Page 116 of Morally Corrupt

He's probably mad that I'm throwing him to the wolves.

"I don't know what she saw in him." I shake my head at the mental image of Allegra and Martin. Allegra is around my age, for God's sake. The entire situation is too disgusting to contemplate.

"My wife has unusual tastes in men." I detect almost a smile as he says the words, but it's quickly gone as he asks me. "I'm curious about you, though."

"Me?" I feign ignorance and give him a small smile. Again, Adrian scowls at me from across the room. What's wrong with him?

"You were almost too calm when you saw Martin… heartless, so to speak. And today, you were worse than Mary at Jesus' crucifixion. So, which one is it?"

"Enzo, a woman must preserve an air of mystery at all times."

"Indeed. I just find it odd. Martin commits suicide before having his heart carved out and a T branded on his forehead by the henchman of a drug lord."

"Considering Martin's implication with you, I think it's not surprising he would have availed himself to the services of a cartel."

"Touché." Enzo laughs. "But I do wonder. Why did you conceal the suicide?"

"It's rather simple. Martin wanted to end up on top with that stunt of his. I merely ensured he wouldn't be able to crawl from the bottom. Pun intended," I say with a straight face, but Enzo's eyes twinkle with merriment. He shifts a little closer, and that's when I hear a throat being cleared.

"Enzo," Adrian greets him with a deadly stare, to which Enzo just smiles. "My wife must be tired after suffering so much. I think it's time she rested." He puts his arm around my shoulders and doesn't wait for Enzo or me to reply, steering me up the stairs.

"What about the other guests?" I turn to him and ask.

"They'll eventually find their way out."

"You didn't have to be so rude. Really, Enzo was just being polite."

"Too damn close for polite," Adrian grumbles, and I suddenly realize what this is. My lips stretch into a smile, and I let myself be led by him.

"This…?" I ask when I realize he's stopped in front of a guest room.

"I remember what you told me about your childhood room. You might prefer to rest here." I look at him for a second, trying to decipher what I'm feeling right now. There's a warmth in my chest…

"Thank you," I say, suddenly shy. I open the door and dash inside, closing it behind me.

What was that?

I fan myself a little, and I go into the ensuite bathroom to look in the mirror.

My cheeks are red.

I turn on the faucet and clean my face, removing the mix of dirt and eye drops.

Taking Adrian's advice to rest, I take off my clothes, remove the mini pistol from my boot, and place it under the pillow. One hour of sleep should be enough to forget about this fiasco and those people to leave. I mean, let's face it, no one, absolutely no one, is mourning Martin. I doubt even Allegra feels even a smidgen of tenderness towards him. He was just an awful and distasteful person.

I wake up a while later, and I head downstairs. It seems that most people have left. There's only Marcel and Adrian in the middle of the hallway, engaged in conversation.

"Bianca," Marcel acknowledges me with a nod that I return.

"Is everyone gone?"

"Yes, a while ago," Adrian tells me as he goes towards the bar and pours himself a drink. "I talked to most people, and no one seemed suspicious."

"And here I thought his enemies would at least come to gloat." I sigh and cross my arms. "I went through all the files in his office, and there isn't anything incriminating." For the past three days since Enzo's party, I'd scoured every inch of the house, trying to find at least some evidence of Martin's relationship with Jimenez.

"Martin was many things, but careless wasn't one of them," Adrian adds.

"There's only one place I haven't managed to look in." Marcel and Adrian look at me expectantly. "His safe."

---