Page 56 of Dangerous King
"Someone planted her," Enrico says finally, his voice low and measured. "And they wanted us to notice."
It's not a question. It's a statement.
Edoardo tilts his head slightly, eyes gleaming. "That's quite an assumption."
"Observation," Enrico corrects. His voice hasn't risen, but I feel the ice in it. "And if it's true, then this was never about family politics. This was about manipulation and distraction."
Edoardo offers a small, tight smile. "You believe someone from outside orchestrated this?"
Enrico doesn't answer immediately. I can feel the tension in him, the coil of thought winding tighter. When he does speak, it's almost too quiet to catch. "From outside or within."
A chill slides down my spine at the calm certainty in his tone. Enrico already has someone in mind.
The moment the words,Someone planted her, leave my mouth, I know I'm right; neither Roberto nor Giovanni took Izzy. Those two jackasses were too busy bickering like spoiled brats while my sister was tied to a chair in their basement. And now that Giovanni's in my custody, Roberto's crawling back like a rat trying to clean up the mess. But the real danger was never them. It's whoeverputIzzy there. Not for ransom. Not for leverage. For chaos. Forexposure.
I glance at Edoardo, who watches me like a cat sizing up a cornered snake.
He doesn't blink, doesn't shift. But I see the calculation flicker behind his eyes. He already suspected this wasn't a family squabble.
Finally, he leans back like he's impressed. Or amused. Not that it matters to me. What matters is that this wasn't Giovanni. He didn't have the subtlety. It wasn't Roberto; he barely knows how to load a gun without instructions.
Which means someone else slipped past my radar.
Someone I didn't see. Someone Ishouldhave seen.
And I don't like that. I don't like that at all.
Edoardo shoots a few more questions at Cat about what she heard Giovanni and Roberto talk about, what they were going to do to her. Cat's holding steady, but I can feel the tremor in her shoulders beneath my hand. She's tired. The kind of tired that goes bone-deep, the kind that doesn't wait for sleep to settle in—it settles inyou.
I lean forward, not asking permission. "That's enough for now," I say. "She needs rest."
Edoardo raises a brow. "I wasn't finished."
"You are for now."
The room stills. I sense my father's eyes on me, feel his need to reprimand me. Wisely, he stays silent. Edoardo only smiles; he thinks of himself as too refined to say anything else. "Very well. I believe I've heard enough to consider my next steps."
He turns his gaze to Cat, and I hate the way it lingers like she's a piece of evidence. Or property.
"I'll decide how to handle the… murder… of one of my capos soon," he says lightly. "Until then, keep her close. I may have further questions."
"Wait," Roberto pushes out of his chair. "Where is my father? What did you do to him?"
"He got what he deserves," my gaze invites him to try me.
"You heard her," Roberto points at Cat, "she testified that we didn't know Izzy was in the basement. He attacked us for no good reason. He?—"
"Yeah, you heard Cat." I move in between Cat and Roberto. "She testified that you were going to kill my sister, instead of returning her to me."
"Enough!" Edoardo calls.
"I want to know what you did with my father." Roberto ignores him.
I smirk at him.
"Did you kill him?" Edoardo glares at me.
I smirk at him too.
