Page 4 of Bad Husband

“That is the real video footage that was under Chiara’s image,” he said.

Angelo took a step forward, and Marco continued to stroke his wedding gift from his wife.

“That’s not Chiara,” he said.

“No, it’s Gabrielle.” This was a betrayal.

He and Gabrielle had been friends since they were kids. His father had told him he could have his fun with Gabrielle, but they would never be anything more than fun. Whereas he liked Gabrielle as a sister, there was never any romantic entanglement for him. She was the daughter of one of his father’s closest soldiers. Gabrielle was never going to be in any position of power. She was a friend, nothing more. Marco had provided for her, offering her a well-paying job, but Gabrielle had claimed to have too much pride.

He should have known. Gabrielle liked money. She enjoyed shopping, and it grieved her she would never have a rich capo as a husband. He thought Gabrielle and Chiara had become friends, and for his wife, that might be the case. But Gabrielle had stabbed Chiara in the back. That was why she was able to get a lot of images of his wife. She’d been close enough to take them. Gabrielle had been working for the Andante.

“Where is she?” Angelo asked.

“On her way here. I have a few soldiers picking her up. Henry is already down in the basement.”

Henry was the man he put in charge of Chiara’s safety. The same man who had sold out Chiara for a taste of Gabrielle’s pussy. He’d already given a great deal away when it came to Gabrielle. She wanted Marco, that was what Henry told him. Gabrielle wanted to take out the competition so she could have Marco. That was never going to happen.

Angelo put a hand to his face and ran it down. “What the fuck have you done?”

Marco was not going to think about his wife. He had Paulie on the situation so he could locate her. Right now, he wasn’t in a good mood. He was in a very pissed off mood and wanted all of this to be over. To go back six months and not react to that video footage.

“Please, I swear it wasn’t me. I don’t know what I’ve been accused of, but it wasn’t me. I swear. Daddy, please...”

Those words haunted him. Many nights he stayed awake thinking about what he had done. The men had hurt her in trying to find out the truth, but Chiara hadn’t caved. She refused to scream or beg, or cry. She held her head high, even as he punished her with banishment. Now he knew why.

His wife had been completely innocent, and now she was out there, at risk. That was part of her banishment. If she revealed who she was, there was a chance she could die. He now needed to figure out exactly where his wife was, before someone else found her.

“I knew it,” Angelo said. “I fucking knew it.” He started to pace the main office.

“You need to remain calm.”

“Don’t tell me what I should or shouldn’t fucking do. This is a freaking nightmare.” He shook his head. “My daughter is out there and has been for six months, with no support. No money. Nothing. A complete and total banishment, and you’re telling me to remain calm.” He pulled out his cell phone. “I need to figure out where she was taken. We need to know where she would go.”

“Right now, we need to deal with Gabrielle. When she arrives, I need you to cover the office door. I want her to face the lies she tried to weave.” He was not in a good place. He was fucking fuming.

When Gabrielle arrived, it took every ounce of strength not to lash out and bring this to a close right then and there. Her hair was larger than life, the brown locks blown out, and she had on a lot of makeup. So much that he imagined if he put a finger to her cheek, the foundation would gather on the tip of his finger. Just the sight of her sickened him. He wanted to kill her. Even her red nails offended him. She wore a revealing dress, some kind of animal print, with part of her bra showing, as her tits were pretty much on full display. She wore a fake fur coat, and she was also chewing gum. She was the complete opposite of his wife.

Chiara was beautiful. An angel amongst animals. He missed her. He had fucked up big time, and he had no idea how he was ever going to win her back.

Rather than speak to Gabrielle, he leaned forward and pressed “play” on the video, and watched all of that cocky attitude drain away.

****

Chiara held a coaster and fanned at her face. They were going through a heat wave, and it seemed like No Point was in fact the center of all that was hell and hot.

The diner was all but empty as people preferred to take their food outside. She couldn’t blame them as they were waiting for Martin to come and fix the AC, so she was sweating. She had to keep sneaking back into the staff room to give herself a spritz of deodorant as she feared she would start to smell. Rosemary had to keep leaving the kitchen, and Chiara rushed back to help her when she could. Heather was also moody.

“This is shit,” Heather said. “And hot.”

“I thought you liked the hot weather.”

“Only when I can go home, enjoy it in a bikini, or be fucking naked. This is way too hot.” She wrinkled her nose. “No one wants to go into the bathrooms either, so I can’t make any extra money.”

Chiara tried not to show any sign that she was even a little disgusted about what Heather got up to in the bathroom. That was on Heather, not her. She instead tried to smile through it.

“Are you seeing anyone yet?” Heather asked. “I could set you up with someone.”

“No, thank you.”