Protection offered = containment.
I pause. The pen hovers.
Then I add one more line:
Don’t ask for justice.
Chapter 4
Containment
POV:Alessandro
Evie Brennan is placed in the east wing. That’s the correct location. Close enough to remain visible. Far enough that visibility doesn’t become access. The east wing sits along the garden side of the house: two staircases, one service corridor, six rooms that can be occupied without consequence, and three that cannot. A terrace that looks outward instead of inward.
Containment works best when it faces away from what matters.
The arrangement is standard. It has been done before. Women who need time. Men who need distance. Problems that require walls and discretion until they can be resolved or removed. The language changes depending on the situation. Protection. Recovery. Courtesy. The function doesn’t.
Marco stands across from my desk as I review the deployment. His posture is precise, as it always is when something requires exact execution.
“East wing secured,” he says.
“How many guards?”
“Two in the corridor. One at the service passage. Exterior patrol beneath the terrace. Rotation every four hours.” A beat. “What movement do you want allowed?”
“East wing unrestricted. Garden with escort. Library under observation. No offices. No west corridor. No external communication without review.”
Marco nods once, committing it to memory without writing it down. “And staff?”
“Standard. No deviation. No conversation beyond necessity.”
He studies me for a fraction longer than required. Not questioning, measuring. “And the wedding?”
I don’t answer immediately. The question exists whether spoken or not. It sits beneath everything now. The alliance was the structure. The structure is compromised.
“What about it?” I ask.
Marco shifts his weight slightly. “Preparations were underway. The Brennans will expect clarification.”
“The Brennans have lost their position to expect anything,” I say.
“That depends on how this is resolved.”
It does.
“And Dante?” Marco adds, quieter now. “What is the official position?”
“Rehabilitation,” I reply.
