Chapter 1
Paolo handed Ava back to Elise before he asked another question.
The baby was crying, but she appeared unharmed. Elise held her against her chest and backed toward the terrace wall as if she no longer trusted anyone standing near her.
Paolo turned to the bodyguards.
“Take my mother to the library. Talia goes to the east sitting room. Separate.”
Carmela straightened her jacket.
“You will not imprison your mother in her own family’s house.”
“The house is mine.”
That stopped her.
Talia was being helped upright beside the damaged champagne stand.
“You hit your own sister.”
“You tried to get past me.”
“Because you were acting insane.”
Paolo ignored her.
His attention returned to Elise.
“Who told you I was dead?”
She swallowed.
“Your mother.”
Carmela’s expression barely changed.
“When?”
“This afternoon.”
“How?”
“She said there’d been an accident upstate. She said your car went off the road and nobody survived.”
Paolo looked at Carmela.
His mother said, “That is what I was told.”
“By who?”
Carmela hesitated.
“Talia.”
Every face turned.
Talia stopped moving.
Paolo looked between them.
“And who told you?”
Talia rubbed her jaw.
“A man from the trip.”
“Name.”
“I don’t remember.”
“You heard my brother was dead,” Elise said, “and you don’t remember who called?”
Talia glared at her.
Paolo stepped between them.
“Enough.”
He had returned a day early because a meeting near Albany had been canceled. He had not called ahead. The decision had been made less than three hours earlier.
Almost nobody knew he was coming home.
More importantly, no accident had happened.
His SUV had developed a serious mechanical problem that morning and had been left at a repair shop outside Kingston. Paolo and his driver transferred to another vehicle.
That was all.
No crash.
No deaths.
No emergency call.
Yet by midafternoon, Carmela had told Elise he was dead.
Paolo slowly picked up his travel bag from beside the terrace doors.
Inside was the service receipt from the disabled SUV.
He placed it on the table.
“My car never went off the road.”
Talia looked at Carmela.
The same terrified glance Paolo had noticed when he first entered.
This time, he understood what bothered him about it.
May you like
Neither woman had looked confused when they saw him alive.
They had looked disappointed.
