Chapter 4 - The Woman Who Was Supposed to Disappear
The driver reversed before Vittorio reached them.
Their second escort vehicle swung across the road, blocking the police.
“Hold on.”
The sedan shot backward.
Nadine grabbed the seat.
Celeste screamed.
They escaped through a service road and disappeared into wooded hills.
Only when the lights vanished behind them did Nadine breathe again.
“Why does Vittorio want me?”
Nobody answered.
Three hours later, they reached an isolated house.
Adrian Vale was waiting.
He was not what Nadine expected.
No theatrical menace.
No visible weapon.
Just a tall dark-haired man in a charcoal sweater standing beneath a porch light.
He looked at Nadine’s belly first.
Then her face.
“You’re safe here.”
“People keep saying that.”
“Then I won’t ask you to believe me.”
She liked that answer more than she wanted to.
Inside, a doctor examined her.
The baby was fine.
Nadine finally confronted Adrian.
“You’re Dante’s brother.”
Adrian went still.
“So you opened the envelope.”
“Yes.”
“Does Dante know?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t he kill you?”
Adrian smiled without humor.
“He tried.”
The story emerged slowly.
Salvatore Castellano had fathered Adrian during an affair. Vittorio had hidden the truth after Salvatore’s death because acknowledging Adrian would divide the family empire.
Years later, Adrian learned who he was.
Dante learned too.
Their war began.
But Adrian insisted the war was no longer about inheritance.
“Vittorio is moving weapons through legitimate Castellano companies,” he said.
Nadine stared.
“Dante’s companies?”
“Without Dante’s approval.”
“Why wouldn’t Dante stop him?”
“He tried.”
Nadine thought of Dante’s fear.
The extra guards.
The surveillance.
“Then why didn't he tell me?”
“Because your husband believes protecting someone means controlling what they know.”
That sounded painfully accurate.
“And my baby?”
Adrian hesitated.
“What about her?”
“Vittorio needs a legitimate Castellano heir.”
Nadine stood.
“Why?”
“Because Dante changed his estate documents.”
She stared.
“If Dante dies, controlling shares pass into trust for your daughter.”
Her hand moved to her stomach.
“And I control the trust.”
“Yes.”
Nadine understood.
“That’s why Vittorio wants me.”
Adrian nodded.
“You were never supposed to disappear forever.”
“What does that mean?”
“He needs your signature first.”
“And afterward?”
Adrian did not answer.
He didn’t have to.
That night, Nadine couldn't sleep.
She walked downstairs.
Adrian was in the kitchen.
“You knew I was pregnant,” she said.
“Yes.”
“You knew about the kiss.”
“Yes.”
“Did you arrange it?”
“No.”
“Did you arrange for me to see it?”
Adrian looked at her.
“No.”
“Who did?”
“I don’t know.”
A floorboard creaked.
Celeste stood in the doorway.
Her face was white.
“I do.”
Nadine turned.
Celeste held Dante’s missing recording necklace.
“I lied about losing this.”
“Why?”
“Because the recording isn’t of Dante.”
She pressed play.
A man's voice filled the kitchen.
Vittorio.
Then another voice answered him.
Nadine recognized it immediately.
May you like
The bodyguard who had helped her escape.
And what he said next made Adrian reach for his gun…
