I’d thought about it while waiting—I had to be traumatized, butnot too much.I had to be put together, but slightly unstable. I had to play an Oscar-worthy role to escape their suspicions and be let off the hook.
The man smiled warmly. “I’m Special Agent Collins, and this is Special Agent Riviera. We have a few questions about what happened. Take your time with the answers. There’s no rush.”
I nodded eagerly, looking into their eyes, showing them I was on their side.
“What’s the last thing you remember before being taken?”
My gaze drifted to the side, as if thinking about it. “Um, I was in the club. Going to the restroom. It was, like, down a hallway? I just remember someone grabbing my waist and pulling me—"
“Pulling you where?” Agent Riviera interrupted.
“I-I’m not sure. Just…away from the restroom entrance. Did the cameras at the club catch anything?” I asked, trying to sound like I cared.
Both agents shook their heads. “No. There was no footage from that night. At all. We suspect that whoever took you shut down their security system for the evening.”
I nodded slowly, so proud of Alex. They thought of everything. It was theperfectkidnapping. No traces, no leads, no witnesses—nothing.
“What were you wearing? Can you tell us anything about your appearance?” Collins asked the next question.
“Um, a dress? A short, sequined dress. Heels. I had a small purse too.”
“What about your hair? Makeup? Hair ties on your wrist?”
My mind was buzzing. Whythe fuckdid they want those specific details? I hesitated, as if thinking it over.
“I don’t remember about the hair ties…but my makeup was darker. You know, like, going-out-on-a-Saturday makeup?” I turned to Riviera, the only other woman in the room, subconsciously asking her to understand, but she simply blinked at me.
“And my hair?”
And then it fucking hit me—the video we made with Alex! I had put my hair up in a ponytail! Was the ponytail in the video too perfect? Not disheveled enough?
“Yes,” Agent Riviera confirmed. “Was your hair up or down?”
I paused for a second, my heart hammering. “Up. My hair was up in a ponytail.” I was expecting them to nod, write something down—anything—but they just stared at me.
“Tell us what happened after.”
“Well…I think they put, like, a bag over my head and then…someone carried me somewhere and shoved me into a car.”
“Did you see the car?”
“No.” I shook my head at the stupid question. “There was something over my head and my hands were bound.”
“With what?”
“I’m not sure. Something sharp?”
Riviera nodded, and Collins leaned in closer, ready to ask another meaningless question, but that’s when the door opened and my father stepped in—confident, and without an ounce of apology.
“Sir,” Agent Collins opened his mouth as soon as my father took a seat on an empty chair, right beside the door, “maybe it would be better if—”
“It’s okay.” My father held up his hand to Collins—harsh and firm—his go-to. “I’ll just sit in.”
Collins shut up immediately, avoiding Riviera’s glance. “Let the record show that present in the room for the debriefing are Special Agent Collins, Special Agent Riviera, and United States Attorney Sebastian Moretti,” Collins stated into nothing, reminding me that the whole session was being audio and video recorded. “What happened after?”
I blinked at my father, hoping for an encouraging smile, but just like the agents, he was stoic. Ten minutes ago, he wasalmost crying at the sight of me, and now? Now he was here to interrogate me.
“After? Um…the car drove for a while. Someone carried me somewhere when it stopped. I was shoved in a chair and then they took off the thing on my head.” I motioned toward my head, hoping for a brief pause, but they continued.
