Chapter 8 - THE WOMAN WHO WOULDN'T BE BOUGHT
Luca offered me money.
Not fifty thousand dollars.
Two hundred thousand.
He arranged to meet me at a café near the rehabilitation clinic.
I almost didn't go.
But my attorney advised me to document the contact and avoid discussing confidential medical information.
Luca arrived wearing a gray coat.
He sat across from me.
“You're wasting your talent.”
I stared.
“Is that why you asked me here?”
He smiled.
“Massimo isn't going to recover the way he wants.”
I said nothing.
“He's stubborn. Angry. Dangerous.”
I folded my hands.
“Your point?”
“Leave.”
He placed an envelope on the table.
I didn't touch it.
“What's that?”
“Two hundred thousand dollars.”
I stared.
“For what?”
“To resign. Stop asking questions. Go back to school.”
My stomach tightened.
Two hundred thousand dollars could change my life.
Pay tuition.
Clear debts.
Give me breathing room.
But I looked at the envelope and felt something colder than temptation.
Disgust.
“You think I can be bought?”
Luca smiled.
“Everyone can.”
I stood.
“Then you've been spending time with the wrong people.”
His smile disappeared.
“Elena.”
I picked up my bag.
“Don't contact me again except through counsel.”
Then I walked away.
May you like
My hands shook all the way to the car.
But I didn't look back.
