‘Yes. Something definitely isn’t right.’
‘What do we do, Antonio? We need those permissions to launch, let alone trade. If they’re gone, everything we’ve been working towards has been wasted. Our entire investment … Hundreds of thousands, blown.’
‘I’ll go meet with some of my contacts in Sorrento and see if I can find out what’s going on,’ he reassured her.
‘And I’ll give Hank a call and let him know what’s happening. Maybe he can help somehow.’ Although her lawyer was already fighting another fire. What the hell was going on?
‘Very well. I’ll call as soon as I’ve confirmed a meeting with the authorities. Try not to worry, Kim, we’ll figure this out.’
‘But the launch is this week.’ She couldn’t see how something like this could possibly be sorted in time. ‘Let me know when you’ve arranged the meeting. I want to be there, too. I want to look in the eyes of the people who already approved everything and have them tell me why our permits are suddenly no good.’
‘Let’s hope it does not come to that. I will call you back – soon, I hope.Ciao.’
Kim hung up as outright anger began to course through her veins. Why was all this happening? Who was doing it? And why? She clenched her phone in her hands as she tried to keep calm.
‘What’s wrong?’ Gabriel demanded when he saw the expression on her face. ‘And please don’t say “nothing” this time. I can see it in your face.’
Kim shook her head, fighting back tears. ‘Can we just go?’ she snapped. The response was unintentional but her emotions were raw, and at that moment the last place she wanted to be was somewhere a population who’d had everything had come to a tragic end.
The parallels were way too close.
‘OK, sure. Lily’s hungry and she’s probably tired, too.’
‘I’m sorry,’ she conceded then. ‘Trouble with the centre. Big trouble. I really have to go deal with it.’
‘What’s happened?’
‘All the licences have been revoked. I don’t get it,’ she said angrily. ‘I just don’t understand how this could happen.’
‘But I thought they were all signed and sealed? They took you forever to get.’
‘I know!’
Lily’s head snapped in her direction and she looked fearfully at Kim. ‘Why is Mommy shouting?’
‘All right. Calm down, we’ll talk later,’ Gabriel urged, giving Kim a cautionary glance, and once again she felt bad.
She shouldn’t be taking it out on either of them, but really this wasn’t the time or the place to discuss it.
Gabriel drove and Kim was silent the entire ride back to Sorrento. Her mind was full of questions. Ones for which she had no answers and no clue at all how to get them.
Back at the hotel, Gabriel went to get Lily something to eat and Kim returned to their room.
The moment she entered she was on the phone, making calls to the office, Hank, and every government agency and contact she had in Italy.
‘I don’t like this, Hank,’ she said to her lawyer as she paced the room. ‘I don’t believe in coincidences, and all of this happening at the same time seems a little too convenient.’
‘You think someone’s trying to sabotage Villa Dolce Vita?’
‘Maybe.’
‘You may be right. I’ve had my guys looking into those plagiarism claims and while they seem absolutely convoluted, there’s certainly enough to bring negative attention and publicity if they decide to go public. Which you truly don’t want – not now.’
Someone really was out to ruin this – ruin Kim, even.
But who, and perhaps more importantly, why?
Chapter 42
