Chapter 75
Caterina
With all the craziness in our lives, I forgot about the auction.
Gemma called me and asked me if we were still good to go.
To be honest, I had no idea if we were or not.
I never had the opportunity to sit down and ask Harlow about it, but I needed to talk with Gemma and the curators of the museum to even see if we were still able to.
We planned this months ago, but Vincenzo put a damper on things.
I left Harlow with a note and a kiss before heading to meet with Gemma.
If I could get something figured out, I would work on talking to my wife.
Harlow had a gift that needed to be shared with the world.
Of course, that was if she wanted anyone to buy her art, but the money would go to shelters and other things to help women and survivors alike.
Harlow’s strength was astonishing and inspired me to do more.
I already helped with donations, but I wanted to do more—I would do more.
I walked into the museum where Gemma was waiting for me with several of her coworkers. When we talked before, I left her with some of Harlow’s less erotic art pieces so she could share them with her colleagues. Since being home, Harlow hasn’t painted, but we had plenty from before to go to auction.
“Ciao, Cat,” Gemma greeted. “How are you?”
I grabbed her hands and kissed her cheeks. “Ciao, I am well, thank you. We had a nice break, and I am sorry this visit took longer than anticipated.”
“Apologies not needed. Let me introduce you to my colleagues. This is our director of art, Leo Beauregard.” I shook the man’s hand. He had dark eyes and a soft smile that barely cracked his hard exterior. “And Cheryl Martinez, she is a member of our board of directors. They loved the artwork.”
Cheryl shook my hand with eagerness. “Your wife has a talent. I never saw such raw, emotional art. I felt the pain; I saw the story. It was beautifully heartbreaking, but I loved seeing the pain morph into something more.”
“Harlow is a warrior, and her art shows it.”
Leo straightened his back. “The art was lovely, but what benefits the museum if we have an auction here?”
“Gemma mentioned this months ago, why are you just coming to us now?” Cheryl questioned.
“I’ll give the museum a one-million-dollar donation from the Moretti family plus a donation from what sells at the auction,” I stated.
“As for the delay. I apologize. You see, we were in a bad accident and my wife and I were gravely injured, so we had to focus on healing. I thought one of my men sent Gemma an email to update you all on the situation, but it’s been a difficult time. ”
“Oh, goodness, Cat! I must’ve missed it. I’m so sorry. We would be honored to have it here,” Gemma interjected. “When would be a good time for you?”
“I need to check in with my wife, but three weeks from today?”
“I think we can arrange it. We already had plenty of buyers interested.”
“Perfect. I will get with her and we can plan the perfect evening.” I also had to plan birthdays and the holidays.
HARLOW:
Come home? I want to talk.
ME:
I am on my way.
I arrived home and Malachi instantly pulled me to my office to speak with Roman about the next steps. Seeing my wife was my priority, but I would see what he needed quickly. This would be related to Serenity, and she would kill me if anything happened to that little girl.
Roman was on the big screen when I stepped into my office talking with Luca.
He was a big help to Roman and figuring out things now that we had access to Vincenzo’s database.
We were slowly working on exposing and arresting men who would pay for women.
There were a lot of political and powerful men on the list, but they should know better.
“What do you have, and is Serenity in danger?”
“Akim had multiple babies in his possession,” Roman said. “Infants.”
I looked at my men. “Babies? Why?”
“We are still trying to understand it. Akim never dealt with children, but he is also a greedy bastard.”
I let my mind wander. If he was working with Vincenzo and Igor without being a part of the treaty, he would have access to women.
He wanted Harlow but took a baby from Vincenzo instead to pay off a debt along with the girl’s mother.
Part of me wanted to believe they wouldn’t be horrible humans and traffic babies, but that would be giving them leniency.
They didn’t have remorse, nor did they care. All they wanted was profit.
Wait.
“Adoption? Illegal adoption? It makes sense. If Akim paid Vincenzo for girls to get them pregnant, he could sell the baby to a desperate family. Akim wanted Harlow, but Vincenzo declined. What if Harmony was going to another family, but she escaped or got hurt? And they confused her with Serenity, and that’s why they attacked them in the parking garage. ”
Roman’s back straightened. “Akim wasn’t a part of the treaty, but I didn’t have reports of him doing anything.”
“If it’s illegal and Vincenzo kept it under wraps, you wouldn’t.”
“This is a new development, and I need to figure out what he is doing because I will kill him. He is still ruining lives.”
My office door opened, and I smiled as my wife walked in.