Chapter 3 - The Interrogation of the Serpent
The main dining room, where foreign dignitaries and corporate titans had once dined, was now an interrogation room. Vivian Moretti sat in one of the high-backed velvet chairs, her hands zip-tied behind her back. The silk dress she wore was rumpled, her sophisticated facade peeling away to reveal a desperate, cornered animal.
Alejandro entered the room alone. He didn't carry a weapon. He didn't need one. The sheer gravity of his presence filled the space until the air felt thin.
He sat down opposite her, tossing the leather ledger onto the table between them. It landed with a heavy, hollow thud.
"The Moretti family bank accounts are completely dry as of ten minutes ago, Vivian," Alejandro said, his tone conversational, almost pleasant. "Your fatherâs shipping firm has just had three of its primary cargo vessels seized in the port of Rotterdam on suspicion of international human trafficking. By morning, your family name will be synonymous with filth."
Vivian laughed, a sharp, hysterical sound. "You think you can destroy us that easily, Alejandro? My father has judges in his pocket! He has the minister of justice on speed dial!"
"Not anymore," Alejandro replied, leaning forward. "The minister of justice is currently reviewing the live data stream I sent him from your sub-basement cell. Human trafficking, chemical torture, corporate espionage, and illegal imprisonment of a high-profile citizen. Your father is currently being arrested at his penthouse in Milan. You are completely alone, Vivian."
Vivianâs eyes widened, the first real crack of terror appearing in her blue eyes. "It wasn't just me! I didn't plan it! I was just the handler!"
"Talk," Alejandro commanded.
"Three years ago, Elena found out about the offshore shipping routes my father was using," Vivian spat out, the words tumbling over each other as she realized her protection was gone. "She was designing the new port expansion project for Castillo Holdings. She looked at the bathymetric data and realized my fatherâs ships were docking at unregistered coordinate points in international waters. She was going to tell you. She had the flash drive ready."
"So you staged the kidnapping," Alejandro said, his fists clenching beneath the table.
"It wasn't a kidnapping if she never left the property!" Vivian shrieked. "We intercepted her in the driveway. Dr. Victor VanceâRobertâs estranged brotherâprovided the chemical paralyzers. We brought her down through the old coal chute. We knew that if we took her off-site, your private security net would track her across the globe. The safest place to hide a diamond is in a coal mine, Alejandro! You never looked at the maids. You never looked down!"
"And the servants?" Alejandro asked. "How did you keep an entire staff silent for three years?"
"They weren't your staff! I fired your old team, remember? The new ones were brought in through my familyâs agency. They were illegal immigrants, people with records, people whose families back home would disappear if they whispered a single word to you. They knew exactly who Elena was. They were ordered to treat her like dirt, to beat her if she tried to speak to you, to ensure she knew her place was at the bottom of the world."
Vivian leaned across the table, a venomous smile returning to her lips despite her fear. "And you know what the best part was? Every time you sat in that parlor drinking your expensive scotch, crying over her old photographs, she was just ten feet beneath your floorboards, scrubbing the grease off the pipes that heated your seat. You did this to her, Alejandro. Your blind grief was our best weapon."
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Alejandro stood up so quickly his chair tipped backward, crashing onto the floor. He looked down at her, his expression devoid of any human warmth.
"You will never see the sun again, Vivian. I will spend every dollar of my fortune ensuring that the prison you go to makes that sub-basement look like a palace."
