I let out a mocking laugh and asked, "Dirty schemes? Do you even have proof? Or are you just talking about those doctored surveillance photos?"
"Proof?" Ginevra strutted over in her high heels, her manicured finger jabbing toward my phone. She touched the hollow of her throat with two fingertips, the picture of wounded dignity.
"Isn't the proof right there in your phone? Who knows how many contacts you've hoarded, how many associates, how many arrangements. For all we know, the moment you step out of here, you'll start working them one by one to secure yourself a new crew."
As soon as she finished speaking, Sal lunged for my phone. I was caught off guard and before I could react, it was snatched from my hands.
"Give it back!"
Ginevra snatched the phone from Sal's hand and quickly stepped back, a smug smirk playing on her lips.
"Look at how nervous you are now. There must be plenty of things you don't want anyone to see."
She turned to Nico, asking for my passcode, but after trying both his and my birthdays, along with the anniversary of his pledge to me, the screen remained locked. Growing impatient, Nico yanked the phone from her grip and barked at the soldiers by the door to restrain me.
He tried to unlock it using facial recognition. But after multiple failed attempts, the phone defaulted to passcode entry.
"What's the password?"
Since the day we got together, my passcode had always been the date he first confessed to me. How ironic that he had forgotten. Then again, I wasn't surprised at all.
Failing to unlock my phone in front of his men only deepened his humiliation. His face darkened, thunderous with rage, his pride crumbling with every passing second. The room had gone quiet. Even the soldiers holding my arms had stopped shifting.
"Rosalia, you keep insisting those photos are a misunderstanding. Then why did you secretly change your password?" His accusation was beyond tedious.
"It's the date you first confessed to me," I responded.
Nico froze, his expression shifting as he struggled to recall that day.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember. His face twisted, a chaotic blend of emotions, like a ruined painting.
I wrenched myself free from the soldiers' grasp and snatched my phone back from his hands. Nico watched in silence as I effortlessly unlocked it. His lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out.