Betrayed at the Altar, I Married a Powerful Rival novel · Chapter 19 of 24

Chapter 19: Paola

Ruggeri called Federico's phone at nine that night, and Federico put it on speaker in the study.

"Mr. Orsini." The old voice was perfectly pleasant. "I believe a friend of your wife's is staying with me."

"Let her go," Federico said.

"The notebook, the recording and the bait paper, delivered to me by noon tomorrow. Then she walks home with her teeth."

"And if I bring them?"

"Then we will talk peace on Saturday, like gentlemen."

He hung up.

Federico stood with his hand flat on the desk and said nothing for a long minute.

"Which warehouse?" I asked.

"I have six on my list," he said. "He could be in any of them."

"He isn't in any of yours."

The guard at the door cleared his throat.

"Sir. Mr. Sabatini is at the gate."

Federico's face went hard.

"Let me guess," he said.

Dario stood on the gravel in the dark, in a black coat, with no weapon and no driver.

"They have her at the third berth," he said. "Ruggeri Marine Haulage, the container yard behind the old cold storage. The office over the loading bay."

"How do you know?" Federico asked.

"Because I used to keep people there for the boss."

Nobody spoke.

"Four men on the gate," Dario said. "They were my crew. They'll open for me if I walk in alone. They won't open for you."

"They'll kill you."

"They might." He looked at me, and then he looked away. "Gianna, she kept your drawings in her safe when I told her to burn them. She never asked me why."

I thought about Paola at twelve, handing me half of her lunch on the school steps.

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