The line goes dead.
I stand there for a moment, phone still pressed to my ear. My reflection stares back at me from the window glass—jaw tight, shoulders rigid, eyes that look like they belong to someone capable of very bad things.
Good. I'm going to need that.
I pocket my phone and head for Pietro's office.
The walk takes two minutes. I use every second to organize my thoughts. Facts first. Then options. Then recommendations.Pietro doesn't like surprises, and he sure as hell doesn't like problems that show up without solutions attached.
His door is open. He's behind his desk, reviewing something on his laptop while Nora reads in the chair by the window. They look up when I enter.
"We need to talk." I close the door behind me. "Family business."
Nora rises immediately. She's been part of this world long enough to know when to stay and when to disappear. She squeezes Pietro's shoulder as she passes, then slips out without a word.
Pietro leans back in his chair. "What's wrong?"
I drop Liam's folder on his desk.
"Jack Walker borrowed a hundred thousand from the Bratva. Put the loan in Kristen's name." I watch his face as he opens the folder. "She doesn't know. She's been sending fifteen hundred a month to Walker, thinking she's paying down the debt. He's been keeping every penny."
Pietro's expression doesn't change. But his fingers go still on the paperwork.
"Interest has compounded," I continue. "The total is now one hundred forty thousand. The Bratva gave Walker a month to pay in full."
"Or they collect from the borrower on record."
"Yes."
Pietro closes the folder. Sets it aside with careful precision.
"The Bratva doesn't negotiate."
"No."
"And Walker will give her up the moment they apply pressure."
"That's Liam's assessment." I plant my hands on the edge of his desk. "That's my assessment."
Pietro is quiet for a long moment. His eyes move to the window, tracking something I can't see.
"She saved Ma's life," he says finally.
"I know."
"She's been working in our home." His gaze returns to me. Sharp. Calculating. "If the Bratva comes for her while she's under our roof?—"
"It becomes our problem regardless." I straighten. "I'm going to pay the debt."
Pietro's eyebrow rises.
"Not from family accounts," I add quickly. "Nothing that traces back to us. I'll route it through shell companies. Make it look like Walker suddenly came into money. The Bratva gets paid, they lose interest in Kristen, problem solved."
"And Walker?"
My jaw clenches. "That's a separate conversation."
Pietro studies me. Really looks. The way he does when he's trying to read what I'm not saying.
