Page 149 of Capuleto

"It might be nothing, maybe it’s irrelevant."

"I'll decide that. Speak."

"Salt and a closed-up smell. I remember because five days ago, he came by the apartment after meeting with Cheng. I went to kiss him, and the combination of smells hit my nose."

"Go on."

"As soon as he entered the apartment, he got a call. He immediately pushed me away, and when he answered, he mentioned a name that wasn't familiar. He went into the bathroom to talk, something he never did. I got curious and put my ear to the door."

"What did you hear? Who was he talking to?"

"The director of the port, the new one."

"Arasagasti?" I asked, surprised.

"That's him. He told him he didn't want anyone snooping around the place and to take care of it."

"What place?"

"I don't know."

"Yuri has a place at the port?" I insisted.

"Could be. I didn't have a list of his properties. Yuri handled the old director himself. He wanted someone else in the position to manipulate, someone unrelated to you or his sister who could follow orders."

"Are you telling me the Basque works for Yuri?"

Irene had dry, bleeding lips and stuck out her tongue to try to moisten them.

"I couldn't ask about his business. If I found out anything, it was because Yuri wanted me to. If I dared to ask, he'd tell me it wasn't my business and make me pay for it in bed. Being with him has been hell."

I didn't doubt it. It was her choice, and I couldn't be burdened with her complaints. Irene had made her decision; she could have asked for my protection but never did. She sold me out from the start, end of discussion.

"Did Yuri have anyone else besides Arasagasti?"

"If you give me some water..." It was fair, and besides, her tongue was starting to trip. I offered her some. After a few sips, she thanked me and continued. "What I know is that it was no coincidence that Arasagasti became the new director, nor that the journalist who self-immolated went after Korpe to discredit it."

"Jonás Sánchez was also working for him?" I questioned, surprised. Irene nodded.

"Yes, but I swear I didn't sell anything to his son or anyone around him. You have to believe me." A thousand ideas pounded my brain with the latest revelations.

"Tell me everything you know, and maybe I'll be lenient with you." Her eyes sparkled, and she gave me a hopeful smile.

"The campaign to discredit Mentium and the adulteration of the product was Yuri's doing. He wanted to push Nikita to ruin so her only option would be through you. He gloated about it days before the wedding. He knew you'd promised to take care of his sister and that you always keep your promises. He also knew she would do anything to avenge his death and the disgrace to her family." I clenched my fists violently. I hated that Korolev knew us so well, that he had turned us into mere puppets. And if I knew my wife at all, I sensed she wouldn't have liked it either, no matter how much she loved her brother. "For Yuri, the most important thing in the world is himself, and he won't hesitate to trample anyone he suspects of the slightest disloyalty."

"You mean Nikita?"

"I mean anyone." That much was clear when I saw him point a gun at his sister. "Do you understand now why I couldn't tell you anything? If I did, I was dead." Her eyes were filled with guilt.

"Tell me one more thing."

"Anything."

"Do you have anything else to say that might be useful to me?" She shook her head. "And one last wish?" She looked at me in horror.

"Are you going to kill me?"

"No, I won't kill you. You've killed yourself with your lies and disloyalty."