“I can’t really talk about that right now, but I’ll fill you in over dinner.”
“Oh Leo, you can’t imagine how happy this makes me.”
“I know, babe.”
“I love you so much.”
“I love you, too.”
My secretary, Mariella, poked her head in my door. “I’ve got to go. See you soon.”
After I hung up, I waved Mariella inside. She held out a manila envelope to me. “This just came for you.”
“Thanks.”
As she strode out of my office, I eased down in my chair and prepared for potentially more bad news. After popping open the metal prong on the envelope, I slid out the contents. My breath hitched at an enlarged photo.
It was Drea and some hulking blond jock-looking guy on a dance floor. Her leg was thrown over his hip while his head was buried in her cleavage. Seeing someone else with his hands on my wife sent rage convulsing through me.
No, it couldn’t be. Drea would never cheat on me. She loved me. She’d married me and was having my child.
With a shuddering breath, my gaze fell on a time stamp in the corner that was circled in red. It stood out because it was like a week after the bombing at Inferno, which meant it was before we were married.
Tossing it onto the desk, I stared down at the next paper. It was test results from a clinic.
A Planned Parenthood in Philadelphia.
Every molecule in my body shattered, sending a harsh shudder through me.
It was the results of a pregnancy test dated the week before our wedding.
Drea was pregnant when we married.
Luca wasn’t mine.
With a shaky hand, I flicked to the next page. It was a typed note.
I can assure you this is all true and not manufactured. Should you doubt me, ask your father-in-law.
He knows.
If you continue to pursue the property, your wife’s secret will become known to the world.
I don’t know how long I sat there staring at the letter. Although he hadn’t seen fit to sign it, I knew it was Vincent. Who the hell else would be trying to blackmail me into silence?
Rising out of my chair, I grabbed up the contents and stuffed them back in the envelope. After storming out of my office, I didn’t even stop at Mariella’s desk.
“Cancel my afternoon,” I called as I started for the elevator.
“Yes, Mr. Neretti.”
After glancing at Drea’s tracer on my phone, I instructed Gulio to head to the gallery. It was the longest twenty minutes of my life. My mind kept the same thoughts on repeat.
Luca wasn’t mine.
He belonged to a stranger.
Drea had lied to me every single day for the last eight months of our marriage.