Chapter 3: Where is Kamila?
1576 Words
Thony’s POV
I didn’t speak until we were inside Alessandro’s car.
I sat as far away from him as possible, staring out of the window.
My mind was still trying to process everything that had happened.
The message.
The café.
The fact that someone had apparently been watching me.
And Kamila.
I closed my eyes briefly.
I just wanted my best friend back.
That was all.
“Where are we going?”
Alessandro didn’t answer immediately.
I turned toward him.
“Where are you taking me?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“I don’t want somewhere safe.”
His eyes remained on the road.
“I need to find Kamila.”
“You’ll see her.”
“When?”
“When I know it’s safe.”
I shook my head.
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it’s true.”
“You expect me to trust you?”
“No.”
His answer surprised me.
I stared at him.
“No?”
“You shouldn’t trust anyone right now.”
I looked away.
That sentence stayed in my mind.
Anyone.
Including him?
I wasn’t sure.
The car continued through the city until we eventually stopped in front of a large building.
I looked out of the window.
I had never been here before.
“What is this place?”
“My home.”
I immediately turned toward him.
“You brought me to your house?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s secure.”
I didn’t move.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“It wasn’t a suggestion.”
I frowned.
“I don’t like being ordered around.”
“I noticed.”
He got out of the car.
I remained inside.
He opened my door.
I looked at him.
“I’m not going in there.”
“You can stay in the car.”
I blinked.
He closed the door.
I stared after him.
A few seconds later, I opened it myself.
I wasn’t going to sit in a car like a child.
I followed him inside.
The house was much larger than I expected.
Everything was quiet.
Almost unnaturally quiet.
A man standing near the entrance nodded at Alessandro before looking at me.
I immediately felt uncomfortable.
Alessandro noticed.
“Leave us.”
The man nodded and walked away.
I looked at Alessandro.
“Who was that?”
“One of my men.”
“Of course.”
I folded my arms.
“Do you have an entire army living here?”
“Not quite.”
I almost smiled.
Almost.
Then I remembered where I was.
“I want to know what was in the photograph.”
He stopped walking.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he turned around.
“You’re still thinking about it.”
“Obviously.”
“You shouldn’t be.”
“That isn’t your decision.”
He studied me.
Then he walked towards a table and picked up a small black folder.
He placed it in front of me.
My eyes immediately went to it.
“What is that?”
“The photograph.”
My heart skipped.
“You brought it?”
“Yes.”
“Give it to me.”
He opened the folder.
The photograph was inside.
I stared at it.
That same image.
Kamila.
Standing beside a man.
This time, Alessandro didn’t take it away.
I picked it up.
My hands were steady at first.
Then I looked at the man beside Kamila.
My heart dropped.
I knew him.
There was no doubt about it.
Victor, my ex-husband.
I stared at the photograph for several seconds.
“Where did you get this?”
Alessandro didn’t answer.
“Where?”
“It was given to me.”
“By who?”
“I can’t tell you.”
I looked up.
“Why?”
“Because that person wouldn’t be safe.”
I looked back at the photograph.
Kamila was smiling.
Victor wasn’t.
There was something about his expression that bothered me.
“Why were they together?”
“I don’t know.”
I looked at Alessandro.
“You don’t know?”
“No.”
I didn’t believe him.
“You expect me to believe you just happened to have a photograph of my best friend with my ex-husband?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Then what are you saying?”
“I’m saying I found out about the photograph after Kamila came to me.”
I frowned.
“She came to you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He was silent.
“Alessandro.”
“She was looking for information.”
“About what?”
He hesitated.
“Your father.”
My fingers tightened around the photograph.
Again.
My father.
I looked away.
“I don’t want to talk about him.”
“You should.”
“No.”
“Thony”
“My father is dead.”
“I know.”
“So whatever happened years ago doesn’t matter anymore.”
Alessandro’s expression hardened.
“You really believe that?”
I looked at him.
“Yes.”
He didn’t say anything.
That silence made me uncomfortable.
I looked down at the photograph again.
“Where was this taken?”
“Your father’s office.”
My eyes immediately returned to the picture.
I studied the background.
I knew that office.
I had spent years of my life there.
The large windows.
The dark wooden desk.
The painting on the wall.
Even the bookshelf in the corner.
I recognized all of it.
“When?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“You said you did.”
“I said the photograph was taken before your father’s death.”
“How long before?”
“A few days.”
My stomach twisted.
I looked at Victor again.
“What was he doing there?”
“I don’t know.”
“And Kamila?”
“I don’t know.”
I dropped the photograph onto the table.
“How?” “Then what do you know?”
Alessandro remained silent.
I stood.
“You brought me here, showed me this, and somehow I’m supposed to accept that you don’t know anything?”
“I know enough to know that you’re in danger.”
“From Victor?”
He didn’t answer.
That was enough to make my heart beat faster.
“Is it Victor?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“But you didn’t say no.”
He looked at me.
“There are things you need to find out yourself.”
I shook my head.
“This is ridiculous.”
I picked up my bag.
“I’m leaving.”
“You can’t.”
“Watch me.”
I turned towards the door.
“Thony.”
I stopped.
His voice sounded different, serious.
“Your friend didn’t disappear because of something she did.”
I slowly turned around.
“Then why?”
“She found something.”
My heart began pounding.
“What?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
“Then what did she find?”
He looked at the photograph.
“Something connected to your father’s office.”
I stared at him.
My thoughts raced.
Kamila had been in my father’s office?
With Victor?
Before my father died?
It couldn’t be a coincidence.
It couldn’t.
“Did she tell you what it was?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because she didn’t have time.”
I frowned.
“What happened?”
“She left before she could.”
I stared at him.
“Left where?”
“To find you.”
My heart dropped.
“She was looking for me?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t she come to me?”
“She never got the chance.”
Silence filled the room.
I slowly sat back down.
My anger was disappearing.
Fear was taking its place.
“What happened to her?”
Alessandro’s expression became unreadable.
I was confused.
“I told you she’s alive.”
“That isn’t enough.”
“I know.”
“Then tell me where she is.”
“I can’t.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because whoever was following her may still be looking for you.”
I stared at him.
Then I looked down at the photograph one more time.
Victor.
Kamila.
My father’s office.
I had spent years believing my life had fallen apart because of my father’s death.
Maybe I had been wrong.
Maybe it had started before that.
My phone suddenly vibrated.
I looked down.
An unknown number.
My heart stopped.
There was only one message, “Stop looking for Kamila.”
I stared at the screen.
Another message appeared, “Or you’ll lose more than your best friend.”
My hands began to shake.
I looked up at Alessandro.
He had seen my expression.
“What happened?”
I slowly turned the phone toward him.
He read the messages.
His face changed immediately.
“Who sent this?”
“I don’t know.”
He took the phone from my hand.
His eyes remained fixed on the screen.
For the first time, I saw something that looked dangerously close to anger.
He looked at me.
“Thony.”
“What?”
“You’re not going home tonight.”
My heart sank.
“Why?”
He handed my phone back to me.
“Because now they know you have the photograph.”
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