“Gigi?” Katie’s voice pulls me back to the present. I open my eyes to see her waving her hand in front of my face. “You okay? You looked like you were a million miles away.”
“Just thinking.” I look at the woman who’s been my closest friend since we bonded over terrible cafeteria food and organic chemistry exams. “Katie, if I agree to this marriage thing, I need you to promise me you’ll stay away. Don’t try to contact me, don’t try to help me, just…live your life and forget about me.”
She stares at me as if I’ve suddenly grown two heads. “That’s not happening,” she says firmly.
“Katie—”
“No, listen to me.” She reaches over and grabs my hand. “I’ve watched you take care of everyone else for years. Your momwhen she was sick, your dad when he started gambling, every stray animal that crosses your path. But you never let anyone take care of you. Well, tough shit, because that’s changing now.”
Tears blur my vision again. She’s going to get herself killed. “You don’t understand what you’re risking.”
“Then help me understand,” she pleads, her brown eyes searching mine. “Who is this guy? What does he want with your family?”
I look out at the lake, watching sailboats drift across the gray water like white ghosts. The deadline Luca gave me is approaching fast, and every minute I delay is another minute closer to a decision that will change everything.
“He wants justice,” I say finally. “For something my father did three years ago. Something that got an innocent man killed.”
Katie is quiet for a long moment, processing this new information. “And marriage is supposed to be justice?”
“Marriage is supposed to be torture.” The words taste acrid in my mouth. “A way to make sure my father suffers by watching his daughter pay for his mistakes.”
“Fuck.” Katie releases my hand and leans back in her seat. “Gigi, you can’t seriously be considering this.”
An ugly laugh tears out of me. “What choice do I have?” The desperation I’ve been holding back all morning finally breaks through. I tick the choices off on my fingers. “Run, and he kills both of us, along with anyone who helped me. Go to the police, and he kills us before they can do anything about it. Stay and refuse, and I get to watch my father die slowly while I wait for my turn.”
Katie bites her lip and clenches her hands into fists. “There has to be another option.”
“Maybe. But I can’t see it, and I’m running out of time to figure it out.”
We sit in silence as the first drops of rain begin hitting the windshield.
The promised storm is rolling in from the lake, dark clouds swallowing the last of the afternoon light.
I watch the joggers on the lakefront path pick up their pace, hurrying for shelter before the real downpour begins.
Luca Marchetti’s cold eyes and elegant suits dance in my vision.
I think about the casual way he mentioned Katie’s name, and how he knew exactly who she was and where to find her.
I think about my father kneeling in that circle of harsh light, beaten and terrified but still breathing.
And I think about the recording buried in my cloud storage, the one piece of evidence that could change everything if I were brave enough to use it.
But bravery and stupidity often look the same from the outside, and I’m not sure I can tell the difference anymore.
The rain starts in earnest now, drumming against the car roof. It sounds like bullets, and I involuntarily flinch.
Katie looks at me with concern before she starts the engine and turns on the heater.
The car is filled with warm air that smells like her vanilla perfume and her peppermint gum.
“Whatever you decide,” she says quietly, “I’ve got your back. Even if you don’t want me to.”
I close my eyes and let myself have one moment—just one—of imagining what it would be like to be brave enough to run.
To pack a bag and drive to Canada with Katie, to disappear into new identities and quiet lives where the worst thing I’d have to worry about would be whether the local veterinary practice was hiring.
But when I open my eyes, I’m still in Chicago, still trapped by choices I didn’t make and consequences I can’t escape.
