Chapter 46 Dante’s POV.
My grip around the whiskey glass tightened until | could feel it squeak against the palm of my hand, the contents of it had been drained several minutes ago after being refilled countless of times. it was really not liketo drink before noon but | had reached the point where I could not longer give a fuck.
| could not recall the last tthat | had been so furious. the only difference was that this t| did. not know who | was more angry with. A part withwas why the irritated with Sophia for taking Hayley and fleeing the country the first chance she had gotten, it had made matters worse that she had done so after | explicitly warned her not to evade or do anything to prevent this paternity test from happening. however judging by how adamant she was from ensuring that it did not take place I thought like a no longer needed to carry on demanding a pattern detest because her behavior was. an answer to my assumptions all along.
on the other hand my own anger towards myself had been eating atfor the past week. never have | ever regretted a decision so hard in my entire life. all this t| thought that | wanted Phoebe and that her walking out of my life was the end of it. | had believed that mad assumption so hard that | had taken for ground to the woman that | actually had that | only know cto realize was irreplacable.
Sofia had been the one | wanted all long but it had just takentoo long to realize it and by the tI did things had gotten a bit too messy. if Phoebe and her family had not been so difficult about it marrying her would not even be on the table let alone getting engaged to her. | would have concentrated on nothing more but winning Sophia back.
But it was proving impossible at this rate. | needed to know that Phoebe was not carrying my child for sure before | committed to her on paper. however that would requireto wait nine long unbearable months, it was also no shocker that she was using this pregnancy her full advantage. from constant pampering to already shopping for when new maternity wardrobe, she was unbearable. on top of all of this she made sure that | was has much as possible but a new that it was just her way of trying to keep an eye on me.
but | would be damned if | allowed Phoebe too controllet alone think that | would play right into her hands. | mean not be able to gauge the child’s true parentage until said child is born but | could investigate into Phoebe’s life in the past few years as hard as possible. whatever | could find to use as an explanation or to my advantage would not be missed. something toldthat she was not carrying my child despite what the situation said there was no hard truth to the matter, | may have been drunk that night but | was not that out of it to not recall such a thing the morning after or at least remnants of what had occured.
at this very moment in tit was just Phoebe’s word against mine with neither one of us having substantial proof to support either of our stances.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtof course, my good man Frederick Sanders had been contacted and was working hard than ever to dig up whatever dirt that he could on Phoebe.
when Frederick had contactedthe next morning eager to findand actually cover to discuss what he had discovered | had to chim down and insist that | meet him at his office. | 83 Chapter 46 did not want to discuss matters with him within the confines of my own hconsidering Phoebe shared the shand | did not trust one but neither did | put eavesdropping past her.
The next morning, | showered and dressed in my usual 3 piece suit before rushing out of the house with out even caring for my morning cup of espresso. Frederick would be kind enough to fixat cup himself.
His offices were empty and | walked right through to find him smoking leisurely on a Cuban cigar. The bastard never really cared for smoking out if his office.
“Really, Fred, it's not even 9 yet.” | motioned to his smoking cigar.
His beige pants held a shirt tucked in to it that creased when he turned to slide behind his desk and the chair that he settled in to.
“I need it for survival.” He said like a true smoker but he pulled open a binder and his face immediately transformed to mean business.
“You are going to want to see this.” He said with a suspenseful note in his words that hadleaning closer to his desk.
If this had offereda way out from Phoebe’s clutches then | wanted to know every bit of information that he had found.
Frederick slid a picture of a burly man in my direction with pitch black hair. At first glance at the picture it was not hard to gather that this man, whoever he was, was not to be trusted but what the hell did he have to do with Phoebe or her family for thai matter.
“Who the hell is this?” | asked impatiently.
Frederick blew a puff of smoke from his mouth in to the air above before speaking. “That, my friend, is Demetri Toretelli. Busted 3 times for bank heist and recently released from prison. I'm talking three months ago.” He babbled on but | knew that he was getting to sthing, he had to be otherwise he was sjnoly wasting my time.
He slid another picture across the table and this one connected the dots fora little. It was at picture of Pheobe and this man leaving the doctor's office hand in hand as th man’s face hovered over hers like the picture was taken right before a k*ss.
“This picture was taken a week ago outside the gynaecologist office. Demetri Toretelli and Pheobe go a long way back. He was the man she was with a long while when you were newly married. Then he got busted for his heist at the back on main Street and that’s when Pheobe cback in to your life rather coincidentally.” He slid a third picture in front of me.
| looked down at it to find a black and white picture of Pheobe and Demetri leaving a motel together and they k*ssed with his hand on her breast.
“This image was snapped the day Pheobe’s child would be suspected to have been conceived. Demetri was just released from prison a few weeks prior and my sources tellthat they had reconnected instantly, picking up where they had left of. My jaw clenched tightly as my fury began to bubble all over again like an inferno that reached a new booking point.
Chapter 16 “Now, we can’t be sure that the child isn’t yours but the evidence does suggest otherwise. After all, she definitely has been physically involved with this guy the estimated tthat her child would have been conceived. My guess is that Demetri doesn’t have much and Phoebe is used to the luxury of the life you afford her. Could explain why she wants to push the child on you. If you actually accept the child then it'll sday inherit leaving her at an advantage, too.” It all made perfect damn sense! That is why she disappeared when | had kicked her out only to return pregnant with no prior suspicion before she had left. She had messed around behind my back then returned topregnant with another man’s child forto bear the responsibility of.
It made perfect sense why her family and her insisted so adamantly onmarrying her and us not just being co- parents which is rather normal in today’s day and age. Pheobe was not a very traditional woman. If any one knew this it would be me.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“Now, hold on before you think that is all that | have managed to dig up.” Frederick sounded smug like he knew that he had achieved far more than | had expected him.
“What else did you find?” | pinned my narrowed eyes on him.
“You know that black SUV that rammed you over the cliff a month ago?” He asked and my eyes immediately widened.
“Yes, what the fuck about it?” | demanded to know. He needed to get out with it because the suspense was going to add to my fury.
“A man with the scharacteristics and feature description hired that car and returned it utterly bashed with no plates fitted on. For sreason, Demitri Toretelli had made either you or Sophia his target that night but it was just that night. There has been no reports or sightings of him trying any thing else with either of you leavingto conclude that he was just after you two for that night.” | swore beneath my breath.
Demetri was behind that night where either Sophia or | could have met with horrible ends. But if he was afterfor ‘stealing Pheobe then his attack would have been more constant and not just a once off attempt. Could he have been after Sophia exclusively? But why? The second | asked myself that question | knew the answer already. Pheobe.
“Pheobe’s family is falling further in to debt and | can’t help but strongly feel like this all motivated my money.
Demetri doesn’t have anything to his nand my guess is that Pheobe is trying something smart to walk away with as much money from you as possible.” | nodded curtly knowing that that was exactly what she had planned.
After speaking to Frederick a bit longer and informing him to letknow if any thing new comes up, | left with the intention finding Phoebe and making her pay for her actions. | did not enjoy being toyed with and especially to the scale that she had done so.
To hell with her and her family. They could rot and perish for all | cared. The only reason | even offered her shelter was because there had been the question of her carrying my child but now that there was a clear alternative, | couldn't care less what happened to her neither the scandal it could, cause once every one hears about our broken engagement.