Page 61 of Unmasked

“You kept Penelope from me for a year.”

Silence.

Katia’s fingers pressed into the stone, and she winced as she drew her legs in closer to her body. Blood was already starting to pool underneath her.

“Y-You are not safe.”

Her words registered.

“There is nobody safer for her than me.”

Again, she got quiet.

“You kept her from me for a year.”

Her eyes lifted in confusion. She was weighing the words she wanted to speak.

“You hurt people. T-Trafficking. Sacrifice.”

“If not me, someone else.”

Katia shifted, stealing glances at me.

I kept my focus on her cautious expressions. Her eyes were beginning to roll. “You kept her from me for a year.”

“You’ll kill her. One way or another… she will die.”

I jerked the knife free from under my jacket, pointing the tip at her. A strained cry escaped, and tears ran down her face, but she didn’t let her stare drop from me. Even as they darted, she forced her gaze back on mine.

“It’s time to start telling the truth. You poisoned Penelope against me.” Harder, she shook as I continued. “You lied to her. You told her things that simply… weren’t… true.”

More silence.

A drip sounded in the distance, and I waited patiently as she continued to squirm on the floor. She could barely keep her lids open. She was rocking and beginning to whisper incoherent words. I opened my phone, pulling up the footage of the camera to check on Penelope. She was curled in a ball, her face barely visible as she hugged to the pillow.

I cut my gaze up, placing the phone back in my pocket as I repeated the first two statements.

“You stole a year. You tried to poison her against me.”

“…I.” She stopped, squeezing her lids shut as she winced and swayed to the side. “I stand by what I b-believe. You are dangerous.”

“I am dangerous. Especially to those who hurt people I love. You hurt her. Purposely.”

Silence.

A smile was automatic as the thought pushed through. “I’m going to be a father. Does that worry you, too?”

A paleness took over as Katia’s eyes lowered to the stone. She was barely keeping it together. Her head kept nodding, and her voice was beginning to slur.

“You… should be… worried.” Her breaths increased. “She—She should worry.”

My lids narrowed through her increasing panic. I didn’t speak as Katia was sucked into some sort of episode. I didn’t have to as she continued to half mumble, half cry out.

“But he’ll kill … die—And… I’ll die. I need⁠—”

Her eyes shot up to mine.

“It is a game. Every level is a game. Yes! Baby. And then…No.”