Page 99 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 3

“How could I have been so blind to her antics?” he grated out, anger taking over his normally cool and calm exterior.

“Con artists are usually exceptional at their craft. With how much I’ve found, she’s extraordinary and more than that, she has a lot of hate in her heart toward both of your families.”

“But why?” I croaked, emotion tearing through the defenses I’d built. “What did we do to her?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure that out. There are pieces of the puzzle missing. I’m slowly uncovering those pieces and putting things together, but it takes time.”

“Which is something we don’t have a lot of. Especially since she fled the country. Do we know where she went?” Gio interrupted.

“Yes. And it doesn’t make any sense.” Bruno sat back in the leather chair, clasping his hands in a prayer position at his chest, his extended fingers just brushing under his chin.

“Where did she go?” I asked.

“She was followed from the airport to a small town outside of Paris called Mouroux. There are only five thousand residents who live there. My team hasn’t figured out why she’d have any reason to go there.”

“I do,” I whispered, the hair on the back of my neck standing up as gooseflesh rose across the surface of my skin. Dread tightened my gut, and the bile I’d been holding down tried to resurface once more.

“Do you know someone who lives there?” Bruno asked.

“Near there,” I nodded. “Yeah. My godmother.”

Giovanni’s eyes widened, and he instantly pulled his phone out of his pocket to make a call.

“Who’s your godmother?” Bruno asked.

“Alana Toussaint, but most people know her as Madam Alana.”

“Fucking hell!” Bruno grunted and jumped out of his chair and stormed to the study door. He opened it and disappearedthrough it, likely connecting Joel and Faith’s marriage and my godmother having been the one to introduce them.

“Alana’s not answering,” Gio barked as he pulled his phone from his ear and pressed a few more buttons. “I’m trying Christophe.”

What in the world would Bianca have to do with Alana?

My mind was spinning a mile a minute when Bruno returned with Joel and Faith in tow.

“What’s going on?” Joel asked, his loose demeanor from before replaced with a cold, calculating one.

“Besides the fact that my brother’s wife is not really his wife. She may or may not be carrying his or my husband’s baby. She just fled the country after going to jail for assaulting Gio. She forged a bunch of shit in our names, has been stealing from us for years, wants to kill my brother for a big insurance payout, and is likely now going after my godmother.”

“Who’s your godmother?” Faith asked.

“Alana.”

Faith’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. “Madam Alana is your godmother! That is sooooooo cool,” she breathed in awe.

Joel grabbed Faith’s hand and kissed each of her fingertips, reminding me of the way that Bruno had taken a similar liberty with my hand. “My love, now is not the time to gush over Julianne’s familial connections. She is worried about their safety.”

“Jeez Louise, I’m so sorry Jules. Is there anything we can do to help? Alana is beloved by all of us.”

“I don’t… I don’t know. Gio?” I asked.

Gio tucked his phone into his pocket and shook his head. “He didn’t answer either.”

“What is going on? This is insane!” I tunneled my finger into my hair and tugged at the roots, waiting for the pinch of pain tobring me back to the here and now where I could think straight instead of the spiral of misery I was headed for.

“I’m having my team watch Bianca closely. I’ll have another group go to the Toussaint’s home and check on them,” Bruno promised as he grabbed his cellphone and walked out of the room.

“I can’t believe this is happening. Why does she hate us so much?” I shuddered as the emotion within me swelled and broke, tears slipping down my cheeks.

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