Chapter 3

By the time I got back to the villa, it was past midnight.

All the lights downstairs were off, and only a few glowing coals were left in the fireplace. No one was waiting up for me, and no one had called the restaurant to look for me. Martha had left a small light on by the door. The whole house was so quiet it was like I'd never lived there.

I took off my coat, went upstairs, pushed open the bedroom door, and was hit first by the smell of an unfamiliar perfume.

It was so strong it made me cough, and it was laced with cigar smoke and the liquor on Alex's breath. The cashmere coat I'd bought him lay at the foot of the bed, and his shirt collar was open. And lying on my side of the bed, of all people, was Victoria.

She was wrapped in my silk robe, her head on Alex's shoulder, her arm draped across his chest.

I stood by the door for a few seconds before I turned on the light.

Victoria screamed and shot upright. "Who's there!"

I walked over and yanked the blanket off. When Victoria saw it was me, her panic quickly gave way to a wounded look. Before she could say anything, I slapped her. My ring scraped across her cheek and left a few bloody marks.

"This is my room." I stared at her. "My bed. Who said you could get in it?"

Victoria covered her face, and tears immediately started falling. "Alex, it hurts so much..."

Alex sat up and pulled her into his arms to shield her, his face dark. "Are you out of your mind? We were just up talking and fell asleep. You walk in the door and start hitting people. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"So you accidentally walked into my bedroom, accidentally took off your coat, and accidentally lay down on my bed?" I looked at his open shirt collar. "What a coincidence."

"We were waiting for you to come back. Victoria didn't want me sitting up worrying by myself, so she stayed to keep me company. I told you, we didn't do anything."

His eyes darted away. I looked down and saw two wineglasses by the bed, and one of Victoria's earrings had fallen on my pillow. In that moment, I didn't even want to ask anymore whether they'd gone all the way.

I'd treated Alex's wounds with my own hands. I knew that when he was tired, he always slept on his right side, and that once he fell asleep, he'd reach for the hand of whoever was next to him without thinking. Now Victoria had taken that side, and his hand was pressed against her waist. That was all I needed to see.

"If you were waiting for me the whole time, why didn't you call even once?" I asked. "I was so angry when I left tonight. Why didn't you come after me? If you wanted to catch up, you could've used the study, the living room, even her own guest room. Why did it have to be here?"

"Because this is my room!" Alex shouted. "Scarlett, can you stop interrogating me like I'm some criminal?"

"The deed to this house has my name on it," I said slowly and deliberately. "You live here because you're my husband. Before you let her lie in this bed tonight, you should have thought about that."

Victoria cried even harder. "Alex, let's just go. I really don't want you and Scarlett fighting like this because of me."

"Go put some ointment on that first." He immediately got up, held Victoria by the shoulders, and turned to glare at me. "If she ends up with a scar, you'll answer to me."

"Fine." I stepped aside from the door. "Then both of you get out now."

After they left, I locked the door, slid the new steel bolt into place, and switched on the alarm system. It had cost 10,000 pounds. I'd originally had it installed because I was worried Alex's enemies might break in at night. I never imagined the first time I'd use it would be to keep him out.

I stripped off the sheets, pillowcases, and light blanket and threw them in the trash can by the incinerator downstairs. Then I put on clean bedding and opened the window to let the sea breeze blow the perfume out.

Sure enough, there was knocking at the door.

"Scarlett! Open the door!" Alex pounded on it at first, then started throwing his weight against it. "Are you seriously locking me out of my own bedroom?"

I didn't answer. The alarm bell in the hallway went off a few times and woke the servants, but none of them had any right to open my door for him.

I tossed and turned all night.

When I went downstairs in the morning, the whole family was sitting in the dining room like they'd been waiting to interrogate me.

Alex had dark circles under his eyes. "You owe me an explanation for last night. You threw me out, and that alarm almost brought the patrol. What are people going to think when they hear the Marino family's head of enforcement can't get into his own room?"

"I gave you and Victoria the whole night to talk. I'm sure you were very pleased." I pulled out a chair. "No need to thank me."

"Do you really have to be so snide?" He slapped his palm on the table. "Victoria just hasn't been home in years. We didn't do anything to betray you."

"I just wish you'd remembered last night that you had a wife."

Victoria said gently, "Scarlett, don't be mad at Alex. This trip doesn't come around often. Let's all just be happy, okay?"

"Look at her," Alex jumped in. "Yesterday you hurt her, and today she's standing up for you. Can't you learn from her?"

Sarah set her teacup down hard. "Scarlett, you've been getting more and more out of line lately. What kind of wife locks her husband out? We'll let it go this time, but later, you're going to apologize to Victoria."

James glanced at me and said coldly, "Back when I was young, if any woman in the family talked back to her husband like this, she'd be punished in front of everyone. A Marino man doesn't let his wife walk all over him."

"James, you seem to have forgotten." I looked at him. "This house isn't Marino family property. Your family rules don't apply under my roof."

His face stiffened, but Emma cut in with a sneer. "Scarlett, if you keep being this jealous, my brother's really going to divorce you. Don't come crying and begging him to take you back."

Victoria kept her head down, but she couldn't quite hide her smile.

I suddenly really wanted to see whether these people could hold on to that smug sense of entitlement once they no longer had my money to rely on.

Alex tossed a stack of luggage tags at me. "Stop wasting time. The convoy's already waiting out front. You're going through Blackmoor on your own, so you don't have the convoy's luggage limits. You can bring everyone's things to the inn."

I followed him to the door.

Eight leather trunks were lined up on the steps, packed with Sarah's gowns, James's clothes, Emma's things, and the dresses and jewelry Victoria had just bought. Each trunk weighed at least 45 pounds, and stacked together, they almost blocked the door.

Sarah pointed at the two biggest ones. "Put these in your car first. The convoy cars only have room for carry-on bags. You're riding alone, so you can take all the luggage."

"And my hatboxes," Victoria said softly. "Those can't get crushed, so please keep a close eye on them."

Alex didn't even ask whether I'd arranged a driver. He just opened the car door for her. "Get in. Scarlett will handle it. Don't worry."

I stood in front of the garage and watched the windows of the armored cars close one by one.

"Okay." I put the luggage tags in my pocket and smiled at them. "You go ahead. I'll be right behind you."

Alex didn't look back.

The convoy roared out the gate. The black family flag on the last car fluttered for an instant, then vanished into the morning fog over the dock district.