Page 87 of Forever Fake

“I heard you the first time. Now, listen to me. Let. The. Charge. Go. Through. My wife is clearly revenge spending her way through Italy, so keep the card active and approve all of her purchases.”

“Yes, sir.”

I hang up, annoyed at being practically harassed by the card company with how many times they’ve called over the past two weeks. Everything Gin’s purchased so far has been pretty predictable: Clothing, shoes, purses, luxury hotel rooms, dinner at some of the best restaurants in the region.

However, a house? That’s a new one.

I pull up her location on my phone. As long as she has her luggage with her, I always know where she is. Right now she’s outside of Positano, south of Naples, right on the coast. Apparently my magpie found something that sparkles.

I can’t wait to see her again. I’ve been giving her space to do as she pleases—to hate me—while I’ve been stuck in New York dealing with my step-monster’s arrest. I need to see this throughto the end before I can go after my wife. If that’s even what she wants, for me to chase after her.

I haven’t heard from her, so I’m guessing I’m supposed to make the first move.Soon, magpie, soon.

Oz came clean about everything, confessing in detail how he and Yve murdered my father and took control of the Baron family estate. They’ve forged, blackmailed, and bribed their way to where they were, before I collapsed their empire. My strike opened the floodgates. The number of people who’ve surfaced to complain and inform on Yve and Oz is astounding.

If only all of this business wasn’t taking so long. I originally planned to let Gin have her space for a couple of weeks, but I’m not going to be free of this for at least another week or two. Which might be fine. Either I’ll chase after her, or she’ll come back when she’s done fuming. Won’t she?

Why are women so difficult to figure out? I wish I could read her mind. That would be helpful. But alas, I cannot.

The following week, the card company doesn’t bother me at all, but I regularly check my account to see that my wife is spending her way through Naples, Rome, and Florence with her cousin. In addition to the tracking device in her luggage, I also have eyes on the ground just in case she’s ever in trouble. That’s how I know she’s traveling with Elena, and that Elena also has a tail courtesy of her second cousin Maximo Pontrelli. He's apparently a man who takes his responsibilities seriously.

With Yve’s downfall, there’s been upheaval at Titan Enterprises that I’ve been dealing with, in addition to fast tracking Yve’s case. Liam has smoothly stepped into his board position and taken the company’s reins. He’s a natural born leader. I’m so proud of him.

My phone rings. “Baron, here.”

“Mr. Baron, it’s time, Yve Baron has taken a deal and plead guilty.”

Resounding relief sweeps through me and I let out a whoosh of breath.Finally.The number of palms I’ve had to line, with an astounding amount of money, to make this go through smoothly and quickly is now paying off.

“I’ll be there in an hour.” Hanging up, I meet my driver out front and we head to the courthouse. It’s time to finish this and let justice be served.

I could have tortured and killed Yve myself, but for years I’ve been daydreaming of her spending the rest of her life in prison. Death seems too quick and merciful for a viper like her, I wanted a longer sentence, for her to suffer for years instead of days.

After I go through security, I’m escorted to a small room on the second floor where Yve waits. I made sure the judge refused to set bail so she’s been stewing in a jail cell for almost a month. Stripped of her usual superficial glamour, she appears older and frailer than her forty-five years of age. I can hardly believe almost twenty years of battling with this woman is finally coming to an end.

“Don’t look so smug,” she snaps as I sit down opposite of her.

“I can’t help it,” I drawl.

Yve glowers, but she’s lost some of her spark. If she can’t handle a few weeks in jail, prison will be hell on earth for her. Since she’s relatively young, she’ll be incarcerated for a very, very long time.

She took the deal I offered, signing everything over to me, under threat of me exposing even more of her crimes. She wants a reduced prison sentence–compared to what it could be–and I want to get to my wife, it’s a win-win.

Our lawyers get straight to it, presenting me with the power of attorney paperwork that puts the entirety of the Baron estate under my control. Yve signs it all as quickly as she can, while glaring daggers at me. My signature follows hers and the deal is done.

Now she gets to serve out her sentence, and I get what should have always been mine.

“Where are my mother’s things?” I ask her. “Where did you hide them?”

She settles back in her chair and crosses her arms. “That’s the one thing that you can’t force me to give up. Now that I’m in here, you can’t touch me, not really. So you can kiss your mother’s things goodbye because I’ll never tell you where they are.”

My jaw works. She’s right, I can’t torture the information out of her now that she’s in custody. I should have thought about that before.Damnit. It’s too late now.

“I’ll find it.” I stand up, ready to leave and never see her conniving face again. “I’m taking possession of your charm bracelet, I’m sure there’s a clue on there.”

“Twenty-five years is going to pass in the blink of an eye. When I’m out early on good behavior, I’m going to kill you, your brother, and your wife. Mark my words.”

“I wouldn’t be making threats in your position, unless you want another few years added to your sentence.”

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