{"id":1396,"date":"2026-10-09T12:31:35","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T12:31:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amazingworlds.xyz\/?p=1396"},"modified":"2026-10-09T12:31:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T12:31:35","slug":"my-husband-threw-me-out-for-his-mistress-then-chicagos-most-feared-man-slipped-a-ring-onto-my-finger-and-changed-my-fate-forever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amazingworlds.xyz\/?p=1396","title":{"rendered":"My Husband Threw Me Out for His Mistress\u2014Then Chicago\u2019s Most Feared Man Slipped a Ring onto My Finger and Changed My Fate Forever."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chapter 1 – THE NIGHT I STOPPED BEGGING<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“My Husband Slapped Me Out of His House for His Mistress, Then the Most Feared Man in Chicago Put His Ring on My Finger<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last thing my husband gave me after eight years of marriage was a slap hard enough to split my lip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second-to-last thing he gave me was a black garbage bag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTake what\u2019s yours and get out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase Whitaker stood in the foyer of the house I had helped him buy, one hand still half-raised from hitting me. Behind him, Brielle Sutton leaned against the staircase wearing my cream silk robe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My robe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My husband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least, they had all been mine when I woke up that morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rain hammered the windows of our Highland Park home, cold November rain that turned the glass black and made everything outside look drowned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I tasted blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For one strange second, all I could think about was the stain it would leave on the white collar of my sweater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChase,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His expression hardened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brielle crossed her arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI told you she\u2019d play the victim.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I looked at her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She had bare feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her red toenail polish was chipped on the smallest toe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was such a stupid detail to notice while my life was collapsing, but I noticed it anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe the mind chooses small things when the big things are too painful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase pointed toward the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI saw the pictures, Vivian.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPictures of what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou and him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brielle smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Chase pulled his phone from his pocket and shoved it toward me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There I was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaving the DeSantis Logistics building downtown six weeks earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was almost midnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A tall man in a charcoal coat walked beside me, his hand at my elbow as we stepped around construction barriers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo DeSantis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another photograph showed him opening a car door for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A third showed us standing close under the awning while rain fell beyond us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the angle, it looked intimate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It hadn\u2019t been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had gone there because Chase\u2019s racing company was three weeks from losing its primary sponsor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo owned the freight company I was trying to convince to save it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase knew I had been meeting potential sponsors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What he apparently did not know was which one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat was business,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brielle laughed softly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt midnight?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe meeting ran late.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith Matteo DeSantis?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Chase\u2019s voice dropped when he said the name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone in Chicago knew that name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officially, Matteo DeSantis was the thirty-eight-year-old head of a logistics, construction, hospitality, and commercial real estate empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unofficially, people lowered their voices when they spoke about his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were stories about old gambling rooms, dockside unions, vanished debts, men who had learned expensive lessons after crossing a DeSantis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nobody printed those stories without lawyers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nobody proved much either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All I knew was that Matteo had listened to my sponsorship presentation for ninety minutes, asked smarter questions than most executives, and finally said he would consider backing Chase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, when the meeting ended, he had walked me to my car because the parking garage elevator was broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was the scandal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was the affair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou could have asked me,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo. You accused me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause I\u2019m not stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brielle touched his shoulder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I saw the way he relaxed under her hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something inside me finally understood what the rest of me had been refusing to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This wasn\u2019t about photographs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The photographs were permission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He had already wanted her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I looked toward the kitchen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two wineglasses sat beside the sink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was a bottle of bourbon open on the counter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wedding photograph had been removed from the mantel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre you sleeping with her?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase scoffed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t get to ask me questions after what you did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre you sleeping with her?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brielle answered for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The word entered the room almost gently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase stared at her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She shrugged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe deserves to know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My knees felt weak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVivian\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He looked away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brielle didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFour months.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought about four months ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase had been traveling constantly, preparing for his comeback season after the wreck that had nearly ended his career two years earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had packed his meals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scheduled his therapy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reviewed telemetry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Called sponsors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rebuilt his media deck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recorded every physical limitation, every improvement, every technical adjustment in three handwritten journals so he would never push beyond what his doctors and trainers allowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four months ago, he had kissed my forehead before leaving for a weekend race and told me I was the only reason he was still driving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently, Brielle had been waiting at the hotel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My eyes burned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase mistook my silence for weakness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He always did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou haven\u2019t been happy,\u201d he said. \u201cNeither have I.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou could have divorced me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBefore or after sleeping with your publicist?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brielle stepped forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWatch your mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I almost laughed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re wearing my bathrobe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat won\u2019t be yours much longer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase tossed a manila envelope onto the floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Divorce papers spilled partly out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m done, Vivian.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I looked at the signature line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His was blank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mine was blank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou haven\u2019t even signed them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen why the performance tonight?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His jaw flexed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause you think everything belongs to you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stared at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis house. My career. My comeback.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI never said your career belonged to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou act like I couldn\u2019t have done it without you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I swallowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There it was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wound beneath every argument we had been having for a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI kept records because you couldn\u2019t remember three months after your crash.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His face changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI slept in a chair beside your hospital bed for thirty-nine nights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI learned rehabilitation protocols. I called every sponsor who abandoned you. I sold my car to cover the private training facility you said you needed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI said don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd when nobody believed Chase Whitaker could race again, I did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His palm struck my face before I saw him move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My shoulder hit the wall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brielle gasped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not in horror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In satisfaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase stared at his own hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For perhaps half a second, he looked shocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then shame turned into anger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLook what you made me do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those six words killed something in me that eight years of disappointment had not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I pushed myself upright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I touched the blood at the corner of my mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, Chase. I did not make you do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGet out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something about the calmness of my answer unsettled him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I walked past him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brielle\u2019s smile disappeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo get what belongs to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase laughed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got ten minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I climbed the stairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For eight years, I had believed a marriage ended with screaming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes it ended while you folded two pairs of jeans and three sweaters into a garbage bag because the man downstairs had already decided your memories were clutter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I took my passport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My laptop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My mother\u2019s earrings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A photograph of my parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then I opened the bottom drawer of my desk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three rehabilitation journals were gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I froze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those notebooks contained everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase\u2019s medication changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doctor recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sponsorship contacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Training schedules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mechanical notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, more importantly, every financial payment I had personally made during the eighteen months after his accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hurried downstairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere are my journals?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase looked almost bored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat journals?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know exactly which ones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re related to my career.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re mine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My heart started pounding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou took them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brielle smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cConsider them company property.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was when I finally understood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This had been planned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not just the divorce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The photographs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The accusations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The demand that I leave immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They wanted me gone before I realized what had disappeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I picked up the garbage bag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase opened the front door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rain blew across the marble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have nowhere to go,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the first time that night, I looked directly into the eyes of the man I had loved since I was twenty-four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou should have thought about that before you gave me a reason never to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then I walked into the storm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I made it three blocks before the garbage bag split.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My clothes spilled onto wet pavement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My phone had twelve percent battery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had forty-seven dollars in my checking account because nearly everything Chase and I owned sat in joint accounts controlled by his business manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I bent to pick up a sweater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Headlights appeared through the rain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A black sedan slowed beside me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For one terrible second, I thought Chase had followed me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, the rear window lowered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo DeSantis looked out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His expression changed the moment he saw my face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMrs. Whitaker?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I straightened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m fine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His gaze moved to the blood on my lip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then to my clothes scattered in the gutter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then toward the road behind me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His voice became very quiet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho did that to you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I should have lied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, perhaps because I had spent eight years protecting Chase, I finally told the truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy husband.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something cold entered Matteo\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He opened the car door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGet in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t need rescuing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rain ran down my face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo held my gaze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut you do need somewhere dry to stand while you decide what happens next.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behind us, headlights appeared at the far end of the street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A familiar white Porsche.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo saw it too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His jaw tightened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMrs. Whitaker.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I looked at the approaching car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then at the stranger half of Chicago feared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And for the first time in eight years, I made a decision based entirely on what I wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I got into Matteo DeSantis\u2019s car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 2 – THE MAN CHASE WAS AFRAID TO FACE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


<\/strong>The door closed with a soft mechanical click.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside, the rain kept falling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside Matteo DeSantis\u2019s sedan, everything became strangely quiet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The leather smelled faintly of cedar. A privacy screen separated us from the driver. My soaked sweater clung to my shoulders, and blood had dried at the corner of my mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo handed me a folded white handkerchief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stared at it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople still carry these?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cApparently dangerous men do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the first time that night, something almost like a laugh escaped me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It hurt my lip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo noticed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The amusement left his face immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPress it there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I obeyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Porsche stopped ten feet behind us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My stomach knotted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo glanced through the rear window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour husband?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStay here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He opened his door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I caught his sleeve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMatteo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was the first time I had used his first name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He looked down at my fingers around his coat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlease don\u2019t hurt him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A strange expression crossed his face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou think I\u2019m going to hurt him?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what you do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat makes two of us. Half the newspapers in Chicago apparently know more about my life than I do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then he stepped into the rain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase got out of the Porsche.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVivian!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo closed his car door behind him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even through rain-streaked glass, I saw his confidence change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Men like Chase were loud around people they considered weaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around Matteo, he became careful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDeSantis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhitaker.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is my wife doing in your car?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo looked back at me once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then at Chase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour wife?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe woman you just threw out of your house?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is between Vivian and me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou made it public when you sent her walking down a street with blood on her face.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase looked toward the sedan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For one second, our eyes met.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His expression wasn\u2019t remorseful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was furious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He hated that someone important had seen what he had done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe cheated on me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo\u2019s face did not change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have photographs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI imagine you do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase blinked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo stepped closer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe interesting question is who paid for them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even from inside the sedan, I felt it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase recovered quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m talking about the fact that Mrs. Whitaker came to my office to secure sponsorship for your racing operation. She spoke about your recovery, your team and your future for ninety minutes. She never once mentioned herself unless I asked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stared at Matteo through the rain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe left my office after midnight because my legal department delayed negotiations. I walked her to her vehicle because the garage elevator had failed. My security cameras recorded every second.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase\u2019s face drained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was nothing between us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo paused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnfortunately for you, I have evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That single sentence changed everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase looked toward me again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This time, I saw fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not guilt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVivian,\u201d he called. \u201cCome home. We\u2019ll talk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forty minutes earlier, he had thrown divorce papers at my feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now he wanted to talk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I lowered the window three inches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His face tightened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t be stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo\u2019s head turned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I watched something dangerous move across his expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase seemed to realize his mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVivian, get out of the car.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I pressed Matteo\u2019s handkerchief harder against my mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re my wife.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd Brielle is wearing my robe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His face flushed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can handle that privately.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou hit me privately.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He glanced at Matteo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There it was again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humiliation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase cared less that he had struck me than that another man had witnessed the consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I raised the window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo stood in the rain another moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then he walked back to the sedan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He got inside without another word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDrive,\u201d he told the man in front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The car pulled away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stared backward until Chase disappeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only then did my hands begin shaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo watched them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re in shock.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m angry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can be both.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have anywhere to go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, you do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I looked at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy sister lives in Arizona. My parents are dead. Most of my friends are Chase\u2019s friends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can stay at one of my hotels.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can\u2019t afford one of your hotels.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou aren\u2019t paying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t take charity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His mouth moved slightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGood. Neither do I.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen what would you call it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cProtecting an investment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I frowned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat investment?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour proposal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I almost laughed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMatteo, Chase just accused me of sleeping with you. I doubt your company is still sponsoring him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were never sponsoring Chase.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My hand stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was considering sponsoring Whitaker Racing because of you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His eyes stayed on mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remembered the meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo had asked detailed questions Chase\u2019s existing sponsors never asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who managed vendor negotiations?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who rebuilt the recovery campaign?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who designed the community outreach package?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who identified the freight partnership opportunity connecting DeSantis Logistics with racing venues?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, I thought he was evaluating the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now I wasn\u2019t sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat are you saying?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m saying your husband has a talent for driving fast.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo leaned back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have a talent for building things around men who take credit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That landed harder than I expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I looked away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The city lights blurred through rain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After several minutes, Matteo said, \u201cYou mentioned journals during our meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My head snapped toward him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow do you remember that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI remember useful details.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re gone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s gone?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe journals. Three notebooks. Chase took them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s inside?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverything from his recovery. Payments. Sponsor contacts. Medical schedules. Financial notes. Mechanical adjustments. Names. Dates.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo\u2019s expression sharpened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDid anyone know you kept them?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChase. His trainer. His accountant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBrielle?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His phone appeared in his hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He typed one message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t ask you to call an attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou also didn\u2019t ask your husband to assault you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stared at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not your responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He slipped his phone away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhich means if I help you, it\u2019s because I choose to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The car turned beneath a covered entrance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not a hotel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A residential tower overlooking Lake Michigan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo stepped out first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere are we?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy building.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought you said hotel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI changed my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not reassuring.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are twenty-seven cameras between this curb and my private elevator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He looked at my split lip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTonight, reassuring is overrated. Safe is better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I should have refused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, I followed him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The penthouse was enormous, but unlike Chase\u2019s house, it wasn\u2019t decorated to impress visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dark wood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A piano nobody seemed to use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Family photographs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One showed Matteo much younger beside an older woman with the same dark eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noticed me looking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy mother.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe\u2019s beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe was terrifying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPast tense?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe died five years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo am I.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He handed me a glass of water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A woman in navy scrubs arrived twenty minutes later and examined my face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No fracture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A cut inside my lip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bruising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She photographed the injury after asking my permission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvidence,\u201d Matteo said from across the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she left, my phone buzzed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twenty-eight missed calls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nine messages from Brielle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then a new email arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The subject line made my stomach drop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOTICE OF TERMINATION.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I opened it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whitaker Racing had terminated me as Director of Operations effective immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For misconduct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breach of confidentiality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And inappropriate contact with a prospective sponsor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attached was a statement apparently prepared for the press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My supposed affair with Matteo was being used to fire me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re destroying my reputation,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo took the phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He read for perhaps thirty seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then he smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was not a warm smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy are you smiling?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause Chase Whitaker has just made a very expensive mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat mistake?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe put in writing that you contacted me as an employee of Whitaker Racing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo handed the phone back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur lawyers have been asking his company for proof that you had authority to negotiate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHis people kept claiming you were simply his wife helping informally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stared at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what Chase always said.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo tapped the termination letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis establishes employment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd if you were an employee, Vivian, we can subpoena compensation records.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I went completely still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because I had never been paid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eight years of work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thousands of hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zero salary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo watched comprehension arrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not all,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His phone rang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then his gaze returned to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen your husband accused you of an affair tonight, did he tell you who took those photographs?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo\u2019s eyes turned cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy security team just identified the photographer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho hired him?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He paused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut the payment came from a corporate card.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My heart pounded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhitaker Racing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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