extracting information from a prosecutor who threatens organized crime operations. She doesn't understand that her value has nothing to do with what she knows and everything to do with who she is.
"Then let me make your options clear," I say, standing from the chair and moving closer to where she stands surrounded by broken glass. "You can cooperate with me, answer the questions I need answered, and survive this situation with your life and reputation intact."
"Or?"
"Or you can keep fighting me, keep demanding answers I can't give you, and lose everything you've worked to build."
Her eyes narrow, but she doesn't retreat even though I now stand close enough to reach out and touch her.
"Are you threatening me?"
"I'm explaining consequences. If you force me to extract information through other methods, I'll destroy your legal career systematically and thoroughly. Every case you've won will be reviewed for procedural violations. Every judge you've worked with will receive anonymous tips about prosecutorial misconduct. Your reputation will be shredded so completely that no law firm in Italy will hire you."
The color drains from her face as she realizes the scope of what I'm describing. Professional destruction on that scale would take years to accomplish, but it can be done by someone with the right connections and unlimited resources.
"And if that doesn't motivate cooperation," I continue, "I'll turn my attention to the adoptive parents who raised you. Giuseppe and Maria Barone, both retired professors living on modest pensions in a quiet neighborhood near the Vatican."
Her breath catches, and I see real fear enter her eyes for the first time since I've known her.
"They have nothing to do with this."
