Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN HE MARRIED
By sunrise, Roberto had not slept.
Vanessa remained in the east guest suite under the quiet observation of security.
He had not confronted her about the medication.
Not yet.
Instead he wanted to know who he had married.
His private investigator, Marcus Hale, arrived at seven.
Roberto had used Marcus for corporate background checks before major acquisitions.
Never for his own wife.
That alone filled him with shame.
“I want everything.”
Marcus placed a notebook on the desk.
“Financial records?”
“Everything.”
“Relationships.”
“Debts.”
“Past lawsuits.”
“Medical connections.”
“Any name she used before I met her.”
Marcus studied him.
“This serious?”
Roberto slid a still frame from the kitchen video across the desk.
Marcus watched it.
Then he nodded.
“I’ll dig.”
Vanessa appeared for breakfast at eight.
Perfectly dressed.
Perfectly composed.
She kissed Roberto’s cheek.
He allowed it.
Every instinct inside him wanted to pull away.
Instead he played the role she expected.
“I overreacted last night.”
Vanessa’s eyes softened immediately.
“I understand.”
He almost admired how quickly she accepted the lie.
“I was shocked.”
“Of course.”
“I need time.”
She placed her hand over his.
“We both do.”
Across the room, Sofía entered holding María’s hand.
Vanessa’s fingers tightened around Roberto’s.
Only slightly.
Sofía stopped.
“Daddy?”
“I’m here.”
Vanessa smiled.
“Good morning, sweetheart.”
Sofía stepped behind María.
Roberto watched his wife’s expression.
Vanessa’s smile remained perfect.
Her eyes did not.
Three hours later, Marcus called.
“I already found a problem.”
Roberto went to his office.
“What?”
“Vanessa was engaged before.”
“I know that.”
“No.”
Marcus paused.
“Not the engagement she told you about.”
“This was another one.”
“His name was Richard Bell.”
“He died six years ago.”
Roberto’s pulse changed.
“How?”
“Drug overdose.”
“Accidental?”
“Officially.”
Marcus continued.
“Vanessa was beneficiary of a two-million-dollar life insurance policy.”
Roberto said nothing.
“There’s more.”
“Richard had a teenage son.”
“After Richard died, Vanessa petitioned for control of the boy’s inheritance.”
“Did she get it?”
“No.”
“The boy’s grandmother challenged her.”
“The case was settled quietly.”
“Where is the son now?”
“Seattle.”
“Find him.”
Marcus lowered his voice.
“Already did.”
“He says he remembers Vanessa putting medication in his father’s drinks.”
Roberto looked through the glass doors toward the garden.
Sofía was outside with María.
Vanessa stood ten feet away, talking on her phone.
From a distance, she looked like the ideal wife.
Marcus spoke again.
“Roberto?”
“Yes?”
“Richard’s son also said something else.”
“He said when he confronted Vanessa, she told him no one would believe a troubled kid over a respectable adult.”
Roberto’s chest tightened.
The words sounded painfully familiar.
“When can I speak with him?”
“Tonight.”
Roberto watched Vanessa laugh into her phone.
Then she turned toward the house.
Her smile disappeared when she thought no one could see her.
Marcus added one final detail.
“And you should know this.”
“The attorney who handled Vanessa’s guardianship petition six years ago is working in New York now.”
Roberto waited.
Marcus gave him the name.
“Sebastian Cross.”
Roberto froze.
Sebastian Cross was not a stranger.
He was Roberto’s personal estate attorney.
May you like
And one of the men Roberto trusted most in the world.
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