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I laugh at his touch me comment and then quickly finish my makeup before dressing in faded jeans, a black T-shirt, and a pair of Guess sneakers. Finally, eagerly, I head down the hallway and walk into an incredible room, surrounded by windows and water with Kace’s awards lining one wall. It’s a simple room that is not simple, with several stools and music stands in the center of the space. There is also a desk in one cut out nook of an area.
The massive vault is next to the desk and I head in that direction. Nervous and excited I enter the open door to find the violins sitting on top of a display table, each on a stand. I walk toward them and immediately know neither were my father’s. This comes as a relief that I can’t quite name. I mean, Kace could have bought my father’s instruments at an auction if they hit the market. It just feels better that he didn’t.
I pull my phone from my pocket where I’ve placed it, and with my flashlight, inspect the violins. One is a darker wood than the other, and the woodwork is magnificent. I’m not surprised to find the watermark remarkably quickly. My second Stradivarius in days. I’m walking on that water outside the windows. I move on to the second instrument, but find no obvious mark, and I’m not lifting the instrument. Not without Kace present.
I pull out the drawer to read the paperwork, and catch my hand on a jutted piece of wood. I yank back with a yelp as I slice my palm wide open. I’m gushing blood. Turning away from the violins that I do not want to damage, I hurry to the desk and sit down, looking for a tissue. I end up holding a piece of paper over the cut, to stop it from dripping on the desk. I open drawers to no avail, and then freeze when I find a folder that reads Aria and Gio Stradivari.
My real name. Gio’s real name. There’s also a napkin, which I grab and wrap around my hand. I’m shaking now. I’m shaking because there is no way Kace hasn’t betrayed me. He knows who I am. He must have always known.
I grab the folder, and bleed on it and I don’t even care. I probably need stitches but I don’t care about that, either. I open the folder and suck in air as I find a full bio of my family and written speculation that the family is now in New York City. And we are. And he knew. I’m suddenly remembering how Kace seemed to assume I’d been to Italy in the past. He didn’t assume. He knew I was born there. I shut the folder and stand up. He’s after the formula to make the Stradivarius. He seduced me to get it and I let it happen. Anger and pain collide, and I’m all but running through the music room. I enter the bathroom and grab my purse because I just need something with me that feels like mine. And it has my cards and keys in it. I need to be home. I need to be there now.
I have to get out of here before he gets back. I run downstairs to the front door and I stare at the folder in my hand. I could take it, but why? I know all about my family. I was falling in love with Kace. I was falling hard. I am such an idiot. I fling the damn folder across the room and papers fly everywhere. If he wants to know why I’m gone, now he knows. Because I know what a fraud I’ve been sleeping with. I open the door and exit, skipping the elevator, rushing to the stairs and starting the long walk down, making darn sure I don’t run into Kace August. Not now, not ever again.
The End…FOR NOW
