Chapter 2
Ramona recovered first.
Her shoulders relaxed.
That annoyed Lorenzo more than panic would have.
“She was leaving.”
Alina stared at her.
“What?”
Ramona lifted her chin.
“You heard me.”
Alina stepped forward, but Lorenzo’s hand moved lightly against her wrist.
Not restraint.
A question.
She stopped.
Ramona continued.
“Maybe your wife forgot to tell you.”
Lorenzo’s eyes settled on her face.
“Careful.”
The word was quiet.
Ramona’s smile returned anyway.
“That’s always been your problem, Lorenzo. Everyone becomes afraid before they finish telling you the truth.”
Alina’s breathing sharpened.
Marcus watched her.
Not Lorenzo.
That was another detail.
Anthony returned to the suite with two bodyguards.
This time he carried a folded sheet of stationery.
“We found this inside the desk.”
Lorenzo took it.
The note was short.
It said Alina could no longer live inside the Carbone world.
That she feared what Lucy was becoming around it.
That she had taken enough money to start over.
That Lorenzo should not follow.
At the bottom:
Alina.
Lorenzo read it twice.
Then handed it to her.
Alina’s face drained of color.
“I didn't write this.”
Ramona laughed.
Her eyes glittered.
“Of course.”
Alina looked at Lorenzo.
Her voice came out thin.
“I didn't.”
Lorenzo watched her eyes.
Not the paper.
“I know.”
Marcus’s mouth tightened.
Lorenzo saw that too.
Alina looked down again.
Then stopped.
Her thumb moved over the signature.
Her breathing changed.
“Wait.”
Lorenzo leaned closer.
“What?”
Her fingers began to tremble.
“The signature…”
She swallowed.
“…is mine.”
The terrace seemed to contract around them.
Ramona smiled fully now.
Lorenzo’s gaze dropped to the page.
Alina whispered:
“I signed this exact name on something else three weeks ago.”
She looked up.
“My anniversary letter to you.”
May you like
Lorenzo went completely still.
That letter had never left their bedroom.
