“Speak clearly,” I said to him, the words hard through my teeth. The pulse in my neck beat like a sledgehammer. “If you scrape away the bullshit, tell me what we have.”
“Ah, you mean what do I have?” He lifted a brow. “I have your wife.”
I went to move, as calm as if I were about to grab a drink from the kitchen, but Pnina stood, placing her body in front of mine. She didn’t have the same peculiar nature as her daughter, but she knew me well enough. The woman was in my life for as long as I could remember.
“You can’t—not anymore.” Scarlett stood, coming to stand beside me. Her words came out rushed. No doubt her blood felt the strain of my mood. “The paperwork stated that my mother could sign contracts for me, but only up until the time that I was married. Maja—my grandmother—had put the stipulation in.”
Not for the first time, it hit me hard in the gut that my wife was considered a business dealing, even by her own family.
He leaned back, keeping his hands together, resting them over his chest. He studied Scarlett. “All too true. But Pnina signed the papers months ago.”
“Mati—” Scarlett scrambled. “You were supposed to talk to me—get my permission. When did you do this?”
Her mother gave me a cold look before she took her seat again. She sat up straight, her chin lifting in that familiar way. “July.”
Scarlett stumbled back into me, reaching for the chair. Her face had gone pale, but the embers in her cheeks flamed. Her eyes were ready to send arrows.
“July?” she whispered. “After I told you that I was marrying Brando. You did this to me. You signed my life over because you didn’t want to lose control.”
Her mother started off with, “Not your life, your career—” and then she started to ramble in Slovenian. Scarlett allowed her to. Then she rose, both hands pressed to the table, and in a burst of fury, swept every paper to the floor.
“I will not!” She hissed through her teeth. “Dance for him!”
“Ah.” He smiled, enjoying her tantrum. “You will.”
“You can’t force me—”
“It is legal, for certain. But there are other insurances to consider, apart from the binding contract. If you wish to hear them.”
“I—” Pnina sat up, as posed as ever, but her eyes were not so sure anymore. “I knew you would oppose this arrangement. I used Maja Resnik’s estate—her costumes, her jewelry, all of her memories—as collateral. He makes money from your endeavors or it all goes to him. But he is very successful—”
He whistled. “What a pretty collection, is it not, angel? You are so much like she was. There is also her death. Which would certainly increase the value. Also, a true Matteo painting of his ballerina!”
Scarlett’s jaw clenched. “I still refuse.”
He looked at me. “Have it your way, angel. There is also something else. How shall I say this? Anyone who tries to stop me will be…held under the water.”
Her eyes became frantic, jumping from me to him. Quick, my wife was quick, not just a beautiful face and body, and too empathic for her own good. She fell back into the chair. “You,” she said, breathless, accusing. “You sent those people to attack him. You almost killed Emory—”
At this her mother turned on Nemours, trying to understand. “What is she talking about, Olivier?”
Nemours treated her as though she were invisible.
“Emory should stay put. He costs me more than he is worth.” He waved a dismissive hand. “Just as well. I hope the water is clear enough now for you to see through it, angel.”
Scarlett got to her feet. I could tell she was trying to steady her breathing. She looked at her mother, eyes full of hate and resentment. I had seen it before. Never this focused though.
“You sold me to the devil,” she said, “for something you could never accomplish. I saw during the tribute to Maja Resnik how much she cared for me. I was so much like her. And you can’t stand it. Neither can Charlotte. You both resent me for things I have no control over. But to please Maja, you would have seen my feet fall off before you allowed me to stop. Because what would I have been then to you? Nothing. She found her pride in you through me. Now you…” She couldn’t even finish.
“You will be dancing as you always have. Now he will take you higher. Higher than I could.”
“You have no idea, do you?” Scarlett seethed. “Did you not read the contract, Mati?”
“Of course!”
“Tell me about the underground deal then.” Scarlett was so wound tight that I knew when her mother spoke, she would flinch, prepared to hear that her mother signed her life over to this rat who would take her into his underground and attempt to force her to dance for the less desirables of Paris.
Her mother made a dismissive noise. “I do not know a thing about this underground deal you speak of, but holding private performances is a brilliant idea! You will perform for the most influential people in Paris. Think about it! You will be their own ballerina to admire up close—and it is not often that you will have to do this.”
