You’re Bluffing
Bianca
This is all Valeria’s fault.
She should’ve stayed dead.
After all these years, I had finally managed to get close to Dante. He was almost mine. Almost.
Gaspard bears part of the blame too. When he approached me about Ciphera, I saw easy money. Nothing more. But Valeria resisted, clinging to her lofty principles.
Research shouldn’t be driven by profit.
Easy to say when you already have everything: talent, money, love. I’m just an employee.
And now she’s making me look like some hysterical idiot in front of Wald.
Wald, who believes money fixes everything.
But it’s over for me now.
Dante will never give me another chance after finding out the baby isn’t his.
Fine. Dante is gone.
Now I need to think about the baby.
The doorbell rings.
Gaspard.
I open the door and throw myself into his arms. I never loved him. He was a good lover, nothing more. Useful. Replaceable.
He devours my mouth and I let him before pulling away.
“Dante is filing fraud charges,” I say. “His lawyer sent a formal notice this morning.”
He loosens his tie and settles into the armchair.
“We play it clean from now on. We negotiate if necessary. We stop drawing attention to ourselves.”
That’s not what I wanted to hear, but he’s probably right.
“Your payment is coming,” he adds. “You’ll finally get that trip you always wanted.”
“And the baby? Are you going to acknowledge him?”
“I’ll take care of you.”
He doesn’t really answer my question.
“Are you leaving your wife?”
He takes off his jacket without hurrying.
“You know that’s impossible. Everything is in her name. If I leave, I lose everything.”
I cross my arms over my chest.
“So you’re useless to me,” I say coldly. “Other than as a distraction.”
His expression hardens.
I should stop.
I keep going anyway.
“And even at that, you weren’t exactly unforgettable.”
I see the shift in his face immediately.
“I’ll manage on my own. And you’ll never see this child.”
His jaw tightens once.
Then he stands and walks toward me.
“You think you can threaten me? Go ahead.”
“And how exactly are you planning to stop me?”
“I filmed you that night.”
For a second, I forget how to breathe.
“You’re bluffing.”
“Am I?”
I stare at him in horror.
“Rule number one, Bianca: never trust anyone.”
I lean toward him.
“If I go down, you go down with me. You’re the one who contacted him and paid him. I’ll turn you in if I have to.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
His voice remains perfectly calm as he adds:
“But don’t ever threaten me again.”
The threat hangs heavily in the air.
We’re too much alike, and we both know it. If we go to war, we’ll burn together.
“Fine,” I say at last. “What’s the plan?”
He exhales slowly.
“Take a vacation. You’ve always wanted to see the Amalfi Coast. When you come back, I’ll set you up somewhere. You’ll focus on the baby. You won’t want for anything. I’ll come see you both.”
I lower my eyes.
He thinks he can control me.
Fine.
I don’t have a choice.
For now, I’ll smile… and wait.