Chapter 98
Penelope’s POV
The drive to Elara’s old house was long as hell.
Penelope sat in the back of her Royce Rolls, watching the scenery change from the beautiful streets of Manhattan’s wealthy neighborhoods to progressively rougher areas. The buildings got smaller, shabbier. The cars parked on the streets got older. Trash accumulated on corners that clearly weren’t serviced as frequently as the parts of the city she was used to.
Luca sat beside her, leaning forward every few minutes to give directions to her driver.
“Take a left up here,” he’d say. Then a few minutes later, “Right at the next light.” Then, “Keep going straight, it’s still a ways down.”
The road doesn’t seem to end really. Penelope checked her watch multiple times, growing increasingly irritated as the minutes ticked by. They’d been driving for thirty minutes, then thirty-five, now freaking forty.
Finally, Luca pointed ahead. “There. That building on the right.”
The driver pulled up to the curb and put the car in park.
Penelope looked out the window at what Luca had called “home,” and her mouth actually fell open slightly.
The building was a disaster. Worn out didn’t even begin to describe it. The paint was peeling off in huge chunks, revealing rotting wood underneath. Graffiti covered the walls, crude words like dicks, fucks, assholes and symbols spray-painted over each other in layers. Several windows were boarded up. Others were cracked or missing entirely. The front steps were crumbling concrete with weeds growing through the cracks.
This was where Marcus Thorne’s wife had grown up?
“That one,” Luca said, pointing to a window on the second floor. “That was our apartment. Where Elara and her mother stayed, anyway. I was in and out.”
Penelope stared at the window. The glass was dirty, covered in grime and what looked like years of neglect. A torn curtain hung limply behind it.
“What the fuck,” she breathed.
She turned to look at Luca. “This is who Marcus settled for? What voodoo was cast on him? What spell did this girl use?”
Her mind was racing now, pieces clicking together. All of Marcus’s previous girlfriends were either models, actresses, or influencers. Women who belonged in the world of wealth and affluence just like Aurora.
Why did he even break up with Aurora? Aurora had been perfect for him. A gorgeous and well-connected girl from a wealthy family.
And then he married this? A girl from the slums?
Chapter 98
65 vouchers
“This even makes it more obvious the marriage is fake.” Penelope said, more to herself than to Luca. “We just need proof. Because there’s no way Marcus would go from Aurora to Elara naturally. It’s not possible. There has to be a contract, an agreement, something.”
“Now you get why I hate that girl,” Luca chipped in, bitterness dripping from every word. “She lies for a living.
Only God knows what lies she told Marcus to get him to marry her. I’m sure if Marcus saw where she actually grew up, he wouldn’t even let her touch his glass cups in his house.”
Penelope nodded slowly, her eyes still fixed on the decrepit building. This was better than she’d hoped. The contrast between this place and Marcus’s penthouse was so stark it would be impossible to explain away as anything other than opportunistic gold-digging.
“Let’s go in,” Luca said after they’d stood outside for a few minutes, both of them just staring at the building.
Penelope turned to him sharply. “What do you mean let’s go in?”
“Isn’t that the point? You’re here so there’ll be more hands to help search. More eyes to see if we can find anything incriminating.”
“I brought security for that.” Penelope gestured to the two men in suits standing by the car, both of them looking distinctly uncomfortable in this neighborhood.
“They’ll help you.”
Luca grumbled, clearly not happy with that response.
“Honestly, more eyes would be appreciated. Even if you won’t touch anything, you can just move around and check. You might find something I’d miss.”
Penelope hesitated. She really didn’t want to go inside that building. The very thought of it made her skin crawl.
Who knew what kind of filth and vermin were in there?
But Luca still had a point. More people searching meant a better chance of finding something useful.
“Fine,” she said finally. “But I’m not touching anything disgusting.”
They walked toward the building, Penelope’s heels clicking against the broken pavement. The two security guards followed close behind, both of them scanning the area like they are expecting trouble any moment.
Luca led them through the front entrance, which had a broken door that didn’t close properly. The hallway inside was dark and smelled like mold and something else Penelope couldn’t identify and didn’t want to. The walls were covered in more graffiti, and the floor was littered with trash and debris.
They climbed the stairs to the second floor, Penelope holding her breath and trying not to let her expensive shoes touch anything more than absolutely necessary. The steps creaked ominously under their weight.
When they reached the apartment door, Luca pulled out a key and unlocked it. The door swung open with a loud creak.
Chapter 98
May
55 vouchers
Penelope stepped inside and immediately regretted every decision that had led her to this moment.
The apartment was tiny. One small living room that bled into an even smaller kitchen. She could see a bedroom door off to one side and what looked like a bathroom beyond that. The whole place couldn’t have been more than four hundred square feet.
But the size wasn’t even the worst part.
“Luca, oh my God,” Penelope said, looking around in horror. “Is this where Elara stayed? Does she clean at all? This place is filthy.”
There was trash everywhere. Empty bottles of alcohol mostly, food containers, newspapers, clothes strewn across furniture. The couch looked like it hadn’t been sat on so much as lived on. The kitchen counter was
covered in dirty dishes and what looked like weeks-old takeout containers.
“Well, to be honest,” Luca said, having the decency to look slightly embarrassed, “the house isn’t much, but when it comes to cleanliness, Elara doesn’t joke with it. She’s actually pretty particular about keeping things clean.”
He gestured around at the mess. “I’ve been sleeping here for over three months now, so I kinda made most of this mess. But I’ll clean up soon’ since I’m trying to rebrand.” He gestured to his suit with a weak smile.
“Whatever,” Penelope said dismissively.
They were fully inside the room now, all four of them just standing there and looking around. The security guards seemed unsure what to do, waiting for instructions.
Finally, one of them spoke up. “So what exactly are we looking for, ma’am?”
Penelope turned to face him, her expression hard and determined.
“Anything at all. Anything paper, documents, clothes, receipts, anything that proves that stupid show they have going on in that penthouse is all fake!”
15:03
