Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 102833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
“You’re lying,” I choke out.
“Fine.” He shrugs, steps back, and pulls out his phone. He dials a number and then puts the phone to his ear, his eyes never leaving mine. “The moment Russo is behind bars, teach him a lesson.”
“No!” I yell.
I lunge toward him in an attempt to grab the phone from him, but it’s too late. He’s already hung up.
“Call him back!”
“It’s done,” he says, pocketing his phone. “This time, it will only be a beating, but if you don’t start cooperating, it’ll be his death.”
“Why are you doing this?” I cry out, wondering how I was so naive to think the man I married was a good guy.
“You don’t need to worry about it,” he says, walking back over to the papers. “All you need to know is that your brother will be signing his power of attorney over to you and you’ll be signing it over to me.”
Oh my God. I feel sick. He wants access to our family’s company.
“Why?” I breathe out. “If you’d just asked, I could’ve talked to Lorenzo. He would’ve gotten you a job here.”
Henry barks out a laugh. “I don’t want a job here,” he hisses. “I want to destroy this company. And thanks to you, I’m going to do just that.”
He steps closer to me and grips my chin between his thumb and forefinger, squeezing my cheeks so hard that pain radiates through me. “You made it too damn easy,” he murmurs. “The moment Michael told me your father had added you to his will, my plan formed. I must admit, seducing you took more effort than I’d thought. For a fat bitch, you were hard to get under my thumb. But I gotta give it to you—you made me work for it.”
“Fuck you!” I spit, backing away from his touch.
“Been there, done that, and sorry, darling, but you’re not that good in bed.”
His words shouldn’t hurt me, but they do. As a plus-size woman, I’ve always been self-conscious about my weight. It doesn’t matter that I eat healthy and try to work out regularly—being on the thicker side is my norm.
I’ve had a couple of boyfriends, and even though they always told me I was pretty, they’d constantly make comments about my weight, offering suggestions on what I should do to lose it.
But I thought Henry was different. He never once said a negative thing about my size, but now, I know it’s because he was only using me, so he didn’t care how I looked.
“You ready to sign?” Henry asks, taking his phone out of his pocket. “Or do we need to do it the hard way?”
Wordlessly, I walk over to the paperwork and read the top sheet, stating that I’m giving him power of attorney. I lift the pen resting on the paperwork, and as I scribble my signature at each spot where a tab indicates where to sign, my heart cracks. This was my father’s pride and joy, then Lorenzo’s. And because of my horrible decision to marry a man who has been using me, I’m destroying everything they’ve worked for.
When I sign the last sheet, a sob breaks free. I drop the pen and walk away, but before I can get far, Henry grabs my biceps, halting me.
“Sorry, darling, but you’re not going anywhere.”
“What else could you possibly want from me?”
“It isn’t personal,” Henry says. “But if I let you go, I lose my leverage because we both know you’ll run straight to your brother and spill everything you know to him.”
“So, you’re going to hold me hostage?”
“Like I said, it isn’t personal.” He glances back at Michael. “File the paperwork, and I’ll be in touch.”
He grips my biceps harder, and then a man I don’t recognize approaches me, holding a—
“Stop!” I shriek as a black bag is placed over my head at the same time my hands are forced behind my back.
“C’mon, wife,” Henry says as I scream down the place despite nobody being around to hear me. “It’s time to get the party started.”
7
Matteo
“Are you fucking kidding me? What do you mean, my bail has been denied?”
Michael swallows thickly. “I’m sorry. I tried, but the judge denied it.”
Holy shit. This can’t be happening. I’ve only been arrested a handful of times over the years, but it’s never stuck. For the judge to deny me bail … this isn’t good.
“Be straight with me,” I say to my attorney. “Are the charges going to stick?”
“I don’t know,” he says, his left eye twitching. “But I’m going to do everything I can to make sure they don’t.”
Michael has been our attorney since Andrey died and Dominick and Giuseppe cut ties with everyone connected to him, not wanting to risk any misplaced loyalty to Andrey or the people he associated with. For the past five years, he’s been someone we can trust. He’s without a doubt one of the best attorneys I’ve ever seen in action, which is why Dominick and Lorenzo have him on retainer and pay him the money they do.