“I’m sorry, Cecilia. Maybe I handled it poorly. I did want to help you, though. You believe that, right?”
I suck in a breath. Over the years, Cesare stood up to my father for me many times. He advocated for me to stop going to therapy, to be allowed around other kids, to go to a normal school instead of having a tutor. In many ways, however, he’s as trapped as I am in my father’s game. Still, he always did the best he could.
I just wish he’d stop feeling so loyal to the man who made him steal and murder.
“You should’ve trusted me with the truth, but…I understand why you felt like you couldn’t.”
His grip on my hand tightens just enough to convey the nerves and urgency in his words. “If you want to tell your father, you can. Youshould.”
I shake my head. “Of course I won’t tell him. Just…please, don’t make choices for me behind my back. Everyone else is already doing it, and I can’t take that kind of betrayal from you.”
“I’m sorry. You’re right. I would never?—”
I offer a faint smile. “I know. We’re good.” I exhale. “As long as you’re fine with me going down there again.”
His lips twitch, as if he’s not happy with the idea, but he doesn’t contest it. “You need more answers?”
“Yes, but you need to stop worrying. If I get caught, I won’t drag you into this. You should know that.”
“I know, I just…” He curses under his breath. “I don’t want either of us to get in trouble. Take Enzo with you again. Don’t go alone, you hear me?”
I refrain from telling him Enzo remained upstairs the last time I did this and just nod instead.
Down and down,Enzo and I go until darkness swallows us. Eventually, he has to turn on the flashlight. The silence is as loud as ever, making my heartbeat echo in my ribcage. This time, I’m still afraid, but for different reasons. What if Mikhail truly has escaped?
The sound of metal hitting metal—Enzo’s flashlight against the iron bars—scratches my eardrums when we stop in front of the cell I’m now visiting for a second time.
“Wake up, asshole. You’ve got a visitor,” he says.
But the shadows say nothing.
I simply wait there, a foot away, hoping Mikhail is just being his arrogant self again.
“Need a hearing aid? Fucking say something.” Enzo hits the bars again.
Anxious, I pull my lip between my teeth, squinting at his cell.
“Give me that, please,” I say, snatching the flashlight. I center it on the left corner, finding it empty, then slowly drag it to the right. When the light zeroes in on a silhouette, a long sigh leaves my chest.
He’s here. Of course he is. I almost want to laugh at how paranoid I am.
I raise the flashlight higher until a bloody, carefree smirk welcomes me, completely unfazed.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Mikhail asks, his voice low and hoarse, as if he just woke up. It coils around my body, reaching places it shouldn’t, making my core tremble.
Show me what you do when you think no one’s watching.
Not a single fucking sound, Cecilia.
My fucking God, sweetheart.
My hand tightens around the flashlight as I realize the light is subtly shaking. Not from fear, but from my uneven breathing, from the jolt of forbidden energy passing through me.
“Has anyone been here at all today?” I ask Enzo, ignoring Mikhail.
He nods. “Every few hours. Unfortunately.”
Mikhail’s low laugh cuts through before he coughs, the effects of his rough treatment showing this time. “I am deeply touched by how much you care. But see, you’re disturbing my beauty sleep, and?—”
