Interrogating The Leaf III

"What matters is if you wish to return home alive..." 

"You see, although you're an Elite, your parents love you, yes? It is quite unusual, families like yours usually have a lot of infighting, but you're the only child…" 

"It would make sense for them to place such a high level of importance on you."

Stepping closer to her, Emir continued:

"But even so, it seems that you weren't important enough to warrant them showing weakness; after all, doing that would lose the family more than just its face but its standing."

"So now that you understand the current circumstances you're in, I've got a few questions to ask of you…" 

Aria's face contorted into a mix of anger and defiance, her usual retorts and challenges forming on the tip of her tongue.

But before she could let her words fly, something in the man's demeanor gave her pause.