The man was already sweating.
Not panicking. Not shaking. Just sweating, like his body knew something his mouth was still trying to deny.
Ivan noticed that first.
The room was bare. Concrete walls. One chair. One overhead bulb. No tools in sight. People always looked for tools. They thought pain needed props.
Ivan closed the door behind him.
Nikolo remained by it, silent, arms folded. Watching.
Ivan didn't sit.
He stood in front of the man and studied him like a document that had already been signed.
"You know what this room is," Ivan said.
The man nodded.
"Good," Ivan replied. "Then we won't waste time pretending."
Silence.
Ivan stepped closer. Close enough that the man had to tilt his head up to keep eye contact.
"You passed information."
"No," the man said quickly. Too quickly.
Ivan smiled. Barely. "That was your one free lie."
The man swallowed.
Ivan circled him once. Slow. Measured. His footsteps echoed just enough to keep the man counting them.
"Do you know why people fail interrogations?" Ivan asked.
No answer.
"They talk too much," Ivan continued. "Or they stay quiet for the wrong reasons."
Ivan stopped behind the chair.
"You," he said, "are quiet because you think this ends one way."
He leaned down slightly. Not threatening. Almost conversational.
"It doesn't."
The man exhaled shakily. "You'll kill me."
"Yes."
That landed harder than a threat.
Ivan stepped back into view. "But not before I learn who made you stupid."
The man clenched his jaw. "I won't say anything."
Ivan nodded. "I believe you."
That confused him.
Ivan turned away, walked to the wall, and flicked the light off.
Darkness.
The man sucked in a breath.
Ivan's voice came calmly from the dark. "This is the part where you start imagining things."
Silence stretched. Ten seconds. Twenty.
"You're picturing knives," Ivan said. "Hooks. Fire."
A pause.
"That's not what I'd use."
The light snapped back on.
The man blinked, eyes wide now.
Ivan was closer.
"You didn't betray us for money," Ivan said. "If you had, you'd be begging."
The man stayed silent.
"You weren't threatened," Ivan continued. "If you were, you'd be angry."
Ivan leaned in. "You were convinced."
That did it.
The man's lips parted slightly.
"Someone told you the family was decaying," Ivan said. "That Nikolo was blind. That loyalty was wasted on men who couldn't see your value."
Nikolo shifted behind them.
Ivan didn't look back.
"They made you feel chosen," Ivan said softly. "Didn't they?"
The man's breathing broke.
Ivan straightened. "Say their name."
"No."
Ivan nodded. "Alright."
He reached for the chair.
Not to hurt him.
He dragged it six inches closer.
The scrape of metal against concrete was slow. Intentional.
"You know what fear really is?" Ivan asked.
The man shook his head.
"It's not pain," Ivan said. "It's realization."
Ivan crouched so they were eye level.
"You just realized," he said, "that whoever sent you here never planned to save you."
The man's eyes darted to the door.
Nikolo didn't move.
Ivan smiled faintly. "They told you I'd be merciful."
The man whispered, "They said you'd understand."
Ivan froze.
Just for a breath.
"Who said that?" Ivan asked.
Silence.
The man swallowed hard. "If I say it… you won't let me die clean."
Ivan leaned closer. "There is no clean left."
The man's eyes flicked past Ivan.
Toward Nikolo.
Ivan followed the glance.
The air in the room shifted.
Nikolo straightened slowly.
Ivan stood.
"Say it," Ivan said. His voice was calm again. Dangerous calm.
The man's lips trembled. "It was—"
The lights went out.
Not a switch.
Not Ivan.
A sudden blackout.
The hum died. The room vanished.
Nikolo's voice cut through the dark. "Ivan—"
A sharp sound followed. Metal snapping. The chair scraping violently.
Ivan moved.
The lights flickered back on.
The chair was overturned.
The restraints were broken.
Blood streaked the floor — not much. Enough to mean movement. Escape.
A door somewhere down the corridor slammed shut.
Ivan stood still.
Nikolo stared at the empty space where the man had been.
"He almost said it," Nikolo said quietly.
Ivan didn't answer.
Because the unfinished word was already forming in his mind.
And the worst part wasn't who the traitor was.
It was that Ivan realized—
he had trusted them without ever questioning why.