Alexander:
They brought her in just after midnight.
“Her name is Rita,” Marcel said, and I nodded, silently letting him know to leave with the guards. “She is the one who cleaned the room.”
She was shaking so badly that the guards had to steady her by the arms. Her eyes darted around the room like a trapped animal’s, already searching for exits that didn’t exist. When the doors shut behind her, the sound echoed, final, heavy, unforgiving.
She flinched.
Good.
“Sit,” I ordered. “I believe that we need to talk.”
She obeyed instantly this time, collapsing into the chair rather than lowering herself into it. Her hands twisted in her lap, fingers white with tension, nails biting into skin. Her heart raced against her chest, and her chest heaved as she tried to compose herself.
I didn’t s
