Adrian walks beside us. Talking. Always talking.
"It'll be better in Mexico. You'll see. We can get married. Start a family. Leave all this behind?—"
"I hate you." The words come out broken. "I hate you so much?—"
"You'll forgive me eventually. You always do. That's who you are, Bianca. Too good. Too forgiving. It's what I love about you."
Okay, I have to think. Dante doesn't know where I am. Won't know until it's too late. By the time Marco tells him I left, bythe time he traces the rideshare, by the time he realizes it was a trap?—
I'll be gone.
And everyone will believe I left willingly. That the escort scandal broke me. That I ran from the shame. With Adrian. That I chose him over Dante, over everything we built together.
The article will make sure of that. It will poison every conversation, every search, every attempt at truth.
I've lost Dante. Lost my job. Lost any chance at the life I was starting to believe I could have.
We all have.
The hangar doors loom closer. Through them, I can see the jet. Stairs down. Engine already running.
This is real. This is happening.
And I can't stop it.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Dante
I walk into the house at 10:32 pm.
The meeting with Carlo went longer than planned. Had to make sure the message was clear. Had to break enough bones that the Bellandis would understand exactly what happens when you threaten what's mine.
My phone has been off for three hours. Standard protocol when handling situations that require focus and no interruptions.
I unlock it.
Seventeen missed calls.
My chest tightens.
Three from Bianca. The first at 9:49 pm. The second at 9:51. The third at 9:52.
Then nothing.
Five from Marco, my head of security. Starting at 10:03 pm and continuing every five minutes.
The rest from Giulio.
Wrong. This is all wrong.
I call Marco first.
He answers on the first ring. "Sir?—"
"Where is she?"
"Miss Mancini left for the clinic at 9:48 pm. Said her mother took a turn. She told me to inform you?—"
