Maybe I have. Or maybe I’m just finally dealing with the reality I’ve been avoiding for six weeks. Either way, the situation is handled. Lina will stop talking. Maxim will adjust. The twins will accept me as their father. Everything is under control.
My office door bursts open. Anna stands there, face flushed, eyes wild. “What did you do to Lina?”
18
ANNA
“What did you do to Lina?”
Luca looks up from his desk. His expression doesn’t change. “Close the door.”
“Answer me first.”
“Close the door, Anna.”
I slam it shut and cross to his desk. “Lina called me. She was crying. She said men came to her apartment. Threatened her. Told her if she spoke about the twins again, there would be consequences. Was that you?”
“Yes.”
The confirmation hits me like cold water. “You sent people to threaten her?”
“She was spreading information that damages my reputation. I stopped it.”
“By terrorizing her?”
“By making the consequences clear. She’s alive and unharmed. That’s more consideration than most people get.”
“She’s my friend!”
“She’s a liability. She came to my office expecting payment for information, and when I refused, she decided to spread it publicly out of spite. That’s not a friend. That’s an enemy.”
“So you had her threatened? What did your men say to her?”
“I don’t know the specifics. Pavel handled it. But based on the fact that she called you crying instead of dead, I assume they were persuasive without being violent.”
“You can’t just send people to threaten everyone who annoys you!”
“I can. And I do. That’s how this world works.”
“Lina didn’t deserve that!”
“Lina made herself a problem. Problems get solved.”
I want to scream at him. Want to throw something. But the cold calculation in his eyes stops me. He doesn’t see anything wrong with what he did. To him, threatening Lina is just business.
“If she talks again?” I ask quietly.
“Then Pavel will escalate.”
“Meaning what?”
“Meaning she won’t talk again.”
The implication is clear. If Lina opens her mouth, she dies.
“She won’t say anything,” I say quickly. “She’s terrified. She won’t talk.”
“Good. Then we won’t have further problems.”
