Chapter 6
The map frightened Clara more than it frightened Javier.
That told me she had never seen it.
I placed the photograph in front of them.
Javier looked bored.
Clara looked sick.
“What is this?”
He shrugged.
“Security.”
I stared at him.
“You marked Mia’s dance school.”
“You should know every route your children use.”
“I do.”
“Then why are you upset?”
Because he still thought pretending good intent changed secret action.
I pointed to a black circle around Leo’s academy.
“What does that mean?”
No answer.
Clara looked closer.
Then whispered, “Pickup point.”
Javier turned toward her.
“How do you know?”
She went pale.
Wrong reaction.
I looked at her.
“What pickup?”
She stared at her husband.
“You said those were fallback routes.”
“They are.”
“For who?”
Silence.
I stepped closer.
“For who?”
Clara’s voice broke.
“The children.”
My stomach turned cold.
Javier rolled his eyes.
“Not kidnapping.”
Of course.
He said it before I did.
That meant kidnapping was close enough to the truth to scare him.
“What would you call it?”
“Relocation.”
I laughed once.
“Without asking me?”
“If something happened to you.”
“What was supposed to happen to me?”
No answer.
There.
The map changed again.
Not defensive planning.
Post-event planning.
I looked at Clara.
“What did you think was happening?”
She rubbed her hands together.
“Javier said the family needed contingencies if you lost control.”
“Lost control how?”
“He never said.”
Javier smiled faintly.
I looked at him.
“What were you planning?”
He finally leaned forward.
“The barbecue was supposed to show people something.”
My jaw tightened.
“What?”
“That you choose your children over the family.”
For a second, I almost didn’t understand.
Then I did.
He attacks Leo.
I react.
Guests watch.
Dante Romano becomes father before boss.
And to men following Matteo’s philosophy, that is weakness.
“You wanted me angry.”
“Yes.”
“You wanted witnesses.”
“Yes.”
“And if I hurt you badly?”
His smile returned.
“Even better.”
Elegant.
If I lost control, he proved I was unstable.
If I restrained myself, he called me soft.
A trap where every response fed the same story.
I looked at him.
“You built a test I could only fail because you wrote the result first.”
His smile disappeared.
Good.
Then Clara said something quietly.
“The barbecue wasn’t the final test.”
I turned.
“What was?”
She looked at the children’s map.
“Tonight.”
I felt cold.
“What happens tonight?”
Javier closed his eyes.
May you like
Clara whispered:
“They were going to take Leo.”
