Page 15 of Angelo

For some reason, Elyse got the sense that her husband wasn't merely askingabout the funeral arrangements. She looked at him with absolute sincerity. "Of course, you know I have your best interests at heart, Alessio. If anything, I wish that you'd trustmemore."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't share much with me, and I want to know what's bothering you."

A pained expression struck his handsome face. "Elyse, I—"

A knock sounded at the door, interrupting the flow of Alessandro's words. Elyse heard Monte's voice from the other side of the door. In Italian, he was calling Alessandro away for urgent business. Her husband cast her an apologetic look. "I should go."

"Go, then," Elyse urged, "and be careful. I'll check in with you later."

He didn't go, though. Not right away. Instead, Alessandro's long legs strode over to close the distance between them. For a moment, he simply stood before her like a fallen angel, his shine obscured by darkness. As they gazed at each other, her husband reached over to brush his thumb across her lower lip. Surprisingly, there was nothing sensual or suggestive about his touch. The gesture was all emotion and pure affection.

He expressed in soft tones, "You are too good for me, wife. I know this well."

Goodness had become such a relative term in their world. Elyse didn't know whether or not she could begoodanymore. Not if she wished to live and protect others from dying. Elyse smiled faintly. "If that's what you believe, I don't think you see me very clearly. I'm only trying to survive."

Alessandro vowed as he always did, "I will not let anything bad happen to you."

"Just don't die on me," she countered, "before you see my skin wrinkle and my hair turn white."

Brown and blue-gray eyes flickered with surprise then with amusement. "That may be the most romantic thing you have ever said to me."

She admitted, "I stole the line from you."

"No wonder," he grunted with a ghost of a smile.

It was his first real smile since the news about Vincenzo's death had wrung their lives inside out. She didn't know when Alessandro would be ready to open up to her, but this felt like a promising start. She was willing to be patient. Elyse chose to hope for the best as Alessandro kissed her goodbye. It was only a chaste peck on the mouth, but, to her, his lips tasted sweeter than paradise.

After Alessandro left with Monte, Elyse got to work. She went over the budget for Vincenzo's upcoming memorial service. She touched base with Mariposa De León and Antonia Svizzi. She dove deeper into Valentina's possible ties to Tommy Wilkes and Javier Santos.

By 4 pm, Elyse was drained. She decided to take a short break from her seemingly endless to-do list. A nap would've been divine, but, instead, Elyse decided to tidy up their master bathroom, do some laundry, and reorganize some of the clothes and jewelry in her closet. There was a staff full of maids assigned to the household chores, but she wasn't comfortable with letting others wait on her hand and foot. Elyse always tried to do what she could to make their jobs a little easier.

While Elyse was sorting through her jewelry, she picked up the gold necklace gifted to her by her father-in-law. She moved it from her jewelry box to their lockbox. As she set it down, a thin crack running along the side of the medallion caught her eye. Had the fracture always been there?

Weird.

Curiosity compelled her to use a needle to pry it open. She worked to loosen the rift for several minutes. When the two halves of the gold coin came loose, a piece of black plastic fell out. Elyse gasped when she realized that it was a memory card. An onslaught of conspiratorial questions descended upon her like an avalanche. Who'd planted the card in the medallion? Did Vincenzo know about it when he gifted her the necklace?

Elyse rushed over to her laptop and tried to plug in the memory card. Unfortunately, none of the slots seemed to fit. The card was too outdated for her laptop.Mierda. She set her jaw.

Undeterred, Elyse left her room and tracked down Luca. "Do you know where I could purchase an adaptor for an older memory card?"

The younger man blinked. "An adapter?"

"Yes."

Luca frowned thoughtfully. "Marcello runs a side hustle for refurbished computers and laptops. He is good with technology. He might be able to help you."

"Marcello?" she echoed. "You mean, the young man who—"

"You saved in Paris? Yes, that was Marcello," Luca finished for her. "He definitely owes you a favor."

Elyse grimaced. Technically, she owedhimfor saving Alessandro's life, but she wasn't about to turn down his help. "Can you get in touch with Marcello for me?"

"Of course,Signora." Giving a curt nod, Luca left on his mission.

While he was away, Elyse finalized the funeral arrangements with the rest of her household staff. She kept everyone organized and on track, answered questions, and resolved problems whenever they arose. Three hours later, Luca returned to thepalazzowith Marcello at his side. Relieved to have a break from funeral planning, Elyse was pleased to see them. As they stepped into the foyer, she greeted Luca. "Welcome back."

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