Was Giovanni putting on a show for me? Or had he lied so much that he started believing it himself?
Not long after, Giovanni’s phone began vibrating incessantly.
The familiar ding of a new message echoed.
I watched him type a reply, then delete it, retype, and delete it again. After several attempts, he finally spoke up.
"Honey, there’s an urgent meeting I need to attend."
"When I get back, let’s go out for dinner tonight."
I looked up at him, and he immediately averted his gaze.
Calmly, I replied, "Alright."
In truth, I had already seen the message from Lianna.
[Giovanni, you better come see me now.]
[Afraid to show up? Fine, I’ll go find Alice myself. Let’s see if you’re ready for everything to blow up.]
As I watched his hurried retreating figure, I shook my head lightly.
I glanced at my watch. It was time to prepare for tonight’s surgery.
—
Two hours later, I would be lying on Lianna’s operating table, allowing her to extract my blood.
What she didn’t know was that I was here to capture the prey.
I changed into surgical attire and laid down in the medical pod.