“Then he loses everything! At least we’ll be free of you!”
I run upstairs before he can respond. Lock myself in my room. Lean against the door and slide to the floor.
He planned everything for three years. Every moment of this marriage was calculated. I believed him. I fell for him. I let myself think maybe this could work. And it was all a lie.
I pull out my phone with shaking hands and call my mother.
“Anna? Is everything alright?”
“No. Nothing is alright. I need you and Papa to come get me. Now. Today.”
“What happened?”
“I found documents in Luca’s study. He’s been planning this for three years. The debt, the marriage, all of it. He engineered everything to take Papa’s company.”
Silence on the other end.
“Mama?”
“I’ll call your father. We’ll be there in an hour.” She hangs up.
I sit on the floor of my locked bedroom in my husband’s house and finally let myself cry.
27
LUCA
Pavel is waitingin the foyer when I return from the meeting. His expression tells me everything before he says a word.
“She’s gone,” he says.
“Gone where?”
“Viktor and Svetlana came for her two hours ago. She packed bags for herself and the twins. They left together.”
“Did she say anything?”
“To the staff? No. Just asked them to help carry luggage to the car. Security footage shows her parents arrived at two forty-seven. They were gone by three fifteen.”
I check my watch. It’s barely past five now. They’ve had less than two hours.
“Her parents’ house?”
“Most likely.”
I head toward the garage. Pavel follows.
“Do you want backup?” he asks.
“No. This is family business.”
“She took the old acquisition documents. The ones from three years ago.”
I stop walking. “How do you know?”
“Security noticed your study door was open when it’s usually closed. I checked. The Kestrel Maritime files were disturbed. The three-year plan is missing from the drawer.”
“She took it with her.”
