Luca shook his head and pressed his flesh, wincing at the spot where Jeffrey had had him gripped in a chokehold. Jeffrey had deliberately compressed the arteries delivering blood to his brain, which knocked him out in seconds. Luca had begun to stir again by the time Jeffrey had dragged him to the top of the stairs and Jeffrey had known that it was too much of a risk if he asphyxiated him too many times or for too long. So he’d swapped strangulation for an electroshock weapon he had last used on Harry before stabbing him with a screwdriver. It fired two sharp darts into Luca’s neck so that its current disrupted his muscle control. By holding the trigger for long enough, a disorientated Luca had slipped into unconsciousness again. Jeffrey had had little choice but to repeat the action each time Luca had begun to rouse. The final attack had come when Jeffrey had spotted Noah’s car pulling up on the drive.
Now, Jeffrey held Luca’s face in his hands and brought it so close to his own that he could feel the warmth emitted by Luca’s tears.
‘Your marriage wasn’t destined to survive,’ Jeffrey continued gently. ‘You couldn’t see how unhappy you were until I showed you how much better things could be without Noah. Earlier today you told me that you haven’t laughed like we have in ages. There’s no reason why that can’t continue, is there? Let me take care of you. Let me love you like Noah couldn’t. I’ll be your Babe and you can be my Ziggy.’
He had finally said it. Jeffrey had admitted he loved Luca. His heart jackhammered.
‘What did you say?’ Luca asked.
Jeffrey swallowed hard. ‘I asked you to let me love you. If you give us a chance, then something positive can come of this mess. We both want the same things out of life – a relationship, marriage, a family – Noah was rejecting all of that. You and me . . . there’s a connection there, I know you feel it like I do . . . together, you and I can have all of it and more.’
Luca shook his head. ‘No, no, we need to get Noah help.’
He went to move his arms, but Jeffrey held him back. Luca was too weak to make it a challenge.
‘Please let me go,’ he begged.
‘I can’t, not until you accept that I have your best interests at heart.’
‘I don’t love you, Jeffrey,’ Luca wept. ‘I love Noah.’
‘For now, maybe, but it won’t always be like that. You can grow to love me. We don’t even have to touch; we can be intimate in other ways. If you want others to join us, I don’t even have to take part, I can just watch. I’m used to it.’
‘No, no, you don’t understand . . . we only spent time together because we were lonely. I thought you knew that.’
Jeffrey shifted his body away from Luca’s. His words wounded as deeply as when he’d heard them from the mouths of others. Had he really got this so wrong, or was Luca confused?
‘Luca, you’re upset, you’re not thinking straight,’ he said in desperation.
Luca suddenly caught his reflection in a mirror and, for the first time, realized he was naked. He tried to pull the duvet from the bed to hide his modesty. ‘Why am I . . .?’ he began, but, as he looked up to Jeffrey, he registered Noah’s blood on the wall behind him.
Jeffrey’s hope began to deflate as Luca slotted the pieces of the puzzle together. And Jeffrey saw their future together slipping through his fingers.
‘You . . . you hurt Noah, didn’t you?’ Luca asked. ‘And me . . . I remember . . . you had your hands around my neck . . .’
Gradually, Luca began pushing himself up against the wardrobe. But he was still weak and kept sliding back down to the carpet.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey caught sight of an email icon flashing on his watch. Assuming it to be another message from Adrian, he was about to dismiss it until the sender’s name caught his eye. It was from the Match Your DNA domain name. And the three words in the subject title knocked him for six.
‘You’ve been Matched!’
83
Corrine
Days had passed since Corrine had last seen her husband.The last she had heard from Mitchell was the morning he and key members of his finance team were to meet with lawyers to discuss the next step after his Government contracts were cancelled, leaving him insolvent. It was to be followed by a series of appointments across the country to discuss various incomplete projects and the appointment of liquidators.
Corrine was torn over how she should feel. Eleanor Harrison had double-crossed her, leaving the family penniless. But Corrine was savvy enough to realize that, by erasing from the Cloud the incriminating video of the altercation that left Harrison injured, it had brought to an end the hold Mitchell had over her. Corrine was no longer forced to remain in a loveless marriage. The timing left a lot to be desired but she had nevertheless filed for divorce again, this time citing irreconcilable differences and not domestic abuse. She had heard through her lawyer that Mitchell had agreed not to contest it, allowing a faster expedition. Harrison had inadvertently given Corrine her freedom.
There was much Corrine and Mitchell hadn’t discussed with their children in recent weeks – the sudden halt to their first separation, why Corrine had returned to him and now a second attempt at divorce. And now they had another secret to hide. They were not going to tell the children what had happened to the family finances until alternative accommodations had been decided upon and Mitchell had been informed of the personal items the insolvency practitioner would allow them to keep.
There were seven weeks and four days left inside the house she had just pulled up outside of. In all likelihood, she would soon be swapping New Northampton for the Old part of town. But it was a change she was going to embrace, not shy away from.
Corrine’s only regret was that Harrison was going to escape punishment for her sexual assaults. Even if Corrine persuaded the two victims she knew of to make police statements, along with her and Nathan, with no video footage or DNA evidence, a criminal case was unlikely, especially once Harrison’s legal team became involved. Now the MP knew she was being watched, she was likely taking extra precautions. Corrine could only hope that, one day, Harrison would make an error in judgement and assault the wrong person who had the means to expose her.
Corrine left her car – another possession likely to be handed over to creditors soon – and began to make her way inside to start the online hunt for rental properties and jobs. Before the front door opened, she heard a vehicle’s tyres on the road behind her, followed by a familiar voice calling her name.
‘Yan!’ Corrine exclaimed as she turned.
