Chapter 7 - The Mistress Who Became a Witness
For months, I had imagined confronting Valentina Russo.
I had imagined telling her exactly what she'd taken from me.
My trust.
My marriage.
My memories.
I had imagined watching her finally understand the damage she'd caused.
What I had never imagined was standing beside her mother while investigators searched for her.
Catherine Vale had already lost twenty years with her daughter.
I couldn't bear the thought of watching her lose the rest.
I sat beside Catherine at the facility while Thomas coordinated with the investigators.
"Do you hate her?" Catherine asked quietly.
I looked at her.
"She slept with my husband."
Catherine lowered her eyes.
"I know."
"She came into my home. Ate at my table. Smiled at me."
"I'm sorry."
I shook my head.
"You don't have to apologize for what she did."
Catherine looked at me with tears in her eyes.
"She's my daughter."
"I know."
"And I don't want to lose her again."
I reached for her hand.
"Neither do I."
I meant it.
I didn't forgive Valentina.
Not then.
But I didn't want her dead.
That afternoon, investigators found security footage showing Valentina entering a parking garage with a man wearing a gray coat.
The man was identified as a former employee of Whitcomb's private security company.
His name was Nathan Cross.
He had worked for Charles Whitcomb for almost fifteen years.
The footage showed Valentina arguing with him.
Then entering a vehicle.
It wasn't clear whether she went willingly.
Alessandro arrived at Thomas's office that evening.
I hadn't seen him since our conversation outside Rebecca's apartment.
He looked exhausted.
There was a small cut near his eyebrow.
I noticed it immediately.
"What happened?"
"Someone tried to force my car off the road."
My stomach tightened.
"Are you hurt?"
"Nothing serious."
I looked away.
I hated that part of me still cared.
Fourteen years didn't disappear because I wanted them to.
"Did you tell the police?"
"Yes."
He sat across from me.
For the first time in our marriage, he didn't take the chair at the head of the table.
He waited for me to speak.
"Why did Victor want Valentina close to you?" I asked.
Alessandro stared at his hands.
"Victor knew she was searching for her mother. He also knew I'd been investigating the old Harrington accounts."
"So he encouraged the affair?"
"He encouraged her to seek my help. What happened afterward was my choice."
I looked at him.
"Good. Because I won't accept another excuse."
He nodded.
"I know."
"Did you ever love her?"
He closed his eyes.
"No. I was attracted to her. I enjoyed the attention. I told myself lies about what it meant."
"Did she love you?"
"I think she believed she did."
I looked out the window.
"Then you betrayed two women."
He didn't argue.
A knock interrupted us.
Thomas entered.
"They found Gabriel."
I stood.
"Is he alive?"
"Yes."
Relief washed through me.
"Where?"
"He was held at a warehouse outside Joliet. Investigators located him after a tip from someone inside Whitcomb's operation."
"Is he hurt?"
"He's being treated. He should recover."
I closed my eyes.
"Thank God."
Thomas continued.
"Gabriel identified Charles Whitcomb as the man who ordered him detained."
Alessandro's expression hardened.
"Where's Whitcomb?"
"Missing."
My heart sank.
"And Valentina?"
"No confirmed location yet."
Then Thomas looked at me.
"Gabriel also told investigators something about the September seventeenth transfer."
I gripped the table.
"What?"
"He says Alessandro's father ordered it after Victor Russo threatened to expose financial misconduct inside the Moretti organization."
I looked at my husband.
"Did you know?"
Alessandro shook his head.
"No."
Thomas continued.
"According to Gabriel, the transfer was meant to move the Harrington property into a Moretti company before investigators could seize it. Alessandro signed the documents without knowing about the records operation."
I stared at him.
"That doesn't make him innocent of everything."
"No," Thomas agreed. "But it matters when determining responsibility for your father's death."
Alessandro looked at me.
"I've given the investigators access to the old company records."
"All of them?"
"Everything they requested."
I studied his face.
"Even if they implicate you?"
"Yes."
For the first time, I believed he might be doing something because it was right rather than because it would benefit him.
But belief wasn't forgiveness.
That night, I received a call from an unknown number.
I answered cautiously.
"Hello?"
A woman's voice whispered.
"Sofia?"
I froze.
"Valentina?"
"Please don't hang up."
Her voice was shaking.
"Where are you?"
"I don't know exactly. Somewhere near the river."
"Are you hurt?"
"No. But they're looking for me."
"Who?"
"My father."
I stood.
"Victor?"
"He knows I found the recording."
My heart pounded.
"What recording?"
"Something my mother made before she disappeared."
I grabbed a pen.
"Valentina, tell me where you are."
"I escaped when Cross stopped for gas. I took his phone."
"Call emergency services. Tell them you're in danger."
"I already tried. The call dropped."
"Then stay somewhere public. Don't go with anyone."
She began crying.
"Sofia, I know you hate me."
I closed my eyes.
"That doesn't matter right now."
"I'm sorry."
"We'll talk about that later."
A pause.
Then she whispered, "My father told me Alessandro never loved either of us."
I swallowed.
"Your father doesn't get to decide what love means."
She sobbed.
"I found out what happened to Daniel Bennett."
My entire body went cold.
"What?"
"My father said Whitcomb ordered it. But someone else made the call that night."
I gripped the phone.
"Who?"
She hesitated.
Then I heard a noise behind her.
A man's voice shouted.
"Valentina!"
She gasped.
The phone struck something hard.
Then the line went dead.
I immediately called Thomas and gave him everything I knew.
Investigators traced the call to a commercial district near the river.
Within an hour, they found the abandoned phone.
May you like
But Valentina was gone.
And the identity of the person who had made the final call before my father's death remained unknown.
