Mr. Villain's Lovely Wife

Lovely wife 226

Let me Out!

Let me Out!

Cassandra glared at the man seated across from her. He hadn't said a single word since they brought her in. His posture was straight, hands resting on the armrests of the steel framed chair like he owned the place-and maybe he did. The room was blindingly white, sterile in a way that scraped at her nerves.

"What is this place?" she asked. The walls were padded, the kind found in psychiatric isolation units, smooth and seamless. with no sharp corners, no decoration. The lights buzzed faintly above her, bright and unforgiving. There were no windows, no mirrors, no visible cameras-just silence.

She sat on a narrow cot, her ankles shackled to the floor, wrists cuffed to a strap looped through the bedframe. She didn't know where she was. A hospital, maybe, or some private mental facility-but not the kind with nurses and polite intake forms. This was the kind meant to break people.

Then she stared at the man again.

The man in front of her had a scar running down the left side of his face, sharp and pale against his tan skin. It ran from the edge of his temple to his jaw, clean but deep. His suit was plain. No tie. A dark button-up under a heavier coat. He looked like someone who didn't bother with security because he didn't need any.

Cassandra's eyes darted toward the door. It was closed. No handle on her side. "What is this?" she asked. "Who are you?"

He didn't move.

"Why the hell am I here? What do you want from me?"

Still nothing.

She stood up. Her legs were unsteady, but she walked anyway. The man's gaze followed her. No reaction. Just that flat stare.

"I said-why did you bring me here? If you think this is going to get you something, you're wrong."

He blinked once. That was it.

Cassandra clenched her fists. "You know who I am, right? You must know. Because no one else would pull a stunt like this unless they thought they had something on me."

He still didn't answer.

She started pacing. "If this is about the Italy job-fine. I get it. Naples wasn't handled cleanly. But I did what they asked. I got the deal pushed. If someone higher up didn't like the optics, that's not on me."

Nothing.

Her eyes narrowed. "You work for Vasili? Or Johnson? No-no, they don't use people like you. You're not a paper pusher. You're the guy they call when someone stops answering emails."

him. "So

The man said nothing.

end up in the room. That was on the agent. I cleaned it up." She

she asked, turning away. "Please. She begged for that contract. I told her exactly what it was. She signed anyway. That wasn't my fault

man exhaled slowly through his nose. His expression

had she done lately? The twins in New York? They were protected. The producer's daughter? No way.

back toward the man. "So who did I offend? Tell me. Was it some senator's mistress? Another model with a boyfriend in

leaned forward slightly but

She didn't show it, but

me," she muttered. "You're

Successfully unlocked!

his head. She didn't know if that meant amusement or juuyment. She

months. One who bought his own island and filled it with pageant dropouts. I know the game. I made it better.

1/2

Let me Out!

stepped forward again. "I gave them purpose. Exposure. Deals. I have contacts everywhere and they

man finally blinked again, slow

"So tell me. What is it? What do

Silence.

the bed again. Her fingers clenched

wasting your time. Whoever you're

his seat. He reached into his coat and pulled out a single

he extended it behind him. One of the two men standing near the door stepped forward, took it, and

Her body stiffened.

limp. Her nightgown twisted halfway up her thigh. The lighting was clinical, and cold, like the kind you'd find in surveillance shots. In one, her mouth hung open slightly. In another, her hand was hanging off the

stared at

Her voice cracked partway through. "Where did

the chair finally

end your life. These are the images they'll reference. These are the images they'll

and stood. "That didn't happen. I

look at

faked. Or staged. I don't care how good your tech is, I never took anything more than a sedative.

overdose."