Justine's heart was pounding. As he got closer, Kevin clenched his right hand.
"Get that off her!" He pointed to the duct tape around her wrists and ankles.
After they freed her from her bonds, Justine rubbed her red wrists and then stared into her husband's dark gaze.
"I can explain everything, my love!" Her voice faltered.
"Start talking." The three words were laden with fury.
Justine tried to get up to hug him, but suddenly her arm was grabbed by Kevin's long hand, which pushed her back into the chair roughly.
"Don't get up again..." He ordered rudely.
"I went to Beatrice's house to show her some dress sketches."
The cruel laughter reverberated through the dimly lit room of captivity where they had taken her.
"Yes, go on..." The thick voice was full of sarcasm. "I want to see how far you'll go with your lies."
Crying, she insisted: "I'm telling the truth."
"Enough!" Driven by hatred, Kevin grabbed the envelope the counselor had given him and pulled out the photographs before throwing them at Justine. "You were in Quarto Oggiaro with my enemy. Isn't that right, Alessandro?" He hissed the question through clenched teeth.
"Yes, boss. Your wife was with Andrew Turner before we picked her up."
Justine's gaze flew until it found the handsome face of the tall man, and then she aimed at her husband's clenched jaw.
"I loved you... but now, I can only hate you with all my strength." Frowning, Kevin raged. "You were a beautiful mistake and my downfall, Justine Delacroix." He took the Glock from his subordinate's hand.
"Please, don't hurt me," she cowered in her chair, protecting her belly. "I'm pregnant." Her trembling voice confessed.
Shaken by the revelation, the cold man scrutinized the woman hugging her belly. Even though he hated her, he still didn't have the courage to punish a pregnant woman.
Touching Justine's thin arm, he forced her to stand up.
"Get out of my sight before I do something I'll regret." Kevin resumed his usual authoritarian posture.
That was how he acted with his subordinates, but he had never treated her that way.
"But I'm expecting your child!" She showed him the pregnancy test she was holding.
"Find Andrew Turner, I'm sure it's his son." His anger was so great that he refused to believe it.
"No. The baby is yours!" Justine said as he left that place with moldy walls, leaving her behind. "Kevin, please, let's talk," she pleaded.
Stopping in the hallway, he clenched his fist at his side, feeling a growing anger take over every fiber of his being.
"What about the rules, sir?" The advisor adjusted his glasses as he asked. "She should be punished."
"Damn it, shut up!" The hoarse voice yelled. "Get her out of my sight, but don't touch her. Capisci?" The inquisitive gaze stopped on the consigliere.
"Sì, capisco!" The short man replied in Italian, and took a step back.
Before her husband abandoned her to her fate, she stood up and ran her hand over the fabric, adjusting her red dress.
"Kevin..." Justine called again.
It was too late. Mr. Harrison was not willing to give her another chance. His inscrutable expression blended with the morbid atmosphere of that moldy-smelling place. The betrayal made him even colder and more resentful.
For half an hour, Justine's anguished crying echoed through the room.
"You bitch!" Alessandro's voice was full of contempt when he cursed her. "Get out of here before the boss comes back and changes his mind."
Exhausted, the pregnant young woman stood up amid the mockery of the employees who had once obeyed her orders. Not knowing what to do, Justine wiped her tears with her hand as she staggered, looking for a way out of that place.
"My mother was right," she lamented mentally as she took slow steps down the dimly lit hallway. "He'll never forgive me."
❛ ━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━❜
With nowhere else to go, Justine headed to a subway station. She was wearing only the clothes on her back and carrying her bag with her documents when she arrived at a sumptuous two-story luxury penthouse just a few minutes from Piazza Gae Aulenti.
"Mom, let me stay here tonight!" Justine asked the woman.
Sophia took a drag on her cigarette and then exhaled the smoke. She walked through the living room decorated with classic furniture as her silk nightgown slipped between her shins.
"Oh, ma chérie, I'm sorry, but I can't." She left the rest of the cigarette in the ashtray.
"It's just for tonight. I'll try to talk to Kevin on the day I sign the divorce papers. I'm sure he'll change his mind."
"Really?" There was a certain disdain in the question when Sophia raised a well-shaped eyebrow. "I think your husband has chosen to stay with his mistress." She turned her cell phone screen toward her daughter so she could see the image of Kevin at a party with his young companion.
Justine didn't want to believe what she saw. That woman had pretended to be her friend for months and wasted no time before making her move. In the photo, Beatrice Drummond was holding hands with Kevin at a company event.
"Incompetent!" Andrew shouted as he entered the room and slapped her across the face, leaving Justine stunned. "Everyone is saying that your marriage to Kevin is over. You're a useless whore."
