Page 170 of My Husband’s New Fiancée

I think back to our endless discussions.

The hours spent considering every possible scenario.

The careful planning required to trap Wald, Bianca, and Peltier without raising suspicion.

Then we built our trap.

And waited for them to walk straight into it.

The hardest part was convincing Dante to let the formula leak.

To him—as to most non-scientists—possessing the formula meant possessing the treatment.

But research doesn’t work like a recipe copied onto a sheet of paper.

A molecule can appear perfect on paper and still become unusable if a single parameter changes during the process. Temperature, chemical stability, reaction time, the exact order of each manipulation… everything matters.

And above all, producing a few milligrams in a laboratory has nothing to do with industrial-scale manufacturing capable of supplying thousands of patients.

That’s where the real difficulty lies.

The file Bianca stole is authentic.

Or almost.

Every scientific detail is accurate except for one thing: the parameters required for industrial production were subtly altered.

A researcher in a hurry will only see a credible, coherent file.

And by the time they discover the problem, they’ll already have invested millions… and left behind enough evidence for the police to bury them for good.

They don’t know it yet, but the trap is already beginning to close around them.

43. Setting Things Straight

Dante

We’re late.

When we arrive at the manor, Valeria greets us with a neutral expression, almost tense. And yet, I thought she’d be pleased with how the plan was progressing. Andrea called to keep me updated.

But something is bothering her.

Even so, when she walks toward me, she manages to be fully present. I pull her against me and kiss her briefly before we join the others around the table.

She talks about Bianca in a voice a little too controlled to sound natural.

The others exchange questioning glances, but no one dares ask anything.

Eventually, Mara takes over.

“I have news,” she announces. “I spotted Bianca as I was leaving the office. She looked over her shoulder before getting into a cab. At the time, I had no idea she already had the files. Her behavior put me on alert, so I followed her. She went to a bar and came back out about fifteen minutes later. When she got into another cab, I stayed behind.”

She pauses.

“Any guesses who walked out five minutes after she did?”

“Peltier,” Valeria guesses.