Chapter 1 - THE NIGHT HE CHOSE ANOTHER WOMAN|
At 7:24 p.m., Catherine Balori stopped watching the restaurant door.
Her husband had promised to meet her at seven.
He had promised to leave the gala early, sit across from her beneath the candlelight, and celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary without a single phone call from his business associates.
Instead, his face filled the screen of her phone.
Matteo Balori stood beneath the crystal chandeliers of the Bellevue ballroom, dressed in a black tuxedo that fit him like a second skin. His dark hair was perfectly combed, his expression controlled, and his hand rested against Celeste Arden's bare back.
The woman beside him wore emerald silk and a smile that seemed designed for cameras.
A photographer said something.
Matteo leaned closer to hear it, his mouth near Celeste's ear.
His thumb moved once over her skin.
Catherine lowered the volume.
Across the table, Matteo's untouched water had been replaced twice. Three burgundy roses leaned toward a candle, and inside her handbag lay a cream envelope containing the ultrasound picture she had spent the afternoon imagining him opening.
Twelve weeks.
Two previous miscarriages.
One tiny heartbeat.
One empty chair.
The waiter approached carefully.
"Would you like us to hold dinner a little longer, Mrs. Balori?"
Catherine looked at the place setting opposite hers.
"No. Give our dessert to the staff."
Outside, October rain silvered the pavement. She could have gone home and allowed Matteo's assistant to invent another explanation.
Instead, she picked up her coat.
The envelope went into her handbag.
If her husband could not come to her, she would go to him.
At the Bellevue entrance, a coordinator checked the guest list and then glanced at Catherine's face.
"We weren't expecting you."
"Neither was my husband."
Inside, a quartet played beneath a ceiling of gold and glass. Developers stood beside judges, charity trustees beside men whose warehouses had a remarkable habit of avoiding inspections. The Balori Foundation called its newest project waterfront renewal.
Catherine had spent years believing the polished language described most of what her husband did.
She had also spent years trying not to ask what happened in the parts of his business that never appeared in public reports.
Matteo's uncle, Enzo Balori, saw her first.
His champagne stopped halfway to his mouth.
Then Matteo turned.
For one unguarded second, fear crossed his face.
He came toward her quickly.
"Catherine. Why are you here?"
"It's our anniversary."
"I called the restaurant."
"You called a man who brings plates."
Nearby conversations thinned.
Matteo lowered his voice.
"The trustee vote moved forward."
"Congratulations."
"Catherine, don't do this here."
"Do what? Remember our anniversary?"
Celeste appeared beside him.
"We needed everyone here tonight," she said smoothly.
Her fingers settled on Matteo's sleeve.
Catherine watched them until Celeste withdrew her hand.
"Was that necessary too?"
Enzo approached with the patient expression he reserved for people he considered inconvenient.
"This is a public event."
"Then perhaps someone should have remembered I existed before inviting the cameras."
Matteo caught Catherine's elbow.
"Come with me. Somewhere private."
She followed him into a small library off the service corridor. The music became a distant vibration behind the closed door.
Catherine placed her handbag on a desk.
"Are you still sleeping with her?"
Matteo's jaw tightened.
"Catherine—"
"Yes or no."
He looked down.
"Twice."
The word was small.
"When?"
"January. And six weeks ago."
She gripped the edge of the desk until the room steadied.
"The flooded warehouse?"
He went completely still.
"How do you know about that?"
"That isn't an answer."
"Yes."
Catherine nodded once.
Then she took the envelope from her handbag.
"You missed an appointment this morning."
"I know."
"No. You know something disappeared from your calendar. You don't know what happened in that room."
She placed the envelope between them.
"I'm twelve weeks pregnant. There's a heartbeat. Everything looked good today."
For several seconds, Matteo did not move.
"A baby?"
The wonder in his voice nearly broke her.
He reached toward her.
She raised a hand.
"Then leave with me."
Matteo looked at the door.
Beyond it, applause rose from the ballroom.
"Enzo has four trustees," he said. "Celeste can hold two votes. If I leave before the announcement, the waterfront project could fall apart."
"Then let it fall apart."
"You don't understand what's at stake."
"I understand exactly what is at stake."
"Catherine—"
"Your child is at stake. Your marriage is at stake. And the woman you claim to love is standing outside that door while your wife tells you she's carrying your baby."
His shoulders lowered.
For one brief moment, she thought he might choose differently.
Then he said the words that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
"The gala comes first tonight."
Catherine returned the envelope to her handbag.
"Thank you."
He frowned.
"For what?"
"For finally making the decision easy."
She opened the door.
Celeste waited at the far end of the corridor beside Enzo.
Matteo did not follow his wife out.
Catherine walked through the ballroom alone.
She did not see the man near the eastern windows who had watched the entire exchange.
His name was Gabriel Voss.
He controlled enough shipping terminals, private security contracts, and political favors to make even the Baloris careful with their words.
As Catherine passed him, he noticed the cream envelope inside her open handbag.
He also noticed the way she pressed one hand against her abdomen.
His expression changed.
"Mrs. Balori?"
She stopped.
Gabriel looked toward Matteo, who had already returned to the stage beside Celeste.
Then he lowered his voice.
"If you're carrying Matteo Balori's child, you need to leave Charlotte tonight."
Catherine stared at him.
"Why?"
Gabriel reached into his jacket and showed her a photograph.
It depicted a warehouse at night, flames rising behind a row of trucks.
A familiar black SUV stood outside.
Matteo's vehicle.
On the back of the photograph, someone had written six words.
THE FIRST HEIR WILL NOT SURVIVE.
Before Catherine could speak, Gabriel took the photograph away.
"Because your husband isn't the only man who knows about your baby."
May you like
Across the room, Enzo Balori turned toward them.
And smiled.
