Chapter 3

I stayed at the hotel for two days.

On the afternoon of the third day, my mother called the landline at my gallery.

"Vera, what is this tantrum about?" My mother's voice boomed through the receiver, rattling my eardrum. "Vivian landed last night. The whole family was at the Linden house to welcome her home. Even Gabriel cooked her favorite truffle risotto himself. Why didn't you show up?"

I was trimming the linen along the edge of a frame with a utility knife. "We have a show at the gallery. I couldn't get away."

"A show, a show! What are those crappy paintings of yours even worth?" My mother scoffed. "Your sister won a major award in California. She's back to put together a touring exhibition. Gabriel has already handed her every cent of the Moretti Foundation's sponsorship budget for the rest of the year. And you can't even be bothered to show your face. Do you want the whole city laughing at us?"

"Mom," I cut in, "Gabriel is my legal husband."

The line went dead silent for a moment.

Then my mother burst out laughing like I'd said something absurd. "Legal husband? Vera, you really think one piece of paper makes you Mrs. Moretti? Other people might not know why Gabriel picked you, but don't pretend you don't. You stole your sister's man. The only reason I haven't slapped you across the face for the past three years is all the money Gabriel has put into this family!

"Now that your sister's back, it's only right that everything goes back to her. Be at the Santo Domingo tonight at seven. Gabriel booked the whole place. You're going to be there, and in front of everyone, you're going to transfer your signing authority over the joint account in the Moretti family fund to your sister."

"Is this what Gabriel wants?" I asked.

"Who else would it be coming from? You think I made it up?" My mother hung up on me.

By five o'clock, I'd finished the last of the handover paperwork at the gallery.

My coworker Anna Brooks came over and handed me a black coffee, her eyes full of worry. "Vera, you look awful. Everything's squared away in Zurich, and your flight's tomorrow morning. Are you really sure you don't want to say goodbye to anyone?"

I took the paper cup, and the warmth seeped into my cold palms. "I already said every goodbye that mattered three years ago."

Anna sighed. She started to say something, then stopped, and in the end she just patted my shoulder.

At ten to seven, I pushed open the heavy bronze doors of the Santo Domingo.

The restaurant occupied the top floor of the tallest building in the city. It was where Gabriel and Vivian had first met.

The dining room was blazing with light, and the middle of the long table was crowded with white camellias flown in for the occasion.

Vivian sat to the right of the head of the table in a wine-red couture gown, her long hair in soft waves, her makeup flawless. She tipped her head back with a sweet little laugh and fed Gabriel a peeled grape.

Gabriel wore a custom charcoal three-piece suit and lounged back in his chair. He didn't pull away. He ate the grape, then thoughtfully wiped a drop of juice from Vivian's lips with one long finger.

It hurt to look at, like staring straight into the noon sun.

In three years of marriage, Gabriel had never touched me in public. Even at the biggest charity galas, he'd only let me hold his forearm while he walked with long strides, never once thinking about how hard it was for me to keep up in heels.

With Vivian, he even adjusted the way he sat to suit her.

People heard me coming.

The friends and relatives around the long table went quiet all at once, and every eye landed on me. Some looks were curious, others contemptuous, but most of them were just enjoying the show.

"Oh look, the real wife is here." Vivian's best friend, Chloe Bennett, gave a snide laugh.

Vivian's smile faded. She stood up, looking a little lost, and tugged at Gabriel's sleeve. "Gabe, didn't you tell Vera I'd be here? Maybe... maybe I should sit somewhere else. I don't want to embarrass my little sister."

Gabriel caught her hand and held it.

He looked past the crowd at me. When he took in my cheap beige trench coat and flat leather shoes, he gave a barely perceptible frown.

"Sit," he told Vivian, his voice low and gentle. Only then did he look at me. "Come on. Sit down."

He pointed to an empty chair at the very end of the long table, right by the door the waiters used.

It was the least noticeable seat in the room, the easiest one to forget.

Ten years earlier, at every family dinner, that was where I sat. My job was to flag down waiters for refills, pass the napkins, and get someone to clean up when they fought and smashed glasses.

Ten years later, after everything, I was right back there.

I pulled out the chair and sat down.

My mother immediately shot me a look. Vivian picked up her glass of red wine and came over to me.

"Vera, it's been three years. I hear you've been helping Gabe handle the gallery side of things." Vivian looked down her nose at me, red lips parted. "Thank you for all your hard work. But now that I'm back, Gabe's art foundation needs to be run professionally. I hear you're still holding on to the foundation's official seal and the joint account?"

She held out a hand bearing an enormous diamond. "Time to give it back, little tagalong."

She said that last part so quietly only the two of us could hear.

It was what she'd called me my whole life.

I looked up at her. "That's a sub-account of the Moretti family trust. Transferring signing authority requires board approval."

Vivian's smile froze. She turned to Gabriel, and her eyes filled instantly. "Gabe, look at her... I was only trying to help you, and my sister acts like I'm stealing from her."

Every eye in the room went to Gabriel again.

Gabriel's knife paused against his plate with a soft clink.

He didn't look at Vivian or me. He finished chewing at an unhurried pace, then dabbed his mouth with a linen napkin.

"Give her the seal," he said.

I looked at him. "Gabriel, your mother gave that to me herself, the day we got married."

"Only because Vivian wasn't here back then." Gabriel finally looked up at me, his gaze calm and impossible to read. "Vera, I told you. Don't make this hard for me."