seem like just another ordinary couple. But I knew I couldn't take that risk. If the detectives chose to confirm my story with any of the numerous staff members, they wouldn't hesitate to tell them the ugly truth.
“He came to see me...in my bedroom,” I confessed in a measured voice.
“Your bedroom?” he asked, sounding puzzled. “So, unless I’m misunderstanding something, you’re telling me you and Mr. Damiani sleep separately.”
I arched my eyebrows. “You are not misunderstanding anything.”
He analyzed the revelation for a moment and then broke the silence. “Trouble in paradise?”
I sneered in sarcastic mockery of his question. Paradise was the last word I would use to describe my marriage. Hell was more like it.
“Not at all. It was simply a matter of Alessandro's preference,” I replied, my voice choking around the syllables of his name.
The thought that Reeds might have noticed the true level of my distress terrified me, but showing fear was an option I simply couldn’t afford.
“So, exactly what was Mr. Damiani doing in your bedroom this morning?”
A scary flashback appeared before my eyes, and I swallowed hard. Stay strong. Don't let them see you're scared. “I don't see why this is relevant, but I think you can draw the conclusion for yourself,” I whispered, feigning calmness.
“So, I take it Mr. Damiani is an affectionate man?” Reeds asked with narrowed eyes.
A part of me yearned to scream at them that Mr. Damiani was nothing but a heartless bastard, but I couldn't have said that. It would probably set me on a number one spot on their list of suspects.
“Again, I don't see why this is important, but he is a...civil man and a good husband.” My face settled into a painful grimace as I said the words.
“And yet, you don't seem upset by the possibility you might lose him.”
I wanted to deny it, but couldn’t. If Alessandro survived, even death would have been more merciful than his vengeance.
“I believe she’s in shock,” MacFayden interfered on my behalf.
“Indeed,” Reeds confirmed with a suppressed note of suspicion. “Just one more question and we’ll leave you in peace. Can you tell us if your husband had a lot of enemies?”
More than you can count, detective. “No. Not to my knowledge.”
“Very well, Mrs. Damiani. Thank you for your time. We'll keep in touch,” Reeds said with a smooth smile, and patted me on the shoulder. “Try not to worry too much. The doctors have faith your husband will make it out alive.”
A nervous shiver ran through my body, and I nodded, forcing a weak smile and pretending this terrifying piece of information actually managed to put me at ease.
“Take care. We'll see ourselves out,” Reeds said with a courteous smile and turned to leave.
MacFayden's eyes lingered on me for another second and then he joined his older colleague. When the door closed, the unexpected reality of my situation sank in and I lost it. Fighting to keep the tears at bay, I snatched the large crystal vase on the side table and threw it on the floor. It hit the ground with a loud bang and broke into hundreds of tiny pieces. My frustration culminated, and I screamed into my hands, surrounded by chunks of shattered glass.
Shocked by my total loss of control, I went to the lavatory and washed my face. When I stared at my pale reflection in the mirror, I strived to see determination, but all I saw was the undeniable fear in the depths of my cold grey eyes. I had been holding it together for so long, and was about to fall apart at the seams.
CHAPTER TWO
The Present
A soft knock on the door disrupted my miserable thoughts, and I inhaled a deep breath, inviting whomever was on the other side to enter. The man who emerged behind the door was my second least favorite person in the world—our butler Henry Wyatt. The old, grey-haired man’s unhurried gaze shifted around the room. As he came closer, his piercing blue eyes roamed from the broken mess at my feet, and froze on my feverish face.
“Has something upset you, madam?” That cynical tone was all too familiar.
The bastard knew very well what was wrong, but chose to taunt me with my sad existence all the same. I wanted nothing more than to wipe away that mocking smirk and make him feel just a fracture of my pain so he would never think of ridiculing me again.
“As you must know, I have just received the news of my husband's accident.