Chapter 2 - The Question Nobody Wanted Answered
Nobody moved.
Ricardo’s voice dropped so low I almost missed it. “What bad man?”
Leo buried his face against my shoulder.
“Buddy,” Ricardo said, softer now. “Look at me.”
Leo shook his head violently.
One of the bodyguards, a thick-necked man named Victor Kane, stepped closer. Leo flinched so hard his fingers dug into my uniform.
I looked at Victor. Expensive suit. Heavy cedar cologne. A pale scar near his left eyebrow.
“Back up,” I said.
Victor stared at me. “Excuse me?”
“He’s scared of you.”
Ricardo’s eyes sharpened. “Victor.”
The man stepped back.
Leo’s breathing eased.
That was when I noticed the tiny red mark on Leo’s wrist. Not a bruise. More like he had been gripping something too tightly. His fist was closed.
“Leo,” I whispered, “can I see your hand?”
He opened it slowly.
Inside was a small silver button engraved with a crown.
Ricardo took it from him.
His expression changed.
“Where did you get this?”
Leo didn’t answer.
Ricardo turned the button over, then looked toward Victor.
Victor’s face stayed blank.
“What is it?” I asked.
Ricardo slipped the button into his palm. “It came from my wife’s coat.”
The room seemed to get colder.
“Sofia was wearing that coat the night she died,” he said.
I looked at Leo.
“If he has that button now, maybe he saw something that night.”
Victor cut in. “Boss, this isn’t the place.”
Ricardo ignored him.
“Clara,” he said, “you’re coming with us.”
I stood. “No, I’m not.”
His gaze hardened. “My son spoke to you.”
“That doesn’t make me your property.”
For one dangerous second, nobody breathed.
Then Leo reached for my hand again.
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The restaurant staff had learned to disappear whenever Ricardo's family entered, but now everybody was watching us through reflections in glass and polished silver. I could feel their fear pressing in from every direction. Leo felt it too. Children notice tension adults think they are hiding. The tighter Victor's jaw became, the tighter Leo held my uniform, and that told me more than any threat ever could.
And behind Ricardo, Victor quietly slid his phone into his pocket as if he had just sent a message.
