𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖘𝖆𝖎𝖑𝖑𝖊𝖘 𝖒𝖔𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖋𝖆𝖍

"Do you remember the last thing I said to you when we saw each other?"

I sighed, "If I ever see another Mostafah it will be too soon."

Commissioner Gallagher laughed dryly and tilted his head, "Yet here we are."

"I'll try not almost to be killed next time," I assured him, picking at the dried blood on my fingers. When we arrived Angelo was rushed to the hospital but I was not even allowed to wash my hands before I was being put in a questioning room. So here I was, giving my third recount of the events with a blinding light pointed at my face.

My voice was raspy and when I caught sight of myself in the reflective metal table I winced at the dark bruises blooming around my neck. Some of the smaller blood vessels in my eyes had popped forming purple along my eyelids. I was grateful that they'd put me somewhere where it was difficult to see myself.

He was going to kill me and my reflection was just a reminder to me, a sickening reminder that he was going to kill me and I was going to let him.

"A report finally came in from the hospital," He informed me, pulling out a piece of folded paper, "I'm sure you'll be greatly dissatisfied to hear that Mr Bianchi survived all his injuries," He snorted, "Well if you count having a concussion, three bruised ribs, dislocated shoulder, broken nose, cracked jaw and fractured cheekbone as survived."

I swallowed, "I wasn't trying to kill him."

"Really?" He chuckled, rubbing his stubbly chin, "Why not? Because from what I can see," He gestured to my face, "He definitely tried to kill you."

"I'm not a killer," I told him through gritted teeth, "I called the police because I didn't want him to die," I reminded him.

"Right? Just after beating him to an inch of his life?"

I took in a deep breath and leaned back into the cold metal chair, ignoring the pain from the scraps on my back that had now scabbed over. "There was a street camera, did you guys finally find it?" I asked quietly, hoping the footage was clear enough.

They didn't believe me, I'd spent the entire ride to the police station spinning the most believable tale I could come up with to support how I'd managed to lay a man twice my size on his ass but they took one look at him and put me in handcuffs.

He snapped his fingers as if finally remembering it, "Right, the camera that was pointed right at you guys when Mr Bianchi began to violently assault you and drag you into that alleyway where the rest of the magic happened." I didn't even flinch at his unsympathetic tone, used to his snarky remarks and mocking jabs. I kept still even when he pulled out his cracked phone and began replaying Angelo's attack for me.

My face remained still, ignoring the burning scrutinizing stare that he shot at me the whole time. The wounds on my fingers stung as the image of me finally crawling out of the darkness of the alleyway and away from whatever I had left behind. The video then came to a close and I looked back up at the unimpressed officer, "Am I free to go then?" I questioned.

"Free to go?" He turned his phone back around to face him and I watched the video again through the reflection of his eyes. "You know there's something that really gets me about this video."

I sighed, "You're really turned on by seeing women in danger."

He didn't laugh at my joke, "Look at you," He flipped the screen back to face me, "At the end when you've finally finished beating the living daylights out of that young man I presume." He put the phone close to my face so I could see the pitiful look on my face up close. "You still look absolutely horrified."

"Almost dying will do that to you-

"But you still look like you're in danger, you didn't walk out, you crawled out as if you were still being hunted," He tilted his head out of me, "You don't look like a predator who just finished off her assailant if anything," I stared at my shocked and disbelieving face, blurry from the bad quality and dark night, "You look like prey."

I closed my eyes for a few seconds to give myself a chance to breathe, "Shouldn't I be filling out paperwork to press charges?" I said, my eyes falling to my braids where some of the gold beads were either chipped or had been torn off completely.

He smiled, "No I didn't think you'd be doing that."

I smiled back, "You know me so well."

"Course I do, I remember how much money you spent trying to tear your name out of the tabloids back then," He stood up and rounded the interrogation table so we were closer. "We can't have that again."

"I don't want to hear about this ever again," I agreed, "I want this gone."

"Done," He replied almost immediately, "I can have a ride to the hospital here in fifteen?"

I shook my head, "I'd rather you keep me here for a night than use your cheapass doctors again," I looked up at him when I ended the insult, "But I'd appreciate the ride though."

"One more question before you go though," He didn't give me a chance to say yes or no before he put the phone in my face again, "Over here a few minutes after you guys enter the alleyway," He paused the video and zoomed in on a particular frame, "This thing gets picked up by the camera, very quickly before disappearing into the darkness. You know what that sort of looks like?"

I blinked, tiredly before shrugging and shaking my head, "A cylinder I think? A tube maybe?"

"Exactly," He snapped in my face, "That's exactly what I thought too until my intern Tanner? Little guy but makes up for it in brains came to check it out and said it looks like something else."

"What did Tanner say it looked like?" I said, hoping he could hear how much I didn't care.

"Kid said it kinda looks like a straw."

The family was barely on the sidewalk before I was taking a step in front of their son. "Angelo," His entire face dropped at the sight of me, almost looking like he was about to have a heart attack, "Can I have a word?"

"Versailles I-

His mom pushed me aside and got all up in my face, "We don't have to say anything to you until we speak to our lawyers."

I didn't look at her still looking at him until he eventually put a hand on his mother's shoulder and gently moved her to the side. "It's alright Mamma, we'll be quick."

She looked shocked that he'd even suggest such a thing, "No you can't speak to her, she might be wearing a wire," She tried pulling him away to whisper to him furiously, "You know these dirty criminals know every trick in the book. Heaven knows what she could get you to admit to."

He shrugged off her hands and took another step closer to me, "She's not like that."

When we'd taken enough steps away from them that I was comfortable I stopped and faced him head-on, only to see his gaze pointed at the floor. I shoved him playfully, "This isn't going to be much fun if you won't even look at me," I tilted my head trying to meet his eyes, the same way he did to me after punching me, "C'mon pretty boy, look at me."

He visibly flinched at the sight of my injuries, I couldn't blame him, I hadn't had a shower yet and my bruises had been given enough time to settle to their ugliest shade. "I look a bit different in the light don't I?" I told him, gesturing to the sunrise that was spreading a glow around us by the minute. 

"Versailles I-

"I don't care," I sighed, tucking my braids behind my ear so he could see the bruises in the shape of his hand across my face. "Save the apology, save the little speech and the excuses," I looked away from him to his parents who were watching us like hawks. "I didn't come all the way here to prove that you were a shitty person, you can do that all on your own."

"I told the cops everything you wanted me to," He whispered, his discolored bottom lip quivering, "Didn't deny a single thing."

I pressed my lips together, "Well that doesn't matter considering I'm not pressing charges," I finally revealed, "In fact, I might ask for your statement so I can use it as toilet paper."

"Why-

"Because I own you now Angelo," I sniffed, "Just in case that wasn't clear. 'Owing me one'?" I mocked with air quotes, "Doesn't even come close to how deep in debt you are to me," I growled, "Your precious life? Is mine, and every breath you take is mine too because I want you to remember for the rest of your life," I poked at his chest, making him wince, "Every night you live as free man and come home and sleep in your overpriced bedsheets that you're only there because I allow it."

He tried to look away from me but I grabbed his face and made him face me. "You tried to kill me, and I am letting you get away with it," I shoved him away from me and he stumbled back struggling to catch himself on his crutches, "And one day when you get into university on a sports scholarship, go pro and live a glamorous and gluttonous life-I'm going to give you a call," I promised, "And you're going to trip over your fucking legs trying to answer it."

I took in a deep breath, to calm my raging heart. "And you know what?" I breathed, my upper lip curling in disgust at the sight of him, "I don't care about whoever you tell what happened last night," I told him honestly, "They won't believe you anyway."

"You terrify me Versailles Mostafah."

I nodded, "Good."

His parents were more than happy to take him once we walked back to them, but Angelo wasn't interested and instead hobbled towards their large flashy car where he slammed the door inside. "Carmine right?" I asked making Mr Bianchi jump slightly, "You know I did a bit of research too," I threw a glance at his wife, "Since you guys think you're the only ones who can do a google search."

The tall greying Italian man glared down at me, chest puffed out like he was ready for a dick-measuring contest. "And the net worth you guys have up on Forbes really doesn't match the number I saw in that bank in Turkey," I patted him on his shoulder, "You should probably look into that."

"And Mrs Bianchi?" I pulled out her wedding ring from my pocket, large, stunning, and heavy with stones. "You really should keep a better eye on this," I tossed it at her and her husband caught it, both their eyes wide when they realized what it was. She brought her empty right hand up to her face and gasped, "And you know I was just gonna see if a homeless person nearby wanted a free house but then again," I stuffed my hands in my pockets and gave her a wink, "Us criminals should really stick together."