“He’ll agree,” I say, voice hard. “He’d sell her for less if I let him. But I won’t. I’ll take her, and when I do, he’ll never come near her again.”
Tomasso is silent for a moment. Then, quietly, he says, "You really think she’ll agree?"
“She doesn’t have to. Not yet.”
He shakes his head. “You’re moving fast.”
“I know.”
“And you don’t care.”
He looks at me for a moment longer, like I have a screw loose in my head, but he doesn’t try to argue. He knows better. We’ve been through too much together. He knows my mind when it’s made up. He knows I don’t act on impulse. I calculate. I plan. I take. And when I want something, I make it mine.
“I need to get her out of there ASAP.”
He runs a hand through his hair. “Do you want me to come with you?”
“No. I’ll handle it.”
He nods once, then steps back.
“Good luck,” he mutters.
But he says it like he knows I won’t need it.
I go alone.
No call. No warning. I want to catch him off guard. Men like Renato only play polite when they’ve rehearsed their lies ahead of time.
This particular estate is smaller than ours, tucked into a corner of Modena like it knows it doesn’t belong. I’m led through the same halls I walked five days ago, past the same portraits, the same peeling wallpaper that tries too hard to look expensive. A servant offers to fetch him. I nod once.
He doesn’t know I’m here. Good.
It takes a minute, maybe two, before he shuffles in. He doesn’t smile. He’s in a crumpled shirt and an expression that tells me he’s already wondering what fresh hell has arrived at his door. I don’t waste time.
“I’ve come to settle your debt.”
He freezes, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Settle?”
I don’t sit. “You owe me more than you could ever repay. You know that. But I’ll write it off.”
He blinks, uncertain now. “Just like that?”
I don't fail to notice how slightly he perks up. Cazzo.
“No.” I pause. “In exchange, I want your daughter.”
Silence drops like a stone between us.
“Liliana?” His surprise is evident.
“Si.”
He doesn’t ask me to repeat myself. He doesn’t react the way I expect a father to react when his only daughter is offered up like a bargaining chip. Instead, he exhales. Relief flickers behind his eyes. His shoulders sag like I’ve just handed him a gift.
That alone tells me everything I need to know. I'd expected it, but still, faced with it guts me.
“I accept,” he says.
