Calculated Betrayal

DARIO

Gino’s chest rose and fell faster now. The room had gone completely still, so still that even the faint hum of the ventilation system seemed loud.

His eyes moved once toward the table. Toward the tools. Then back to me.

“I... I didn’t know,” he said quickly. “Don, I swear, I didn’t know.”

I didn’t respond. Silence is heavier than shouting. Silence makes men fill the space with truth.

Gino sh