Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
Luca
Putting everything behind us was easy to do once we left New York and flew to Barbados for a much-needed vacation. Before Ariana and I left, we stood on the other side of the glass of the interrogation room and listened to everything Wilson Garrett and Sam Butler confessed to. The call to the hotel that was made from my office to reserve a room was made by Wilson when he posed as one of the mail carriers at the firm one day when he knew I was in court. Sam was the one who slipped Rohypnol into my drink when I bent down to pick up Gina’s purse without her even knowing. After I passed out in the room, Wilson Garrett murdered her and took my hand, placing it around the knife, leaving imprints of my fingerprints all over it. Then he removed my shirt, stained it with her blood, shoved me into a laundry bin, and wheeled me a couple of doors down to the other room. He needed to ensure I was out for several hours, so he poured a half bottle of scotch down my throat and then dumped the rest, making it look like I drank the whole thing. All because he wanted revenge for murdering his partner, whom he looked up to as a father, and for getting off the man who raped his sister.
Ariana’s theory was right. Sam did agree to pay Gina every month to be his mistress. He convinced her to quit the escort agency and see no one else but him. He tried to control her, but her greed for money was stronger than the hold Sam had on her. She started her own private escort business and continued seeing the men she regularly saw from the escort agency where she previously worked. When Sam found out, he gave her the option to stop or else he would stop making monthly deposits into her account. Gina threatened to go to his wife and tell her everything, including how he was embezzling money from the firm and the baby.
It was no accident that Sam and Wilson met. Wilson had been keeping tabs on the firm, plotting his revenge on me. When he saw Sam walk into a bar one night after a fight with Gina, he followed him inside and sat beside him. After Sam had too many drinks, he told Wilson everything that was happening. Wilson offered him a way out, although Sam had no idea who he really was. Being a desperate man with the risk of his wife finding out everything, he took Wilson up on his offer to kill Gina, but for a price: A hundred thousand dollars and agreeing to frame me. It was that night that they began plotting her murder.
Wilson told him that he needed to make things right with Gina and tell her that he finally accepted the fact that she was going to keep her business. Sam had Gina get a room at the hotel that night since it was his birthday, and I’d be there. He told her it would be a good idea to have me come up to her room to talk about her business since I was her attorney because she’d want to be protected at all costs if something happened with one of her clients. He had her come down to the bar at ten thirty. That way, she could attend his party, and no one would suspect a thing. He also told her to book a spa appointment for six a.m. the next morning, and he’d meet her there for a massage, and then they would go back to the room after and make love before he had to go to the office. Wilson Garrett had a female friend of his impersonate Gina and call the hotel to ensure they sent someone up at six a.m. to clean the room.
“Here’s to a beautiful vacation with a beautiful woman.” I smiled, holding up my glass of scotch as we were sitting in lounge chairs by the hotel pool.
“To us,” she spoke, clanking her glass against mine.
“There’s something I want to talk to you about, Ariana.”
“Okay. This sounds serious.” She grinned.
“It is. Now that Sam no longer works for me and will be put away for a very long time, I’m going to have to change the firm's name.”
“Yeah. I guess you would have to do that. Russo and Greggs still sound good.”
“I was thinking about Russo, Greggs, & Williams.” I smirked.
“Are you serious, Luca? You’re offering me a partnership at the firm?”
“I am. You deserve it.”
“You’re not just doing this because I’m your girlfriend, are you?” She narrowed her eye.
“No. You’re a damn good lawyer and cleared me of a murder charge. That right there is partnership worthy, don’t you think?” I winked.
She set down her drink and straddled me on the lounge chair, wrapping her arms around my neck. Instantly, my cock started to get hard.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes. Nobody turns down a partnership at one of the top law firms in New York City.”
“What about the other associates?”
“If they don’t like it, they can find jobs elsewhere. I don’t care. I only care about having you as a partner at my firm.” I brushed my lips against hers.
“Is that all?”
“No.” I smiled. “Actually, there is something else. I want you to move in with me when we get home.” I pushed her hair behind her ear. “I want to sleep next to you every night and wake up to you every morning. I want to shower with you, make coffee for you, and have breakfast together. I want to see you walking around in nothing but your panties.” I smirked. “And I want your clothes hanging on the other side of my closet, so when you’re not home, and I am, I know you will be soon. I love you, Ariana, and I’ve never wanted anything more in my life.”
“I love you too, Luca.” She placed her hand on my cheek as tears filled her eyes. “I accept your offer of partnership at the firm and would love to move in with you.” She smiled.
I pulled her into an embrace.
“Thank you, baby. You have no idea how happy you’ve made me.”
“Yes, I do because I feel the same way. My life was such a mess before I met you. Then suddenly, everything started to fall back into place.”
“I think we need to return to the room now.” I smiled as I kissed her lips.
One Month Later
After we returned from Barbados, I made Ariana a partner at the firm and moved her things from her apartment to mine. Since she was in a lease, I decided to buy her apartment from the owner, with an offer he couldn’t refuse, and rent the place out myself. Fully furnished, of course, since there was no way I was moving out all that furniture.
Things at the firm returned to normal. The clients who left us after my arrest apologized and begged me to take them on again. New clients were coming in, and Ariana was in high demand. I had never been so proud of anyone in my life as I was of her. But the one thing that still remained a constant burden to her was the issue with her family. No matter how hard she tried to forget it, she couldn’t. It was a struggle she couldn’t overcome.
One night, while we were lying in bed with my arm wrapped securely around her and her head on my chest, I decided it was time to have a talk with her.
“I think it’s time you talk to your family,” I spoke.
“What?” She lifted her head and looked at me. “Why would you say that?”
“Because, Ariana, you will never have peace in your life if you don’t.”
“I have peace in my life, Luca. I have a wonderful job that I love, a beautiful home, friends, and you.” She smiled.
“The lie still haunts you.”
“No, it doesn’t. What my family did is unforgivable. My God. Why are you taking their side?” she snapped as she climbed out of bed and slipped on her panties and nightshirt.
“I’m not taking anyone’s side. You’re restless at night, and sometimes you call out your mother’s name.”
“I do not!” she spoke with a raised voice.
“Yes, you do, sweetheart. I think it’s time to put all this to rest and speak to them.”
“Well, I don’t care what you think.” She stormed out of the bedroom and into the kitchen.
Jumping out of bed, I followed her. I could sense a huge fight coming on, but I didn’t care.
“You do care what I think. I’m saying that you need to sit down and talk with them and settle things. I’m not saying you have to talk every day after or even visit if you don’t want to. But this can’t go on. You deserve to be happy and content.”
“I am happy and content,” she spoke as she rested her hands on the kitchen counter.
“A part of you is happy, and the other is sad and lost. I can’t even count the number of times you zone out, and I know it’s because what they did to you is heavily weighing on your mind. More so now that the trial is over.”
“That’s not true.” She looked down.
Walking over to her, I placed my hand on her shoulder, and she shook her head and walked away from me.
“Don’t, Luca. Things are so good. Don’t ruin it. Just let me handle things my own way. I need you to respect my decisions regarding my family.”
I let out a long sigh. We could be at this all night, and nothing would change her mind.
“Okay, baby. I’m sorry I brought it up.” I wrapped my arms around her from behind and kissed the side of her head. “You do what you have to do. I won’t mention it again. I only did is because I hate seeing you in so much pain. Your happiness is all that matters to me.”
She turned around in my arms and laid her head on my chest.
“I am happy, Luca. You make me incredibly happy. Happier than I’ve ever been in my life. All I want to do is build a life with you and only you. I don’t care about anyone else. I have a career and a man I love, and that’s all I need.”