I reluctantly sat across from him, taking the cup. The coffee was perfect—rich and strong, with just a hint of sweetness.Nothing like the bitter instant coffee Antonio used to make, back when he was still pretending our relationship was normal.
"Where's my flash drive?"
"Safe." He buttered a piece of toast with deliberate precision. "We'll discuss that later."
"We'll discuss it now."
His lips curved slightly. "Eat first. Then we'll talk."
The pastries were still warm, flaky, and buttery. Despite everything, my body needed fuel, and the food was too good to resist. As I ate, I found myself studying him—the controlled way he moved, the calculating intelligence behind those cold eyes. So different from Antonio's volatile unpredictability, yet somehow just as dangerous.
A memory surfaced as Vittorio's hand moved toward my face, and I flinched instinctively.
"What's this?" I asked, holding up the ledger I'd found hidden in Antonio’s office while looking for a pen.
His smile vanished. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with, cara."
"Nothing? This shows millions moving through shell companies." I flipped pages, my accounting background helping me decode the patterns. "This one's dated the same week the ambassador's daughter went missing."
His hand shot out, grabbing my wrist so hard I gasped. "You shouldn't snoop into things you don't understand."
"I understand money laundering," I said, trying to pull away. "I understand kidnapping."
The back of his hand connected with my cheek, sending me sprawling. The ledger fell to the floor.
"You understand nothing," he snarled, retrieving the book. "And you'll forget what you saw if you know what's good for you."
He froze, his expression shifting to something almost concerned.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he said quietly, lowering his hand. "I was just going to brush that crumb away."
I touched my cheek self-consciously, feeling foolish. "Sorry. Old habits."
Understanding flickered in his eyes, and I knew he'd catalogued that reaction for future reference.
"You were going to tell me about the flash drive," he prompted.
"Encrypted files," I said simply. "The flash drive contains information I took from Antonio's safe."
"What kind of information?"
I met his gaze steadily. "The kind that could destroy him."
Vittorio leaned back in his chair, studying me. "You were close to him."
"I thought I was." The words tasted bitter. "Antonio was charming at first. Attentive. He made me feel special." I took another sip of coffee, using the pause to steady myself. "Two days after he broughtme coffee in bed and told me he loved me, I discovered what that love was worth."
"Which was?"
"A split lip and a warning to forget what I'd seen."I set down my cup, my hand steady despite the memories. "He had a ledger hidden in his office. Financial records showing money laundering, connections to the ambassador's daughter's kidnapping. When I confronted him about it, he showed me what happened to women who asked too many questions."
Vittorio's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. "And you decided to gather insurance."
"I decided to survive." I met his eyes without flinching. "The flash drive contains enough evidence to put him away for life. Names, dates, bank accounts, photographs. Everything."
"Why not go to the police?"
I laughed without humor. "Half of them are on his payroll. The other half wouldn't believe me against the great Antonio Ricci, philanthropist and businessman." I shook my head. "The evidence goes public, or it doesn't matter at all."
