There it was. The truth. Unfiltered. Unafraid.
Santiago's eyes narrowed slightly. "Curiosity," he repeated. Not approving. Not dismissing. Just… noting.
Then his hand tightened at her waist. Not painfully. But enough to ground the moment.
"You don't leave your room alone again."
The words fell between them. Final.
Daniella looked up at him then. Really looked. And something in her expression shifted. Not fear. Not submission. Something quieter. Something that held.
"Am I a prisoner?" she asked.
Her voice was soft. But steady.
Santiago did not answer immediately. Because the answer was not simple.
So he gave her something else.
"You're the only person in this house someone tried to kill tonight."
That landed harder than anything else he could have said.
The air shifted. Daniella's fingers loosened slightly against his shirt. Her heartbeat, still fast, steadied into something colder.
Understanding.
