Page 121 of Burning Caine

You told me Pompeii was the place you most wanted to see in the world. Please, come visit me in Napoli, and let me show it to you. If you cannot, I beg you to wait for me, until I come home. I will spend all the time it takes to regain your trust in me.

I am yours. There will be no other women. I promise you.

All my heart,

Antonio

I threw the letter back on the table, crying before I’d gotten to the end of my name. I shouldn’t have read it. I should have thrown it out like I’d deleted his texts. I wanted to call him, text him, tell him I forgave him. But, if he lied about the painting for so long, and so convincingly, what else would he lie about?

I was better off alone.

Chapter 48

Samantha

“Thisshouldbefun.”Lucy grinned while I collected my laptop and paperwork as we left the Pit for our confrontation with Olivia.

“Fun isn’t the word I’d use.” Actually, it was the exact word.

“Can you believe it’s my last day of my internship?” She paused as we walked, taking in a deep breath. “During my first couple months here, hardly anyone paid attention to me. You taught me a lot over the last month, and I appreciate it.”

“You’re a quick study.” I clapped her on the shoulder. “Actuarial’s lucky to get you.”

“As much as you hate people, you’re going to miss me.” She nudged me, which I let happen for once.

“Hardly.” I nudged her back. “I don’t suppose you’ve ever considered rock climbing?”

“Oh my god! I would love to! I was watching a video about—”

I put up a hand as we rounded the corner into the SIU office. Quinn’s back was to us, working on a laptop with a privacy screen, which she closed when Harry greeted us.

“Lucy and I are on our way to a meeting, but I wanted to check if you got that info from IT?”

Quinn turned slowly. “Yes, we did.” The look on her face generated a lot of questions.

“Find anything?”

Harry narrowed his eyes. “Like Quinn’s said, you’ve got a good nose. Leave it at that. No need for more digging.”

They were always mysterious but shutting me down was unlike them. “You found something.”

Quinn’s mouth twitched. “We did. Harry and I have a lot of work to do.” She waved us away.

“What’s with them?” asked Lucy as we reached the conference room.

I shrugged, grabbing a chair from the next room and setting it outside the door.

As we entered, I smiled politely, but my gloves were already off. Olivia’s black outfit, hair, and makeup were as impeccable as her posture. She was an example of grace. David, on the other hand, made a show of checking his watch.

I held the door open, carefully controlling my pleasure. “David, would you mind waiting outside, please? We’d like to speak with your mother for a moment.”

“I have every right to be here.”

“You’re right, but there’s a chair outside for you.”

Olivia put a hand on his arm, nodding slowly, and he stormed out.

“It’s been a while, Mrs. Scott. How’ve you been?”