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She bursts into tears. “So, Papa knew where he was this whole time?”
I squeeze our hands. “He did.”
Corrado is more despicable than anyone thought.
“How could he, Lev? How? After what happened? This man killed Gabrielle. How is it even possible that my father is working with him?”
I think about it as the pieces fall together in my mind. I don’t know why Petr was involved in the kidnapping, but I understand the other side of the matter. I give her a hard stare. “Your father didn’t kill him because of Micah Moretti, the man controlling them both. That’s the man I’m looking for. Petr—that’s his name—was kept alive on purpose. Your father wasn’t allowed to kill him.”
My heart breaks when she cries even harder. Her shoulders are racked with sobs. I sit on the bed and pull her into my arms, holding her.
“I have to go and deal with him, Allegra,” I whisper.
She lifts her head. “What are you going to do? I mean, in the end.”
“I’m going to kill him. I’m going to kill them all.”
She straightens and looks me in the eye. “I want to be there. I want to see him die. This time, I want to make sure he’s dead.”
I nod. “I’ll call you when it’s time.”
I release her and stand, dipping my head. Just then, Zoya knocks on the door and enters with a tray of tea. She gives me a worried glance as I pass her and rush down the stairs.
When I reach to the dungeon, Petr is already seated in the interrogation chair and restrained with chains. There’s another bruise on his face. Looks like he earned it while I was upstairs.
I glare at him, then look from Kieran to Aleksandr. They step aside, allowing me to take over. I approach Petr and look him in the eye. This is the man who changed my girl’s world. He tainted all that she was and ruined what she held dear. He killed her sister, tortured her, and burned her with fire.
I need to ask about the kidnapping first, then Moretti.
“How is it that you kidnapped Corrado’s girls if you’ve been working with him this whole time?” I look him up and down with disgust.
Petr stares back at me, stern-faced. “You know Corrado, Lev Karsavin. You can’t trust him. One moment, you’re friends. The next, you’re enemies.”
I clench my jaw. Unfortunately, I understand exactly what he means. “What did he do to you?”
“He got my brother killed. My brother and his family. Wife and two young kids. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he messed up a contract that cost me millions.” Petr coughs and spits out blood. “I wanted revenge, so I took it when I got my hands on his daughters.”
The MO fits perfectly now, and I understand the cruelty behind the actions. Everything I thought was correct.
“Corrado was never supposed to get either of his daughters back,” Petr continues. “I took liberties because of Moretti’s protection. Corrado couldn’t kill me because he didn’t want to piss off Moretti. So, he let me escape when he came for his girls.”
I straighten and crack my knuckles. “And now you’re friends again.”
Petr glares at me. “We are not friends. Just because we work together doesn’t mean all is forgiven. You see, I wasn’t allowed to kill him, either. Not if I wanted to keep working with Moretti, which I did.”
“Of course, which brings me to the next point.” I grin. “Where is Moretti?”
Petr laughs. “Like I’m going to tell you.”
Aleksandr steps forward with his phone in his hand. “This might help you talk.” He holds it up. On the screen is a picture of a young woman and a child. Cassian sent it to us the other day. He thought it could be used as leverage if we ever found Petr. Looks like he was right.
Petr looks like his world just ended.
I smile brightly. “Your wife and child. Do they know who you really are?”
I love interrogations and torture as much as the next psychopath, but sometimes holding leverage like this is so much sweeter. You get to watch your victim’s face crumble as all that bravado drains away. Nothing quite compares.
“Please.” Petr shakes, sounding so different from just moments ago. “Please don’t hurt them. They don’t know. They don’t know about this life. They’re innocents.”