It's too big of a decision to make as a snap judgment.
I need time to think and plan.
If I can leverage that information for my freedom, maybe that's what I should do.
Or maybe giving Dante this advantage would be the turning point in his business that he needs to finally change.
Or maybe I'm just naive and I'll end up trapped here no matter what I do, with a dangerous criminal and no way to escape.
20
DANTE
Kemal slams his fist on the conference table and shakes the whole hotel room.
His face is red with anger and his interpreter Eren speaks rapidly in Italian to translate the stream of Turkish insults pouring from his mouth.
"You call yourself a partner," Eren translates. "You call yourself trustworthy. But you are a thief and a liar. You stole from us and now you sit here pretending to be innocent."
I keep my hands flat on the table and my expression calm.
Losing my temper won’t help.
I need Kemal to listen to me and see the evidence before he walks out of this hotel and destroys everything I have left.
The entire purpose of calling this meeting was to prove my innocence.
Without the Turks my trades are dead in the water.
I can't lose them.
"I didn’t steal from you," I say as I sit a little taller in the chair and lean forward. "I was set up. Gerard fabricated the evidence to turn you against me."
Kemal barks something in Turkish.
Eren translates. "Proof—show me proof or this meeting is over."
The deep crevices on his forehead show how angry he is, and after months of being patient with me, it appears Antonelli Gerard's lies are more credible in his mind than my word, which pisses me off.
I reach into my jacket and pull out the phone I recovered from the attacker at the Pantheon, then unlock it and set it on the table between us.
"This belonged to one of Mr. Gerard's men. Inside are voice messages that prove he orchestrated the scheme to frame me. The messages are between his lieutenant and one of your contacts in Istanbul."
Kemal picks up the phone and examines it with suspicion.
Then he looks at Eren and says something in Turkish.
Eren nods and takes the phone.
He navigates to the voice messages and plays the first one.
The lieutenant's voice fills the room, revealing the secrets I've already heard and memorized, while Eren translates for Kemal as the recording plays.
When the first message ends, Kemal's expression shifts slightly.
The anger is still there but now there's a bit of a shift toward doubt and caution.
He gestures for Eren to play the next message but his brow is still deeply furrowed.
