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Scarlett’s gaze returned to me. “Whitaker’s involvement means this is part of what we found in Madrid, right?”
“Same trafficking network,” I agreed. “But a different access point.”
Lucian looked from the screen to Nik. “What have you learned about Isabella Delgado?”
“Her credentials are real,” he said. “University of Texas, law review, a summer at Harrington Shaw & Pierce. She had a lucrative corporate-law career waiting for her. The problem is the left turn her career took—now in a city job exactly where Hayes and Delgado needed her.”
“According to her, she was born Isabella Reyes,” I said. “Ciro was a client at the firm where she interned. He decided her name and credentials could be useful, forced her to take Delgado as her surname, and turned her into a clean legal face whenever he needed pressure put on an enemy.”
Lucian’s mouth tightened. “And she just told you all this?”
“Not at first. I cornered her hard enough that the story came out. She says Ciro gave her a choice that wasn’t a choice: take his name, do his legal work, and be paid for it—or find out what refusing cost.”
Gabriel snorted.
“I couldn’t prove the fear was real,” I continued. “But I couldn’t ignore it either. I offered to get her out.”
Lucian’s gaze snapped to me. “You offered to extract the woman who came after Xyst?”
“Aye.”
“Do you believe her?”
“Not completely.”
“Then why make the offer?”
“If even half of it is true, Ciro has a woman trapped inside his machine. I wasn’t going to walk away without finding out.”
Lucian held my gaze but said nothing.
“When I followed up, she took me up on the offer,” I continued. “I’ve met with her twice since—short meetings out of sight of the men watching her. She says she wants out.”
“Where does that leave her now?”
“Still working for the City. Still being watched by Ciro’s men and pretending nothing has changed.”
Lacey sat forward. “Does she understand what disappearing will cost her?”
“New name. New documents. No family contact. No legal career. No San Antonio. No going back.”
“And she agreed to that?”
“She asked me what choice she had.”
No one answered.
Rory folded his arms. “Convenient story.”
“She’s scared enough to run.”
“Or smart enough to make you believe she is,” Gabriel said.
He had a point.
“She came after Xyst and walked out with an offer of protection,” Gabriel continued. “She’s lucky we’ve left her alive.”
My temper started to rise, but Lacey spoke before I could.
