CHAPTER 10 : THE SAFE
Celine
I needed to get into that safe. But how when I couldn’t even get a clear glimpse of the passcode?
I needed to think like Antonio would. If I were him, I wouldn't use something as obvious as a birth date or anything company related, like an anniversary, so I was ruling all of that out.
I was left with only one option. I had to see him input the passcode again.
The next morning finally came and I was up bright and early, so I could catch him before he left for the office.
As he walked over to the safe to grab a document like he did most mornings, I remained curled under the covers of my bed, facing his direction, pretending to be in a deep sleep.
With my eyes half-closed I peeped cautiously as he pressed the passcode on the keypad, my mind on high-alert. I couldn't see the keys clearly because his back was in the way, so instead, I paid attention to his hand movements, memorising the keys sequence and rhythm. 2, 5, 1, 4. Then the safe clicked open. He grabbed a document and closed it, turning to me.
My eyes fluttered shut instantly, my heart beating fast as I felt his gaze lingering on me. After a short while I heard footsteps receding, then the door closing.
I quickly threw the covers away from my body and pushed myself off the bed, rushing to the window side. I watched him as he got into his car with Matteo, a few of the bodyguards hopping into the SUV behind.
I waited, and once I'd seen both cars zoom out of the villa, I hurriedly drew the heavy curtains close and switched off the lights, trapping out all the sunlight.
I grabbed my phone from the dresser and turned on the flashlight, holding it over the safe’s keypad as I knelt in front of it. Some numbers were spotlessly clean, except 2,5,1, and 4, which had faint traces of fingerprint marks on the surface. They matched with the numbers I’d heard, which meant I was on the right track. Now I just had to figure out the right order. Too many wrong tries and I'd be locked out.
I recalled the sequence of the passcode in my head. It was a six-key safe and I’d heard a total of six beeps, two of which sounded the same, so he had repeated two digits.
I lifted my hand to the keypad, punching in the numbers in the predicted order.
It beeped. Incorrect passcode.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, picturing the way his hand had moved. Left, right, then right again. He had mostly used the center keys, so it was likely between 2 and 5.
I opened my eyes, giving it another shot.
Beep. Wrong again.
I tried yet again. Still incorrect.
I exhaled, taking my time to think. I've only got one more try before the safe locks me out. I had to get it this time around.
I bit my lower lip, hesitating for a heartbeat. “Here goes nothing,” I inputted the numbers and the lock clicked open.
I gasped sharply, my eyes widening in surprise. “Oh my God, I did it!” I chuckled gleefully, taking a moment to bask in my victory before pulling the safe open and grabbing the key.
I held it to my chest, about to shut the safe when a thought struck me. Since I was already in, why not search for anything I could use against Antonio among the pile of documents in here. In movies, they usually had incriminating evidence of tax fraud schemes, slush funds, stock manipulation, in a safe like this.
I pulled out the documents one by one, flipping through the pages, but they contained nothing that could spark a fire, just a bunch of business contracts between Gray Corporation and third-party companies which were legally acquired and converted into subsidiaries.
I rolled my eyes as the next document I picked up turned out to be our marriage contract, tossing it aside like the garbage it was, then grabbed another. I skimmed through with a bored expression, about to give up on this fruitless quest when my eyes caught sight of a familiar name.
I quickly flipped to the last page, pausing as I saw the name, Armando De Luca, written in bold letters, his signature scribbled on the straight line underneath. And a little further down was Antonio’s name and signature.
My brows knitted together as I rose to my feet, confusion setting in. This was some sort of a contract between both of them. Why and when had they signed a separate contract from the one Antonio had presented to me?
I frantically turned back to the first page, reading between the lines, word for word, page for page.
My face drained of colour, tears filling my eyes slowly. It felt like the room was spinning really fast, the weight of what I'd just discovered tearing me apart skin after skin, compressing my chest on the inside.
My knees snapped beneath me and I fell onto the sofa behind, the document slipping from my hand to the floor, along with the key pendant.
Time crept by slowly until dusk came.
The headlights from the cars driving into the villa seeped through the curtains into the dark bedroom, falling over my pale and tear-stained face, but I remained stiff and silent on the sofa where I'd sat all day, unable to move an inch.
After a little while the door of the bedroom swung open, footsteps echoing. “Celine,” Antonio called out, light filling the room. “Why are you sitting in the dark?” he asked as he lowered his hand from the switch, moving towards me. His forehead creased as he noticed the safe hanging open, documents spilling out from it onto the floor.
“What is this?” I asked in a shaky voice as I rose slowly to my feet, tossing the document his way.
His gaze followed it as it landed on the floor, just beside his feet. He leaned over and picked it up, flipping it open. His eyes widened slightly as his head snapped up to meet my gaze, something likened to fear flashing in them, before he quickly masked it.
“I see you've been snooping around,” he said as he walked towards the safe, squatting in front of it. He gathered up the documents, placing them back into it, alongside the key pendant I'd long forgotten about. “Who gave you the right to touch my stuff?” He shut the safe, rising.
“Just answer the damn question, Antonio!” I exploded. “What kind of deal did you make with my brother?”
“It's just as you've read,” he replied coldly, his jaw tightening. “Your brother, Armando, and I signed a contract. I approached him months ago, offering him a blank check to pay off his debt if he agreed to sell you to me.”
A shaky gasp escaped my lips, tears filling my eyes all over again. “So…” I choked on my words. “Everything that happened that night was your scheme to trap me? All of that was just… was just an act to get me? Armando's call, the loan sharks, and you, stepping in when you did. You all were in on it?”
“The loan sharks wasn’t my—”
“I knew it,” I interrupted, shutting him up. “Something didn't feel right from the onset. Like how you appeared out of nowhere to play the hero. And how you made me your prisoner, and threatened me into marrying you while letting Armando roam free. But never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I was being sold off like some cheap commodity at a house sale.”
“It’s true that I tried to buy you off, but that's only half of the truth,” he said shamelessly. “If you'd just let me speak you'd know why I did that.”
“What explanation could you possibly have to give?” I questioned, moving closer to him. “Go on, tell me. I'll tell you what this is. You wanted a fucking play thing and you got one.”
“You're not a plaything,” he blurted.
“Why then?!” I snapped, gesticulating wildly. “Why would you want to do this to me? What did I ever do to you?”
He went silent, his lips pressed into a thin line like he was deliberately holding back on saying anything.
“Answer me, Antonio!” My voice rose louder.
“Because I wanted you!” he yelled, his voice trembling slightly.
I blinked once, twice, my lips parting in shock.