With my heart lodged in my throat, I reach the warehouse in less than twenty minutes, breaking every traffic law in the city to get here. I press my hand on the hidden reader and let it scan my hand. Denied.
What the fuck? I wipe my hand and place it again. A green light appears, and the door opens. As soon as I reach them, all eyes turn to me.
“You look like shit.” Marco runs his eyes over my body.
“Thank you. I feel worse.”
“What happened?” Salvatore inspects me with a scrutinizing look on his face.
I sigh and bury my face in my hands. “I have no recollection of what happened in the last two days.”
“How is that possible?”
I look over at Salvatore. “The last thing I remember is that I was at the fight, and after we cleared things out, I was on my way to see Valentina in the ring, when I received a message from an unknown number, that I’m sure belongs to Victor, saying this isn’t over, this is just the beginning."
Salvatore’s razor-sharp gaze catches mine. “Beginning of what?”
“Of my downfall.”
“What happened next?”
I inhale sharply. “Instead of going to my wife, I made a mistake and went to question Naomi as she was rolled into an ambulance.” I shake my head. “After that, I don’t remember anything. I woke up two hours ago in some shitty hotel room on the other side of town with Naomi in the bed.”
A whistle comes from Marco, but I focus on Salvatore’s suspicion-narrowed eyes. “How did that happen?”
I shake my head. “I wish I knew.”
Marco chuckles, mocking me. “How do you end up in bed with your ex but you don’t remember it?”
I look into the distance. “I think I was drugged. Otherwise, how would I be out for two days?”
Salvatore nods. “That’s a valid point.”
Marco tilts his head, his brows rising. “So, you wouldn’t end up in bed with your ex willingly? Old flames rekindled and all.”
“No!” I snap.
He raises his hands in the air. “Okay, take it easy. I was just asking.”
I look at Salvatore. “The strangest thing is the message I got from Valentina.”
I can’t do this with you anymore. I know you love Naomi; you deserve to be with her. You shouldn’t have married me.
Goodbye, Gabriel.
“She wouldn’t do that. This isn't the Valentina I know.” They all look at me, questioning my sanity. “Don’t look at me like I don’t know what I’m talking about. I called Nico. He isn’t answering. I need to go to Chicago.”
“This is not good. It could cost us the alliance with De Angelo.” Salvatore narrows his eyes at me.
“I don’t fucking care about the alliance now! All I want is to find my wife, no matter what.”
“I hear you, Gabriel,” he says, his voice tight with restraint. “That’s why you need to go and find her first. Take the jet and go. We'll look and see what we can find. After that, we’ll deal with the fallout.”
I refreshed and changed on the plane before I showed up at De Angelo’s door. I ring the bell and pray to God that Valentina opens it. The same green eyes stare at me, but she has different hair, and she’s wearing a long, flowery dress. She cocks her head to the side, and her brows furrow as she looks behind my back. “Gabriel?”
Chiara, Valentina’s sister, stands at the door. My shoulders hunch in disappointment.
“Chiara. I need to see Valentina.”
