The Perfect Husband’s Deadly Secret

I was heading to my husband Adrian's office, clutching the pregnancy test I had just gotten from the bought clinic on Mulberry. Two lines. And also the keys to the brownstone I had prepared for him as a gift.

I'd spent the drive rehearsing how I'd surprise him. Maybe I'd show him the test and the keys right now, or maybe I'd just tell him over dinner.

But everything changed when I reached his office door. I was about to knock when I heard voices inside.

"Bianca doesn't need to know, Rocco," Adrian said. "It's in the past. It's done."

My hand froze on the door handle. What are they talking about?

Rocco's next words hit me like a slap. "You used her mother's organ to save Viviana Vitale's sister. You lied to Bianca, and her mother died because of it. What do you think she'll do if she finds out?"

The world stopped spinning. My breath hitched.

Viviana Vitale. My stomach twisted at the name.

Viviana. Adrian's first love. Viviana. The woman Nico Carbone, my ex-fiancé, had left me for. Viviana. The one Adrian never stopped loving.

I pressed myself against the door, my heart hammering in my chest. Through the gap I could see the corner of Adrian's desk, the lamp throwing a hard circle of light across the leather blotter, and the rest of the room swallowed in shadow. The building was quiet. The kind of quiet that settles over a Romano front office after hours, when the crew has gone and the only people left are the ones who know too much.

"I did what I had to do," Adrian said coldly. "Viviana needed me. Her sister needed me. Bianca's mother was already dying."

"So you killed her?" Rocco demanded. He dragged one thumb across his jaw before the next words came. "You killed her, Adrian."

"I saved Viviana's sister," Adrian corrected, his tone devoid of guilt. "And I married Bianca. Isn't that enough?"

"You've spent five years lying to her, Adrian. Five years pretending to be the perfect husband. Poor girl. She loves you!"

"Bianca means nothing to me," Adrian said flatly. He smoothed the knot of his tie with one finger, the gesture so practiced it barely registered as movement. "I've paid her back by dedicating my life to her. I've done my duty. But if Bianca ever finds out… then so be it," Adrian said without hesitation. "I'll remove her from my life if I have to. As long as Viviana is happy, nothing else matters."

The pregnancy test slipped from my fingers and hit the floor.

I couldn't breathe. He treated me like a queen, doting on me, caring for me, giving me everything I thought I needed. Five years inside the Romano house. Five years of Sunday dinners where the wives smiled and the men kissed my cheek and I believed every single one of them.

I believed he loved me. I believed he cared.

Until today.

I turned, threw the keys in the trash bin, and ran.

The hallways blurred as tears streamed down my face. My chest felt tight, like I couldn't get enough air. I didn't stop until I was in my car, gripping the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white.

I started driving, but I couldn't see through the tears. My mind replayed every word, every lie. My mother had died for Viviana's sister. Adrian had killed her.

I hit the brakes too late. The impact jolted me forward, and everything went black.

When I woke, the sharp scent of antiseptic filled my nose. My head throbbed, and every inch of my body ached. The room was small, windowless, fluorescent. A private room at the bought clinic. The kind of room where Romano money made questions disappear.

I blinked against the harsh lights, and then I saw him.

"Bianca," Adrian said, his voice breaking. He was sitting by my bed, his hand gripping mine tightly. His eyes were red, his face pale.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice trembling. "Why were you driving like that? You could've died!"

I stared at him, my mind reeling.

He kissed my hand, then my forehead. His tears fell freely. "Don't ever scare me like that again. I can't lose you."

He looked at me like I was his whole world. He played the part so well.

I forced a smile. "I'm fine," I said softly.

Relief flooded his face. He leaned down and kissed me again, whispering how much he loved me, how much I meant to him.

I let him believe I hadn't heard the truth. I let him believe I was still the naive, trusting wife he had married.

But deep down, I was already planning my vendetta.

Adrian Romano had taken everything from me. My mother, my trust, my love. So I'm going to take everything from him.