ATONEMENT | MAFIA ROMANCE | SMUT

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

I amped up the overhead lights to brighten the room and thumbed the italic inscription on the ring's inner band.

You are my missing piece -V.W.

Vincent's close-lipped in musing. "You killed Evelyn Warren. The deceased cannot be a personal representative. Raymond knew the chance of him and his wife dying together was quite literally impossible, but he appointed another woman to administer his estate." He clicked his tongue. "Just in case."

"Another woman?" Murderous rage palpitated my heart. "What woman? Where can we find her?"

"Her name's Valerie," he informed me, and I waited for elaboration. "Find her, we cannot. She is dead."

Mentally replaying the conversation about Ray's Will with my brother, I stared at the ring with an air of incertitude. Something doesn't add up. I trust my gut, and right now, it's twisting into knots.

"Hey." Beautifully windswept from her visit to the grocery store, Alexa appeared in the doorway. "What are you doing?"

I brandished the gold band. "Where did you get this?"

Alexa's oddly sangfroid. "I found it the night I escaped Serena's onslaught." Plucking the ring from my hand, she twisted it between her fingers. "I didn't know if it meant anything or if you'd even care for such an unsentimental finding, but I pocketed it anyway." Her brows curved inwards. "At the time, you were a little worse for wear, so I placed it in the drawer with the intention of showing you at a later date. It must have slipped my mind."

My arms crossed. "I presume it was a gift from Ray's mistress."

"Oh, the dead woman?" Alexa read the engraving. "What did Vincent say her name was again?"

"Valerie," I said, recalling the conversation like it was yesterday.

"Valerie," Alexa whispered as if to test the syllables on her tongue. "The one who never birthed any children. She died lonely and broke." Her cheeks flushed. "I don't recall her surname."

I quickly jogged my memory. "Vincent only provided a forename."

Alexa's eyes zoned out in thought. "Did you ever look into her background?"

No, I was supposed to address the matter with Nate. "Not yet."

"I will grab the laptop." Dabbing sweat from her temple, she headed for the door. "Wait in the bedroom, Liam. I'll be back in just a moment."

Closing the vanity table's drawer, I palmed the signet ring and returned to the master bedroom. I got comfortable on the bed. Alexa re-appeared minutes later, laptop tucked under one arm, a bottle of vodka in hand. She climbed onto the bed and settled cross-legged beside me. Loading the computer, she snapped a bobble off her wrist and tied her hair into a messy updo. "Okay," she said whispery, her fingertips touring the keyboard. "So, going by the ring's initials, it's safe to start with Valerie." She typed the name into the search bar. "I am not a computer whizz, but we can't go far wrong with Raymond Warren and Valerie, right? I mean, something might come up."

Having lost interest, I shrugged.

Alexa's head inched closer to the screen. While she's busy scouring pointless articles, I nuzzled my head on her thigh and curled my arms around her waist. Her closeness had a somniferous effect. I could quite easily fall asleep.

"Liam," she said warily, and my one eye peeled open. "Raymond married before Evelyn."

When I broke into my father's house on Bill's order, I logged into his computer and found articles online. I was too angry and confused to investigate further, but I read enough to determine he was the CEO of a telecommunications company, that he had one biological son and an ex-wife. "I know." Had I cared enough to educate myself, I'd have uncovered Vincent sooner.