Page 85 of Righteous Enforcer

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Unless there wasn't one.

My stomach drops as a new thought forms.

What if she went to them willingly?

What if everything, her fear, her desperation, even her passion for me, was all an act?

What if starting with Dmitri’s telling me about Eva was a setup?

I rush back to my room, looking for any clue, any hint of where she might have gone.

I yank open drawers, finding nothing missing except…

My wallet.

It's sitting empty, nearly all the cash gone, almost five thousand dollars.

She ran. Again.

I slam my fist into the wall, plaster cracking under the impact.

Pain shoots through my knuckles, but I don’t register it.

I don’t feel anything but rage at being duped again.

All this time, I'd been trying to protect her, to make her feel safe, to earn her trust.

I opened my home to her, welcomed our daughter with open arms.

I'd even started to imagine a future together, despite everything.

What a fucking fool I've been.

Did she ever care?

Or was I just the most convenient protection until she could figure out her next move?

I think of all the moments together.

The picnic.

Playing with Mirabella.

At night in my bed.

Was any of it real?

I suppose it doesn’t matter now. What matters is that no one betrays the Dantes twice and lives to tell about it.

Even if she is the mother of my child.

Even if she still owns pieces of my heart.

I find Alessandro in his office, his face already set in that knowing expression I've come to hate. No point dragging this out.

"She's gone." The admission is another thing I can resent Eva for. She’s made me look like a fucking sap in front of my brother.

"Of course she is."

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