I answered cautiously. "Marco."
"Emilio. Are you somewhere private?"
The tone of his voice—serious, almost concerned—made my pulse quicken. "I'm at my office. Alone. What's wrong?"
"I'm calling because despite everything, I don't want to see you blindsided." He took a breath. "The DA's office knows about your relationship with Vitale. They're planning to use it during the trial."
"Use it how?"
"They're going to argue that Vitale has a pattern of corrupting people around him. His attorney. His employees. His business partners. They'll point to your relationship as evidence that he manipulates and controls anyone who gets close to him." Marco's voice was carefully neutral. "Roberto's building a narrative that Vitale identified you as vulnerable—drowning in debt, recent divorce, isolated—and systematically compromised you. Paid off your loans. Bought you expensive things. Made you dependent on him."
My hands tightened on the phone. "That's not what happened."
"Doesn't matter if it's true. It's a story that plays well with juries. Wealthy criminal targets struggling attorney, corrupts him, proves he corrupts everyone." He paused. "They're going tomake you look like his victim. Or his co-conspirator. Either way, it damages Vitale's defense."
"I withdrew from the case specifically to avoid conflicts of interest. The relationship started—"
"When?" Marco's question was quiet. "Be honest, Emilio. When did it really start?"
I was silent. Because Marco knew the answer. We'd been married for five years. He could read me better than almost anyone.
"That's what I thought," he said. "Look, I'm not judging. Your personal life is your business. But the DA's office has investigators. They're going to dig. If they can prove the relationship started while you were his attorney, they'll use it to suggest you were compromised from the beginning."
"Why are you warning me? You work for the DA's office. This is your case too."
"I'm not on the Vitale prosecution. I recused myself because of our history." He sighed. "And I'm calling because you were a good man when I knew you. Maybe you still are. I don't know. But you deserve to know what's coming."
"Thank you. For the warning."
"Emilio?" His voice softened slightly. "I meant what I said at the fundraiser. I hope it was worth it. Whatever you've got with Vitale. I hope it's worth everything you're sacrificing."
He hung up before I could respond.
I sat staring at my phone, processing the implications. The DA was going to make my relationship with Sandro a focal point of the trial. Use it to paint him as a manipulator. Use me as evidence of his corrupting influence.
Diana's defense strategy assumed the relationship was irrelevant to the charges. But if the prosecution made it relevant—made me part of the narrative—everything changed.
I called Sandro. He answered on the second ring despite the background noise suggesting he was somewhere crowded.
"Emilio. Everything okay?"
"Marco just called. The DA's office is planning to use our relationship during your trial. They're going to argue you corrupted me as evidence of a pattern of corrupting everyone around you."
Silence. Then: "Hold on."
I heard him excuse himself from whatever conversation he'd been having. The background noise faded. A door closed.
"Okay. I'm alone. Tell me exactly what Marco said."
I repeated the conversation. Every detail. Every implication. When I finished, Sandro was quiet for a long moment.
"We expected this," he said finally. "Diana's already prepared to argue that you withdrew from representation specifically to avoid any appearance of impropriety. The relationship started after you were no longer counsel of record. There's no ethical violation because there's no professional relationship."
"Sandro, that's not entirely true. We slept together while I was still your attorney. Multiple times. If they can prove that—"
"They can't prove it. There's no evidence. No witnesses. No documentation." His voice was steady. Confident. "Nobody knows except us. And we're not telling anyone."
"What if they subpoena hotel records? Credit card statements? What if there's evidence we're not thinking of?"
