Chapter 72: Something about her.

Chapter 72: Something about her.
CHAPTER 71
SOFIA.

I sat rigidly on the cushioned chair placed beside the bed, my eyes darting around as I scanned the room I'd been placed in. It was dimly lit, cozy and warm with two golden lamps hanging low below the ceiling, casting long shadows on the cream-colored wallpaper. The air smelled of lavender and something else I couldn't quite place, but it did nothing to take off the unsettling feeling I had.

A tall man stood silently across the room with his arms folded across his chest. He looked crisp in his fitted black suit and boots, and his face remained behind a ghost mask which sent more shivers down my spine.

“You know you can just kill me if you're intending to, right? What's the wait for?” I blurted out, frustrated and extremely terrified. My fingers shook vigorously with fear and my voice trembled as I maintained his gaze, staring right back at him. He said nothing as he stood still, not batting an eyelid.

“Why did you have me lie to Lucas? Why did you have to force me to do that, and against my will?” I asked, looking up at him. I could hear my heart pounding loudly against my chest, but I couldn't stop myself from speaking, as I grew more desperate. I got no response still, as the man tilted his head slightly, still keeping mute. The tension in the room grew thicker and the silence heavier, and I suddenly began to feel hot.

“Lucas isn't who you think he is, young lady,” he said, finally speaking. His voice sounded low, calm and calculated.

“Well, I'd rather be with that devil I know than be with an angel I don't know,” I replied sharply, staring at him. My chest heaved heavily as I spoke, and I tried so hard to suppress the panic in my voice. “Who are you, and why are you keeping me here? Why did you have me lie to Lucas? What exactly is your aim in all of this?”

“It's a pity that you've trusted him so blindly, but you'll learn the truth very soon.”

“And how do you know that?” I asked, replying sharply.

“You were refused from a trap that was planned for you, and that's why you're here,” he said, looking straight ahead. “You were being led to your death, and you should only be grateful that you're here, safe and sound.”

I digested his words, but I still felt unsettled as doubt rose in my mind.

“So who sent you, then?” I asked again, pressing on. “And what's your gain in keeping me here?”

“You ask too many questions, woman!” he snapped, turning sharply to me. “You have the liberty to ask just three questions, which I will duly respond to. After that, you must stay silent, do you understand?”

I nodded slowly, racking my brains to think of the most important questions I needed answers to right now. I turned back to him, speaking to him in low tones.

“Do you know Giovanni?” I asked, looking at him. He hesitated as he looked straight ahead, digesting my question.

“Giovanni was someone I used to work for, until he betrayed me,” he said, his voice unusually cool.

“So are you after Giovanni now? Are you trying to use me to get to him?” I asked again, my eyes still on him.

“Is that your second question?” he asked coldly, and I swallowed hard as my chest tightened with panic.

“Who do you work for?” I asked him, still maintaining a low tone. He said nothing in response, but pulled a photograph out of his pocket instead, stretching it towards me.

I got up from my seat and walked towards him, taking the photograph from him and scanning it. It was a picture of a woman, a young boy of about ten years old, and a man I immediately recognized as Giovanni — my father. My heart skipped a beat as I stared at his image, then shifted my gaze to the other people in the picture.

My brows furrowed as realization began to dawn on me. The man snatched the picture from me, studying the puzzled look on my face.

“That woman right there is Giovanni's ex-wife, and the boy is his son,” he said, looking at me.

My brows knitted together in confusion as I tried to make sense of what he just said. Giovanni had a son? Was that why he'd abandoned my mother and me all these years? I began pacing the room, walking slowly to and fro the ends of the room in disbelief with my arms folded across my chest.

Why hadn't he mentioned anything to me when he saw me? And Lucas, why hadn't he said a thing about it either? It dawned on me that I'd been plunged way too deep in the dark and there definitely had to be more dark secrets I was yet to discover. But how? Was I to ask this masked man what else he knew? And would he be willing to tell?

Sweat beads rolled down my forehead as I racked my brain, thinking of what to do or say next.

“What else do you know about Giovanni?” I asked, turning to face him, panic rising in my chest.

“You've exhausted your chances, young lady,” the masked man said, standing upright, his hands crossed behind him. He looked down at me, speaking in a low, cold tone. “Now I'm going to ask you one final question, and I need you to be honest with me. Am I clear?”

I hesitated as I stared at him, wondering what answer he needed from me that he needed honesty for.

“What's that?”

“Now, tell me, are you Giovanni's daughter? Or are you related to him in any way?” he asked, with a cold voice that almost made me piss myself
I said nothing as I looked at him, swallowing hard as I felt a knot go tight in my throat.