Natalie's POV

My prison was underground. It had probably been built to store wine, but I couldn’t be sure. The stone walls and a few abandoned barrels were my only clues.

The rest had been brought in after my arrival. A comfortable three-seater sofa, a coffee table, a bookshelf full of old encyclopedias, and a bed piled with blankets. A pellet stove burned under the stairs leading to the upper floors.

Not that I had access to them, of course. The door at the top of the stairs was locked every single time, and I had often caught sight of the broad back of a guard stationed just outside the exit.

Jodi’s men had taken only a couple of days to convert a corner of the cellar into a fully functioning bathroom. They’d set up some partitions and a curtain for a door.

"And what’s this supposed to be for?" I asked, watching Jason and Troy struggle to mount a heavy panel on the wall.

"It’s quite an interesting invention," Jodi began, hands clasped behind his back. "It’s a lamp that simulates sunlight. Thanks to its shape and a special curtain, it gives the illusion of a window opening onto a sunny day. I believe it was developed in a Scandinavian country. You know, in those places daylight hours drop drastically during winter, and despite being among the richest countries in the world, people there are very unhappy. It’s truly fascinating how such small things can make a difference to the human psyche."

I no longer knew how long I had been trapped down there. Maybe it was late October. Maybe it was already November. Hope was starting to feel heavy. I didn’t have the patience to be pleasant anymore.

"I don’t want a window-shaped lamp."

Jason and Troy hurried up. They mounted the panel, plugged it in, and drew the curtain. Then they ran up the stairs.

The air in my prison felt a bit lighter with that light.

With each step, Jodi’s shoes creaked with the annoying sound of new leather. My jailer sat on the sofa and crossed his legs. He was wearing one of his formal suits. I had rarely seen him in anything but formalwear.

His face was calm, but when he spoke, I knew I had angered him. "You said you needed to see the sun."

"You think that lamp is the sun?"

Jodi smiled patiently and chose to ignore my question. He pointed to the coffee table in front of the sofa, where my untouched breakfast tray sagged next to yesterday’s dinner tray.

"You’re not eating." He said it as if expecting an apology.

I turned away and started pacing. It was the only thing I could do.

I didn’t feel like myself anymore.

"I want to call my son."

I heard Jodi drumming his fingers, irritated. "You called him two days ago. And again, a week before that."

"I barely got to say hello!"

"Mrs. Nicholson." Jodi stood and walked toward me. He took my hand and gestured for me to sit with him on the sofa.

I had never tried to resist him when his hands were on me. Maybe I’d never be strong enough to try.

I followed and sat down beside him.

"It saddens me to see you're not comfortable here." Jodi tilted his head slightly, as if speaking to a small child.

"I’m a prisoner here. Why would I be comfortable?"

Jodi sighed, not hiding his annoyance. "If you’ll allow me, I’d like to tell you a story."

I felt on the verge of crying. I hugged myself and looked away.

Jodi placed two fingers under my chin and pulled until I was forced to look at him again.

"When I was twelve, Luther and I had a little grey hamster. I loved that creature, but it had a really annoying habit. Every now and then it would stick its head between the bars of its cage and get stuck until either I or Luther found it. I didn’t understand why it did that. Did it want to escape? Did it want to hurt itself? I got it the best food, all the accessories a hamster could ever dream of, but it kept slipping through the bars. It made me angry, you know? And one day I found it hanging there again, and I felt the need to punish it. So, I freed it, took it out of the cage and held it in my hands. I stroked its little head a couple of times and then I broke its neck."

With his fingers still on me, I knew he had felt my shudder of fear.

"Looking back, it does make me a little sad. I definitely overreacted, that time. That little creature had a brain the size of a pea. What could it possibly know about gratitude? It wasn’t like you and me. You and I understand that debts must be repaid, and that it’s good manners to show gratitude for a gift."

I nodded. I no longer had a voice to answer with.

Jodi let go of me gently. "Do you see what a terrible loss the Coyote inflicted on me? If Luther had been here, he would have reminded me that talking about dead hamsters might make a kind lady like you feel a little shaken. He... always knew when it was time to shut me up."

I nodded again. I no longer knew what he wanted from me. I tried to turn away again because I felt tears threatening to fall.

"I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you." I was almost tempted to believe him. His voice always sounded so sincere...
"I won’t hurt you."

I kept refusing to turn around, until he offered me the one thing that could move me.

I spun to grab my phone, but Jodi pulled it back before I could even graze it. He pointed at the untouched trays on the coffee table.

“After. I want to see at least one of those empty.”

I couldn’t explain why I found that order so humiliating. But I obeyed—because I had no choice.

As I ate, several members of Jodi’s crew came in and out of the cellar. There were always a thousand matters requiring their leader’s attention, and he answered each one with that same icy calm.

Most of them came to update Jodi on the latest leads regarding Casper’s whereabouts. So far, they had only gathered rumors, but day by day, the noose around Casper’s neck was tightening.

Once I had cleaned the breakfast tray, Jodi handed me the phone without delay—but stayed right beside me to make sure I tapped only on Ben’s name.

“My love,” I greeted him the moment I heard his breath. I knew I wouldn’t have much time.

“Mama!” he answered with that surprised tone that had begun to hurt me. My calls had become so rare they now came as a shock to him.

“How are you?”

“I’m fine…” he replied uncertainly. “How are you? Why don’t you ever answer your phone?”

“I’ve just been busy… I started volunteering at the courthouse again…”

“Oh. Okay…”

Clearly not a convincing excuse. Benjamin had to suspect something else was going on. I didn’t even know what to hope for—whether I wanted him to believe I was keeping my distance on purpose, or to understand that someone was forcing me to stay away.

“I’m sorry. I’ll try to call more often.”

“No… it’s okay,” he replied, his voice uneasy.

“Have you made any new friends?”

“Um…”

Jodi took the phone back and pressed the red button without a word.

I couldn’t hold back a sob of despair.

“You confirmed he’s fine,” Jodi said. “That’s all you needed to know.”

But I needed to know everything. I needed to know what he was eating, who he was talking to, which classes he liked and which ones he didn’t. If he was finally happy…

“He’s my son.” That was the only explanation I could give him.

“I can’t say I understand how you feel, but I’m doing what I can to accommodate your needs.”

Just then, the door at the top of the stairs opened again. Viktor—a slim, young guy, more boy than man—came barreling down, clutching a scrap of paper in his hands and radiating cruel excitement.

He reached his boss and had to stand on tiptoe to whisper something in his ear.

Jodi raised an eyebrow. He accepted the piece of paper and read it carefully. Then he lifted his head to look at me. “Any idea why the Coyote would be heading back toward Norgree?”

The heart in my chest clenched so tight it felt like pain.

I shook my head, trying to hold back tears.

“You sure? All his coyotes are scattered. And poor Masao… well, I really hope it’s not him he’s planning to hide with.”

Viktor was rocking eagerly from heels to toes, waiting for his boss’s orders.

Jodi handed him the note. “I want Troy, Franklin, and Peter ready to leave in twenty minutes.”

The boy shot back up the stairs faster than he’d come down.

“Please…” I had to summon all my strength just to stand and meet his eyes. “Don’t hurt him. I know he hurt you. And you hurt him back. Luther and Masao are already dead—you can’t make this any better by causing more pain.”

“You see…” he scratched the back of his neck, distracted, already looking toward the stairs. “This is the kind of thing we’ll never agree on.”

He was leaving. He was going to kill Casper.

I stepped around the table and reached him. I dropped to my knees, clinging to him. “Please, don’t do it. I know him. I’ve known him since he was a kid, just like I’ve known you. He never wanted to hurt anyone. Jordan… I’m begging you.”

“Get up. He doesn’t deserve this humiliation from you.”

I didn’t feel humiliated. I felt hopeless. I had failed them all. Benjamin, Casper, Carli…

“I’m sorry…” I cried, because tears were all I had left to defend myself with. “I should have made sure someone took care of you and your brother. If I had…”

Jodi didn’t try to lift me, but bent down himself. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close.

“Luther and I were fine. We found our place in the world. We made our choices. Just like the Coyote did.”

“Please…”

“I won’t kill him.”

My breath caught, but I didn’t dare hope. There was no mercy in his eyes.

“I’ll give him the kind of pain only the living can feel.”