Page 75 of High Reward

“You look terrible,” Matteo observes, stopping directly in front of Phineas. “Water? Coffee?”

Phineas’s laugh is dry and cracked. “Hospitality now? After two days of nothing but toilet breaks and water?”

“Things can improve,” Matteo says, leaning against a nearby table. “Depends on how this conversation goes.”

“Let me guess. You’re the reasonable one.” Phineas looks past Matteo to where Owen stands near a makeshift workstation. “He’s the bad cop. And I assume your psychopath friend is lurking somewhere nearby, waiting to make both of you seem like the good cops?”

The casual way he dismisses me makes my fingers curl into fists. But I remain still, playing my part. My time will come.

Matteo doesn’t bother denying it. “We want to understand what happened at the attorney’s office. The sniper who shot Trinity Novak was aiming for your ex-wife.”

“Wife,” Phineas corrects smoothly. “And I had nothing to do with that.”

“Bullshit,” Owen says, stepping forward. “We have financials, shell companies, communications. The shooter was paid through one of your offshore accounts.”

Phineas shrugs, the motion awkward with his bound arms. “My accounts get hacked all the time. Occupational hazard in politics.”

“That’s your defense?” Matteo sounds almost disappointed. “Someone hacked your accounts? That’s amateur hour, Phineas.”

“It’s the truth. I was as shocked as anyone when I heard Trinity had been shot. She’s a lovely woman. Always supported my mother’s campaigns.”

Owen taps something on his tablet. “We found traces of drugs in Harper Cantrell’s system. You know anything about that?”

I watch Phineas’s face carefully. His expression doesn’t change, no micro-expressions of recognition or alarm. Either he’s the best liar I’ve ever seen, or he genuinely doesn’t know what Owen’s talking about.

“Harper who?” Phineas asks. “Should I recognize that name?”

Owen exchanges a glance with Matteo. They’ve seen it too. “Never mind. Back to the shooting.”

“Look,” Phineas sighs, shifting in his chair. “I don’t know what game we’re playing here, but I’ve told you I had nothing to do with the shooting. She’s my wife. I would never hurt her. I’m sure whoever pulled the trigger was aiming for Trinity. Hunter has a lot of enemies.”

Matteo studies him. “So, this isn’t about Lili at all even though you kidnapped her?”

Phineas’ face tightens with anger. “As I said, she’s my wife. I didn’t kidnap her. I just brought her home after she made a poor decision.”

“We know you were behind the shooting at the wedding in London. What is all of this about, Mr. Draven? Why is your attention focused on me and my friends?”

A thin smile spreads across Phineas’s face. “You’re asking the wrong questions, Mr. Bennett. The real question is why you think I’m at the center of your problems.”

“Because you are,” Owen counters. “The evidence is clear.”

“Is it? Or are you seeing what you want to see? What they want you to see.” Phineas leans forward as much as his restraints allow. “Maybe someone wants you to think it’s me, and they dragged my wife into it.”

I’ve heard enough. I step out of the shadows, moving into Phineas’s line of sight. His eyes track me, expression unchanged. No fear. That will change.

“You kidnapped her,” I say, voice low. “You held her against her will, and you cut her. Those are facts, not speculation.” I understand the irony of my first two statements since I technically did the same thing.

“Ah, here he is.” Phineas sits back. “The hero of the hour. Tell me, Serrano, does she scream your name when she comes? She was always so tense with me. Could barely get her cunt wet enough to fuck her properly.”

My vision narrows, focusing entirely on his smug face.

“You know nothing about her,” I say, forcing myself to stay in place rather than lunge for his throat.

“I know everything about her.” His voice takes on a different quality, almost intimate. “I know which parts of her body are most sensitive, exactly how much pain she can take before shebreaks. And I know that sometimes, when she’s really into it, she sobs and begs me to stop.”

Matteo steps between us, sensing the direction of my thoughts. “This isn’t productive.”

Phineas ignores him, eyes locked on mine. “You think you rescued her? That’s adorable. Liliana stays where she wants to stay. She’s left and come back to me plenty of times before you. She loves the game.”