I never once heard anyone mention the name Henry, but at this point, I wouldn’t put it past him to have lied to me about his name.
“I brought your luggage in,” he says, snapping me from my thoughts. “Hopefully, whatever you have in there will be enough because I can’t go back to the house. And soon, it won’t matter.”
Right, because he’s going to kill me.
And dead women don’t need clothes.
“If you let me go, you still have time to stop all of this,” I blurt out, desperate to save my life. “When they find you, they’re going to kill you. Is avenging your parents’ deaths worth it?”
I meant to appeal to his emotions, but the moment his jaw tics and the back of his hand connects with the side of my face, I realize the mistake I made. Instead of it coming across as a warning, he took it as a threat.
“I have calls to make, plans to put into place,” Henry says casually, like he didn’t just smack me in the face. “I’ve decided to let you out today. Don’t try to escape. I have men watching the area, and they’ve been instructed to shoot first.”
He rises from the bed, leaves the room, and heads down the hall, and I’m left sitting in the bed alone, my hand soothing thepain radiating down my cheek and jaw, wondering how this is my life.
I spot my luggage in the corner, and since all I want to do is wash the past twenty-four hours off me, I open it up so I can grab some clean clothes.
Rather than shower, I opt for a bath, hoping it will help soothe my nerves. When I graduated and moved home, this is not how I thought my future would go. I should be at Russo Property Group, learning the ropes from my brother. Instead, my only living family is locked up, and my husband is determined to take us down.
I’m gathering up my clothes and toiletries when I see my tablet at the bottom of my luggage.
Holy shit! I forgot all about it!
I look around to make sure Henry isn’t around, and then I wrap my clothes around it and head into the bathroom, locking the door behind me.
The first thing I do is check the battery. It’s good! Next, I see if there’s any Wi-Fi. I hold my breath, praying there is and that it’s not password-protected. A moment later, it pops up, and I’m able to get on it. I try to see if there’s any kind of app that will tell me my location, but there’s not. I only ever use it for reading.
I check my messages since it’s linked to my phone. There are quite a few, but one stands out.
Unknown Number: Hey, it’s Matteo. I’m with your brother in jail. Let us know you’re okay.
I’m about to text back, but stop myself. Henry has my phone, which means he can see these … unless I go into Settings and make sure it’s on silent and the notification alerts are set to off. Then, I make it to where only my email that’s associated with my tablet will get the messages.
I copy and paste the number into a new chat and send him a message.
Me: Hey, it’s Dani. I’m using my tablet, so this is my email. Henry is holding me hostage and has my phone, so don’t text that number. He forgot I have a tablet, and there’s Wi-Fi here. I tried to see if I could find my location on it, but I can’t. Henry isn’t who he said he was. I don’t know who he is, but he forced me to sign over my POA to him after ordering someone to have my brother beat up in jail and then telling me if I didn’t sign, he would have Lo killed. So, now, he has complete access to the company. He said he wants to destroy it as vengeance for his parents’ deaths. But I don’t know who his parents are. He’s also blackmailing Michael, so you can’t trust him.
I don’t mention anything about what Henry has done to me or that he’s planning to kill me because there’s nothing they can do from behind bars, and the last thing I want is to stress my brother out even more.
And then I remember what he wrote:I’m with your brother in jail.
What the heck? Matteo’s in jail too? This is insane!
Me: Why are you in jail? Was it Henry’s doing?
While I wait for Matteo’s reply, I start to fill the tub with hot water, adding some bubble bath I found in my toiletry bag.
I climb into the hot water and lean back, inhaling a deep breath. One minute, I was mourning the loss of my parents, and the next, I’m married to a man who is out to get my family and end my life.
I click on the Messages app and find a reply.
Matteo: Thank you for that info. I’m being charged with money laundering. Most likely bullshit to put me behind bars. My guy confirmed Henry is using someone else’s identity, but we don’t know who he actually is. Dominick tried to find you, but the house was empty. Are you okay?
Shit…
I debate whether to tell the truth, but instead, I ask a question of my own.
Me: Why are you both still in jail?
