The enemy who keeps me

Chapter Five: The First Interrogation

POV: Alessandro

She hesitated.

It was small. Barely there. Most people wouldn’t have noticed it.

But I did.

That half-second pause before she moved when I told her to come with me that was real. Not performed. Not calculated. Real hesitation.

And that made her more dangerous than anything else I had seen tonight.

I didn’t wait for her to agree again.

I turned and walked. Not fast, not slow.

Just enough that she had to decide follow me or stay behind and make things worse for herself.

For a second, I thought she might refuse.

I almost wanted her to.

But then I heard it the soft sound of her heels against the marble floor behind me.

Good.

She was smart.

Or at least smart enough to understand that refusing me inside my own house was not a move she could afford.

We moved through the corridor in silence.

Not the empty kind. The heavy kind.

The kind that filled your chest and made your thoughts louder than they should be.

I could feel her behind me. Not just physically

Aware. Alert.Every step is measured.She wasn’t panicking.She wasn’t begging.

She wasn’t asking questions.

That alone told me everything I needed to know.

Most people talk when they’re scared.

They fill the silence to hide it.Elena Rossi carried hers quietly.

And that made me watch her even closer.

I stopped in front of a door at the end of the hall.

Private.Locked.Not part of the main estate flow.

I opened it and stepped inside, Didn’t look back.

If she didn’t follow now, then she was done pretending.

A second passed then She walked in.

Of course she did.

The room was simple compared to the rest of the house.

No gold, no chandeliers , just a table.

Two chairs, Dim lighting, Clean,Controlled.

A room built for truth Or something close to it.

I closed the door behind her.

The sound echoed louder than it should have.

She turned slightly at the noise.

Not fear Awareness Always aware.

Good.

“Sit.”

She didn’t move immediately. There it was again hesitation , not defiance.

Not submission, Something in between

Something careful Her eyes met mine

“Am I being detained?”

The question was calm. Too calm.

I walked past her slowly, placing myself on the opposite side of the table.

“You’re being asked questions.”

She didn’t sit still.“That doesn’t answer what I asked.”

A small smile touched my mouth.There it was.

The push She didn’t shrink.

Didn’t soften.

She pushed back.

I leaned forward slightly, resting my hands on the table.

“It answers enough.”Silence stretched between us.

Then, slowly, she pulled the chair back and sat.

Controlled, Graceful,

But I saw the way her fingers tightened for a second on the edge of the table.

There it was again The c***k Small But real.

I didn’t sit immediately.I let the moment breathe.

Let her feel it. The imbalance.

The control.

Then I took my seat across from her,Close enough to watch everything.

Far enough to let her think she had space.

“Your name,” I said.

Her eyes flickered Just once.

“You already know it. “I want to hear you say it.”

A pause.

Then

“Elena Rossi.”

Her voice didn’t shake but something underneath it did.

Barely.

“Good,” I said quietly. “Now say it like it belongs to you.”

That hit. I saw it.

Her expression didn’t change much. But her breathing did.

Just slightly deeper,Just slightly slower,Buying time.55

Thinking.

“Why does that matter?” she asked.

I leaned back in my chair.

“Because right now,” I said, watching her carefully, “your name feels like something you borrowed.”

Silence, Sharp, Heavy.

Her jaw tightened.

There it was emotion not fear.Something else.

Something closer to anger.

“I didn’t realize I needed permission to exist in your house,” she said.

Her tone was still controlled but it had an edge now.

Good.

I preferred honesty, even when it came wrapped in resistance.

“You don’t,” I said.

“But you do need permission to lie in it.”

That landed exactly where I wanted it to.

Her fingers pressed lightly into the table.

Not enough to be obvious.

Enough for me.

“Someone used your name tonight,” I continued.

Her eyes didn’t move, didn't flinch.Too clean.

Too ready.

“Then you should be asking them questions,” she said.

“I am.”

I leaned forward again.

“And I’m starting with you.”

Another pause.

Longer this time.

She looked at me like she was trying to decide something.

Not what to say.

But how much to hold back.

“You think I have something to do with it.”

It wasn’t a question.

“Don’t you?” she added.

I didn’t answer right away.I watched her.

The tension in her shoulders.

The way she held her chin slightly higher now.

Defensive.

But still composed.“You’re too careful,” I said.

Her brows pulled together slightly.

“That’s not a crime.”

“No,” I agreed. “But it is a pattern.”

Silence again. This time heavier.

More personal.

Because now we weren’t talking about events.

We were talking about her.

“Who are you really?” I asked.

The room felt smaller after that.

Like the walls had moved closer.

Her lips parted slightly.

Closed again.

For the first time since I met her

She didn’t answer immediately.

And that…

That was the most honest thing she had done all night.

“I told you who I am,” she said finally.

But her voice was quieter now.

Not weak.

Just… less certain.

I caught it.

Of course I did.

And I leaned into it.

“No,” I said softly.

“You told me a version that sounds safe.”

Her eyes snapped back to mine.Sharp.

Alive.

And for a second Just a second I saw something real there.

Not calculation Not control.

Something closer to conflict.

Like she was fighting herself.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

“Maybe you’re looking for something that isn’t there,” she said.

But even she didn’t sound convinced.

I tilted my head slightly.

“Then why does it feel like you’re trying so hard to hide it?”

That did it. Her composure cracked.

Not fully. But enough. Her breath caught.

Her fingers curled into her palm. And for the first time

She looked away Only for a second.

But it was enough Because now I knew.

There was something And she was protecting it.

I stood Slowly Walked around the table.

She stiffened immediately.

Didn’t move.

Didn’t run.But her body reacted.

Honest Instinctive I stopped beside her.

Close.

Too close.

Close enough that she had to tilt her head slightly to look up at me.

Her pulse was visible in her throat now.

Fast. Unsteady. There it was. Not fear alone.

Something else mixed into it.

Something she didn’t want me to see.

“You’re in my house,” I said quietly.

“And someone is using your name where they shouldn’t.”

She swallowed Hard.

“I didn’t do that.”

“I didn’t say you did.”

A beat.

“Yet.”

Her breath hitched, Small,Sharp.

Honest.

I reached past her Not touching

But close enough that she felt it.

Opened the drawer on the table.

Pulled out the small device Matteo had placed there earlier.

I turned it on. A screen lit up.

Security footage.

Grainy Dim.A hallway.Restricted access.And then

A figure.

Moving quickly, Face partially hidden.

But the name on the access log flashing clearly beside it.

Elena Rossi.

She saw it.I didn’t look at the screen But her.

Because her reaction mattered more than the footage.

Her entire body went still.Not fake still.

Not controlled still.

Shock. Real.Unfiltered.

Her lips parted.

No words came out.

Her eyes stayed locked on the screen.

And for the first time

She looked like she didn’t know what to do.

I leaned closer.

My voice is low right beside her ear.

“Tell me something, Elena…”

She didn’t move. Didn’t breathe.Didn’t speak.

And that silence

That silence told me more than any answer could.

“Why does your face say you’ve never seen this before…”

A pause.

Slow.

Deliberate.

Deadly.

“…when everything else about you says you should have?”