A cold realization settled in my chest. This wasn’t a favor. People like him don’t give without taking something in return.
And whatever he took… I hadn’t seen it yet.
I forced myself to breathe normally.
Don’t break down here, not in front of him.
“Sit,” he ordered with no room to argue.
I walked to the chair opposite him and sat down, my movements controlled even though my fingers felt stiff.
The table between us was already set. Plates, cutlery, food that looked too well prepared for a place like this.
Under different circumstances, it might have felt normal.
But nothing about this was normal.
A man stepped forward and poured wine into Lorenzo’s glass, then into mine.
I didn’t touch it.
Lorenzo took a slow sip, his eyes never leaving my face.
“Eat,” he said.
I picked up the
