I swallow hard but don't speak.
"But Marco reminded me of something." Vito glances at Marco, who nods slightly. "The Irish sent those photos for a reason. They wanted me to know you've been with Finn Costello. They wanted me to react. To punish you. To exile you."
I blink. "I don't understand."
"They're watching us, Gianna. They know our movements, our safe houses, our weaknesses. And now they know you." He pauses. "Which means you're a liability. Or..."
He lets the word hang there.
"Or?" I whisper.
"Or you're an opportunity."
My heart starts pounding.
Rafa speaks up from the wall. "Finn Costello has feelings for you. That much is obvious from the way he looked at you in that photograph. And if the Irish sent those photos, they already suspect something between you two."
"They wanted you exiled," Marco adds. "Which means they see you as a threat to them somehow. Maybe because you could get close to Finn. Maybe because they think you already have."
Vito leans forward. "So here's what's going to happen. You're going to give them exactly what they wanted."
"I don't?—"
"You're going to run to him, Gianna. You're going to show up at Finn Costello's door, frightened and alone, and you're going to tell him Vito found out and cast you out. That you have nowhere else to go. That you need his protection."
The room seems to tilt.
"You want me to spy on them," I say slowly.
"I want you to survive," Vito corrects. "And while you're surviving, you're going to pay attention. You're going to listen. You're going to find out what the Costellos are planning, who their allies are, where their weak points are. And you're going to report back to me."
"And if they figure out what I'm doing?"
Vito's expression doesn't change. "Then you'd better make sure they don't."
I look at Rina, hoping for some kind of reassurance, some sign that this is insane. But she just nods slightly, like this is the only option that makes sense.
"How do I even...how do I contact you?" I ask.
Marco pulls a small phone from his pocket and slides it across the desk. "Burner. One contact. Me. You check in once a week, more if you have something urgent. You don't call from the Costello estate. You find an excuse to leave, you go somewhere public, you make it quick."
I pick up the phone. It feels like a bomb in my hand.
"When do I leave?" I ask quietly.
"Tonight," Vito says. "Rafa will drive you close enough, but not all the way. You'll have to walk the last mile on your own. Make it look real."
"It will be real," I say, and my voice cracks. "I'm terrified."
For the first time since this meeting started, something softens in Vito's face. Not much. But enough.
"Good," he says. "Use that. Let him see it. Let him think he's saving you." He pauses. "And Gianna? Don't actually fall for him. That's how people like us get killed."
Too late,I think. But I don't say it out loud.
It's been two days since Vito decided my fate.
I scoff, running my hand through my hair. All I wanted my whole life was freedom. The four corners of this room feel like a prison. My life never belonged to me, but somehow I've managed to cage myself even more.
