They watched you because they thought I would cooperate if they threatened you.”
Her face lost its color.
Dante took one step forward.
“This happened because of me, not your sister.”
She looked at him with a steadiness I had always underestimated.
“Then fix it.”
“I will.”
“No,” I said.
“We will.”
Dante’s eyes met mine.
He understood the condition inside those two words.
No more secret protection.
No more decisions made over my head.
No more locked doors.
He nodded.
We moved my sister that afternoon to an apartment owned by a legitimate company unconnected to Dante’s usual businesses.
She was furious about leaving her clothes and schoolbooks behind until I showed her the photographs.
Then she stopped arguing.
That evening, the fake recruiter called me.
His voice was as warm as it had been during the interview.
“Cara, we heard you submitted your notice.
Congratulations.”
I looked across the apartment.
Dante stood by the window while his attorney connected a recorder to the call.
My sister sat at the kitchen table, guarded but listening.
“Thank you,” I said.
“We would like you to begin sooner than expected.
Tomorrow, if possible.”
“I still have company property to return.”
A pause.
Then his tone became almost casual.
“Actually, there is one thing you could bring with you.
A scheduling drive from Mr.
Moretti’s office.
It would help us understand the workload you managed.”
There it was.
Not a misunderstanding.
Not Dante’s paranoia.
A demand.
“I cannot take confidential information.”
The recruiter laughed softly.
“Of course not.
But your sister has an impressive college application.
Our scholarship committee could be very generous.”
My sister’s fingers tightened around mine.
“And if I refuse?” I asked.
The warmth vanished from his voice.
“Then perhaps she will discover how expensive normal life can become.”
Dante turned away from the window.
Murder lived in his expression.
I held his gaze and shook my head.
Not his way.
Not this time.
“I’ll bring the drive,” I said.
The recruiter gave me an address for an orientation meeting in a hotel conference room.
When the call ended, Dante’s attorney saved three copies of the recording and sent one to a federal financial-crimes contact who had been investigating the holding company behind the fake firm.
