Friday evening. 7:58 p.m.
The café was small. Warm. Corner table by the window. Rain tapping glass.
Tomasz was already there,dark coat, gray scarf, hair neatly combed. He looked nervous. Good.
I didn't enter.
I watched from the car across the street. Tinted windows. Driver silent.
Kasia sat beside me.
Phone linked to the tiny camera in Tomasz's coat button.
He'd been briefed.
Debt cleared that afternoon. €50,000 wired. NDA signed. Instructions clear: be charming. Be genuine. Make her feel seen.
My mother arrived at 8:02.
Navy coat. Hair down. Small smile when she spotted him Kasia had arranged the "chance" meeting via a planted mutual acquaintance story.
They shook hands.
Sat.
Ordered tea.
I watched.
Tomasz leaned in. Spoke softly. Laughed at something she said.
She smiled real. Small. The kind she used to give me.
He touched her hand once, light. Respectful.
She didn't pull away.
Kasia's voice was quiet.
"He's good."
"He better be."
Twenty minutes passed.
