Chapter 154
There he was.
Alessandro. Back at home yet it was still midday. He stepped inside with his jaw clenched tight.
His gaze flicked from me to Jack in a split second, taking everything in, the tension, the silence, the photo frame now slightly tilted on the table.
For a moment, none of us spoke.
Then I stood up quickly. “Alessandro… I–uh–Jack’s here because we needed to talk about last night.”
Alessandro’s eyes locked on mine. “You okay?”
I nodded once. “Yeah. Just… trying to piece things together.” His gaze shifted to Jack, then back to me. “Alright.” He retorted. No questions. No accusations. Just that calm, heavy voice of his. He walked into the room further, not bothering to take off his coat, and dropped into the armchair across from us deliberately not joining us on the couch, but close enough to watch.
Jack cleared his throat awkwardly. “Mr Alessandro. Uh, sorry for barging into your place“,
Alessandro just nodded his head with his expression blank. “It’s fine.”
I sat down again, heart still racing, the air somehow denser with him in the room.
“Jack doesn’t remember anything,” I started again, looking at Alessandro but directing the words for both of them. “He said he was barely even drunk. One beer. Then blackout. Shan took his phone. Then everything went dark.”
Alessandro raised an eyebrow, still leaning back in his seat. “Convenient,” he murmured, almost to himself.
“What’s that supposed to mean?“, Jack stiffened.
“It means,” Alessandro said slowly, “that it’s convenient to not remember anything when a girl you barely know takes your phone and goes
missing.”
I turned to him quickly. “Alessandro….”
But Jack cut in, voice defensive. “You think I’m lying?”
Alessandro leaned forward slightly, lacing his fingers together. “I think something doesn’t add up. You’re not lying. But you’re not telling the full story either.”
“I’m telling you everything I know!” Jack snapped. “I remember her face, the way she looked at me when she grabbed the i
scared, man.”
Something in Alessandro’s eyes sharpened.
She was
He looked at me. “Did she sound scared on the call?”
I swallowed. “Yeah. She… she said someone had called her. From an unknown number. Then when I asked her who… the call disconnected.”
Alessandro sat back, jaw flexing as he processed it. His fingers drummed once on the arm of the chair.
“Then something happened,” I said. “Something between that call and now. And she’s not answering.”
Jack looked between us, his grin long gone. “You think this was planned? Like someone made her do it?”
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“No,” Alessandro said, voice soft but firm. “I think someone used you.”
Jack blinked. “Used me?”
Alessandro nodded slowly. “Someone wanted Shan out of sight. Maybe to get to her. Maybe to get to Nikolai. So they needed a reason to separate her. A distraction. Someone harmful. Familiar.”
Jack’s face went pale again.
“You’re saying they used me as bait.”
I saw it hit him like a brick. And for a moment, I even felt bad. But Alessandro wasn’t done.
“You sure you don’t remember anything strange?” he asked. “Even a detail. Something small. Off.”
Jack stared at the floor, hands clenched. “There was this guy. At the bar. I didn’t notice him at first, but Shan did. She kept looking over her. shoulder. Kept asking me if I knew him.”
Alessandro leaned forward. “What did he look like?”
Jack frowned. “Black coat. Shaved head. He never spoke. Just sat there, drinking something clear. Kept watching her.
My stomach dropped.
“And she didn’t want to leave?”
Jack nodded. “She did. But when I stood up
go,
she pulled me back. Said we had to make it look casual. Then she took my phone. Said she
needed to make a call.”
“She knew something,” I whispered. “She knew she didn’t have much time.”
Alessandro’s eyes met mine, but before Jack could say anything else, Alessandro pulled out a gun and placed it on the table.
Jack went rigid immediately.
His breath caught in his throat as his eyes locked onto the cold, black metal resting between us like a fourth presence in the room. It wasn’t raised. It wasn’t aimed. But it didn’t have to be.
The message was clear.
“Alessandro-” I said, my voice low and warning. Jack was my friend and I didn’t want anything to happen to him.
But he didn’t look at me. His eyes were on Jack.
“I thought Nikolai has ever told you that I hate liars“, Alessandro spoke calmly. Jack froze, swallowing hard. “I’m not lying.”
Alessandro’s eyes narrowed just slightly then out of the blue, gripped his gun.
“Then Nikolai doesn’t deserve to have a friend like you“, Alessandro said coldly, his fingers tightening around the grip of his gun. Jack’s mouth opened, but no sound came out.
He didn’t even deny it.
And that silence? That silence damned him louder than any confession ever could.
I felt the shift in the air, heavy and final.
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Alessandro turned slightly, not taking his eyes off Jack, and spoke one word.
“Basement.”
Two of his men appeared like they’d been waiting outside the door the whole time. Jack jolted upright. “No. No–wait-
He barely got the words out before the first man seized his arm, the second grabbing the back of his neck with brutal precision.
“You’ve got the wrong idea, Nikolai, tell them! Tell them I wouldn’t-
“Let him go!” I stood up sharply, stepping forward. “Alessandro, what the hell are you
doing?!”
But he didn’t budge. His stare was locked on Jack, cold and pissed off.
“Tell me why you invited him out that night,” Alessandro said, his voice like frost cracking glass. “And if you lie again, you’ll leave this house in a bag.”
“I didn’t—!” Jack struggled, his panic morphing into fury. “I didn’t know it was simple drop! Just to get Nikolai seen, public. That’s all they said!”
a
setup! I swear on everything I’ve got, man, I was told it was a
“Who told you?” Alessandro barked.
Jack’s lips trembled. “I …. I don’t know his name.”
Wrong answer.
“Take him,” Alessandro said flatly.
“No!” I shouted, grabbing his arm and stepping between them as Jack was dragged toward the door. “This isn’t how we do things! He’s scared, Alessandro! That doesn’t make him guilty!”
“You the only reason that bastard is living right now“,
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