Page 241 of Merciless Daddy

Gianni swore in Italian.

They went too.

The lock engaged behind them.

Only Gianni, Donatella, two technicians, and I remained inside the corporate suite. The technicians stayed behind the camera line.

Donatella opened the equipment case fully.

She removed the hardware token and a length of shielded cable. Her fingers moved with quick competence. The antique ring clicked once against the metal housing.

A tiny green light appeared inside the foam.

I looked at it.

She closed her hand over that section as she lifted the token free.

“Move,” she told one technician.

He moved.

She connected the cable to the certified port beneath the terminal.

The screen went black.

Then blue.

HARDWARE AUTHENTICATION IN PROGRESS.

A loading bar appeared.

Seven percent.

Twelve.

“Now listen to me, bitch,” Donatella said. “You’re going to comply. If you don’t I swear your brother is dead.”

“My brother is safe.”

“Is he? Interesting. I suppose you thought you were safe, too.” She thought for a moment. “And you know what, we won’t just kill Kiryl. We’ll take out Daniil and Arkady too, for good measure. You know my family, you know what we are capable of. I bet Santo would enjoy making them beg for mercy before he finished the job. How old is Kiryl again? A shame to die so young.”

The terminal’s internal fan rose in pitch.

My heart pounded in my chest. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t be responsible for my brothers’ deaths.

Ashamed, wretched, miserable, I nodded.

Donatella took the chair across from me and activated the recording. A red light appeared above the camera.

“State your full legal name.”

“Yelena Lvovna Sokolova.”

“State today’s date.”

I did.

“Do you understand that this interview concerns cancellation of the Sokolova Emergency Employee Trust and assignment of voting authority in the listed companies?”