chapter 10

*Oh God. Oh Christ, no.*

The audio came next. Crystal clear, devastating:

*"Matteo... God, yes... I've missed this so much..."*

*"You drive me crazy, baby. I can't get enough of you."*

My own voice. My own words. Thrown back at me in front of everyone I'd ever known.

The room erupted into chaos. Women gasped and covered their mouths. Men stared in disgust and disbelief. I heard my father's voice above the noise: "What the hell have you done?"

But the video kept playing. Scene after scene. Different locations, different positions, but always me and Calista. The office. Hotel rooms. Even the backseat of my car.

*How did they get all of this?*

"This is the man my daughter married," Riccardo's voice cut through the chaos as he took the microphone again. "The man who betrayed her with his adopted sister. The man who made her believe she was loved while he was sharing her bed with another woman."

I wanted to run. I wanted to disappear. But my legs wouldn't move. I could only stand there as my entire life imploded in front of two hundred people.

Then the screen changed to something worse. Medical documents. A pregnancy test. Calista's name at the top, dated two months ago.

"Two months pregnant," Riccardo announced. "While my daughter was taking folic acid, preparing to start a family with this man, he was already starting one with someone else."

The disgust in the room was palpable. I heard Mrs. Davidson, one of my mother's oldest friends, say loudly, "Disgusting."

The videos stopped, replaced by a single image. Sloane, sitting in what looked like her childhood bedroom, speaking directly into a camera.

*When did she record this?*

Her voice filled the room, that familiar gentle tone that had once been my favorite sound in the world:

*"As you can see, my husband has betrayed me in the worst possible way. I want to thank everyone who blessed our marriage and believed in our love. But some people don't deserve those blessings."*

She paused. *"I'm starting a new life now, pursuing opportunities I once turned down because I thought love was more important than my own dreams. I was wrong. I hope everyone here finds someone worthy of their devotion. Someone who won't throw away something precious for momentary pleasure."*

The screen went black.

The silence that followed was deafening. Then, slowly, the whispers started.

"Disgusting."

"How could he do that to Sloane?"

"The Rossini girl was too good for him anyway."

I looked around the room, searching for a friendly face. But there was nothing but disgust, disappointment, and contempt.

My father pushed through the crowd toward me, his face red with fury. "You've destroyed us," he hissed. "Do you understand what you've done? The business relationships, the family honor—"

"Dad, I can explain—"

"Explain what?" His voice was loud enough for others to hear. "That you're a lying, cheating piece of shit who threw away the best thing that ever happened to you?"

More people were leaving now. Business partners, family friends, even some of our own relatives. I watched them file out, shaking their heads, whispering among themselves.

*This can't be happening. This can't be real.*

The reality hit me like a sledgehammer. Sloane was gone. Really, truly gone. She'd planned this entire thing, from the divorce papers to this public humiliation, and now she'd vanished completely.

I looked around the rapidly emptying ballroom. The decorations that had looked so perfect an hour ago now seemed like mockery. White roses for purity. Gold for eternal love. All of it was a lie.

*I destroyed everything.*

But no, I can't just give up like this. I'm going to find Sloan and bring her back.