Chapter 3 - The Scent of Betrayal
Gabriel stared at Bianca in absolute shock.
She was gagged with a piece of cloth and bound tightly with industrial zip ties.
Her makeup was smeared from crying, and she shook violently in the cold warehouse.
Gabriel rushed forward and cut her loose with a pocketknife.
Bianca gasped for air, collapsing against his chest.
Gabriel grabbed her by the shoulders and demanded to know how she got there.
Bianca sobbed hysterically, her words tumbling out in a panicked rush.
She explained that someone had knocked on her hotel room door right after Gabriel left.
She thought Gabriel had forgotten his keys and returned.
When she opened the door, a man in a black mask injected her neck with a sedative.
She woke up tied to this chair in the freezing dark.
Gabriel felt a cold knot form in his stomach.
He asked if the man in the mask had said anything to her.
Bianca shook her head wildly, tears streaming down her face.
She said the man did not speak, but a woman had walked into the room moments later.
Gabriel froze completely.
He asked Bianca to describe the woman.
Bianca described a beautiful woman with dark hair and a heavily pregnant belly.
Norah had been at the hotel.
Norah had orchestrated the kidnapping of his mistress while she was in the early stages of labor.
Bianca reached into the pocket of her torn coat with trembling fingers.
She pulled out a small, bloodstained envelope.
She told Gabriel the woman had forced her to hold it until he arrived.
Gabriel took the envelope and ripped it open.
Inside was a single piece of heavy cardstock.
The handwriting belonged to his wife.
The note contained only three sentences.
It stated that she had known about Bianca for the past six months.
It stated that she was not taking the children merely to hide them from him.
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The final sentence made the blood freeze in Gabriel's veins.
Norah had taken the master ledger of the Costa family syndicate.
