Page 59 of The Deal

“I refuse to let you see my son while thatputtanais in your life. Either she goes, or your visitation with Giovanni stops today.”

I pause at the bottom of the stairs.Puttana?

If anyone else dared to call me that, I’d scratch their damn eyes out, but in this instance, a slut is exactly what Ifeel like. I wouldn’t have touched that man with a ten-foot pole if I had known he was married.

“First of all, don’t ever refer to her as that again. And second, you can’t do that.”

“You and I both know I can. Our agreement was verbal. There’s no court order, Alex. You don’t have a leg to stand on.”

“Then I’ll get a fucking court order.”

“Good luck with that,” she spits.

“And the tens of thousands I give you every month for that kid? That was verbal too. If you try to stop me from seeing him, you won’t get another dime from me.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me.”

“That money is for Giovanni, not me,” she screeches. “You’ll only be hurting him if you take that away.”

“Really?” he barks. “I gave you the house.”

“Which you put in Giovanni’s name.”

“Because I don’t trust you. I want to make sure he has something when he’s older.”

“Ugh. How noble of you.”

“What about the luxury car I purchased for you?”

“You only did that so I could take him places. Like school and the doctors.”

“He doesn’t even go to school, andmydoctor makes house calls.”

“Next year, he will start kindergarten, arsehole.”

“What about those tits, that nose … not to mention all the other work you’ve had done. You didn’t have any of that when we first met, so I can only presume I paid for all of it since you don’t have a job.”

“How can I work when I have a child to look after?”

“I’m under the impression you leave Giovanni with Mimi most of the time.”

“She’s the nanny,” she yells. “It’s her job to look after him. And so what if I’ve used some of the money on me.” I hear her sniffle before adding, “Don’t I deserve something too?”

I’ve heard enough. She sounds like a real piece of work … they deserve each other.

I’m fighting back tears as I rush up the stairs. What I really want to do is run, get the hell out of this goddamn house, but I can’t—I’m trapped.

When I finally make it to my room, I lock the door behind me. The irony isn’t lost on me. I know he has a key to this room, but if he knows what is good for him, he’ll stay the hell away.

A woman scorned is a force of nature, capable of wreaking havoc with a quiet fury that no one sees coming until it’s too late

I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling for what feels like hours. My mind is racing, plotting my next escape. I don’t know how yet, but I’ll get out of this house, away from him, even if it kills me.

I don’t care that I’ll have nowhere to go once I leave. If I have to live on the streets and beg for my next meal, so be it. My dad is in a safe place now, so caring for myself will be easy.

If I’m lucky, I might even be able to get my old job back at the accounting firm. If not, I’ll work at McDonald’s flipping burgers. It doesn’t matter where; I’ll take whatever I can get. As long as I can make enough to eat and keep going, I’ll survive.

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